Cover The queens of K-pop, Girls Generation marks 15th anniversary with new comeback album (Photo: Courtesy of SM Entertainment)

After a five-year hiatus, the K-pop girl group extraordinaire has finally made its comeback with the much-anticipated album, ‘Forever 1’

Girls’ Generation is back. The legendary K-pop girl group—which consists of Taeyeon, Sunny, Hyoyeon, Tiffany, Yoona, Sooyoung, Yuri and Seohyun—has finally made its long-awaited comeback as an eight-piece with new album Forever 1, along with the release of a music video for the lead single of the same name.

Marking the 15th anniversary of its debut, Forever 1 is the first release from Girls Generation since its sixth studio album Holiday Night in 2017. Shortly after its digital release on August 5, Forever 1 topped iTunes song charts in more than 30 locations, including Hong Kong, Malaysia, Sweden, Singapore, Brazil, Japan and Indonesia. The music video, meanwhile, was released on August 8; at the time of writing, it has already garnered 1.4 million views on YouTube. 

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Photo 1 of 8 Photo: Courtesy of SM Entertainment
Photo 2 of 8 Photo: Courtesy of SM Entertainment
Photo 3 of 8 Photo: Courtesy of SM Entertainment
Photo 4 of 8 Photo: Courtesy of SM Entertainment
Photo 5 of 8 Photo: Courtesy of SM Entertainment
Photo 6 of 8 Photo: Courtesy of SM Entertainment
Photo 7 of 8 Photo: Courtesy of SM Entertainment
Photo 8 of 8 Photo: Courtesy of SM Entertainment

The title track is a pop dance number packed with uplifting beats. It is written and produced by K-pop hitmaker Kenzie, who has worked with Girls’ Generation’s label SM Entertainment for over two decades and who is also behind chart-topping songs like Girls’ Generation’s 2007 debut single Into the New World, EXO’s Overdose in 2014 and Red Velvet’s 2019 hit Psycho

“Right now, there's little time to consider the past or the future—the present is so important to us that we have not had the chance to get to the future yet,” said Taeyeon at a press conference held on August 5 in Seoul ahead of the physical release. “But we hope that everyone enjoys this comeback. And building off of what we learn and experience through this comeback, we will continue to decide on the future of Girls' Generation.”

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Girls’ Generation originally debuted as a nine-member group in 2007. Former member Jessica Jung left the group in 2014. 

The group rose to fame in 2009 with single Gee, which became a huge hit and won numerous major accolades in South Korea, including song of the year and best song at the Seoul Music Awards and a Korean Music Award for song of the year, both in 2010. They have reigned supreme not just in K-pop, but in music globally, with a massive fanbase worldwide. Top hits over the years include 2010’s Oh!, Mr. Taxi from 2011, and 2013’s I Got a Boy.

In 2017, its record label SM Entertainment announced the group would be temporarily going on a hiatus to allow members to pursue solo careers.

Watch the official music video of Forever 1 below:

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