Our first group featured in this series, here we turn our attention to one of the top acts of the legendary 2nd generation of K-Pop. In a generation topped by star groups such as Super Junior, Girls Generation, Big Bang, and more, Wonder Girls were able to establish themselves quickly in Korea and became huge trailblazers in the West in a never before seen fashion. 

A Wonderful Start

Wonder Girls, JYP Entertainment’s first girl group, was formed in a fairly unique way. In 2006, MTV Korea began a reality show, aptly named MTV Wonder Girls, which ran introductions for four of the already chosen members, Sunmi, Sohee, Hyuna, and Sunye, and selected a fifth member, Yeeun, through auditions. (note: this would begin a fairly long relationship between JYP and reality/survival shows). J.Y Park himself, much like he did for Rain, would have a heavy hand in producing for and promoting the group in the years to follow.

This group hit the airwaves in Korea on February 13th, 2007 with their debut single “Irony”. Their initial lineup consisted of the aforementioned members Sunmi, Yubin, Sohee, Sunye, and Hyuna (who left the group and JYPE shortly after). Their first huge hit, however, came months later in their 2007 debut album  “The Wonder Years” with the smash hit “Tell Me”, which came with the addition of Yubin as a new member to replace Hyuna. “Tell Me” garnered a largely positive reaction, netting the group multiple awards and quickly making them known names in the idol sphere. These include multiple positions in ‘best of’ lists, such as being number 10 in Rolling Stone’s top 100 Korean Pop songs and winning Song of the Year in the 2007 Melon Music Awards. 

2008 brought them further success with the release of “So Hot”, continuing their rise in the Asian market and awarding them yet another Melon Music Awards Song of the Year. However, their rise in the West came with the release of another song later that same year.

Nobody But You

“Nobody”, their lead single for their first EP “The Wonder Years: Trilogy” was released on September 22, 2008, in Korea to widespread acclaim and success, winning the Song of the Year daesang at the 18th Seoul Music Awards. The true legacy of this song however lies here in the States. “Nobody”’s official English version was released in the US on June 26th of the following year. It was accompanied by a performance on The Wendy Williams Show on July 20th, marking not only their American television debut but also (according to my findings so far) the first-ever Korean group to be featured on and perform on a US broadcast! This American campaign for them also consisted of them becoming the opening act for the Jonas Brothers during the North American leg of their 2009 world tour.

This American push by the group and label led to a groundbreaking achievement. “Nobody” became the first ever song by a Korean artist to reach the Billboard Hot 100 chart, appearing at number 76 for the week of October 31, 2009. This marked an important milestone not only in their careers but for Korean entertainment in general. 

Continued Success

Wonder Girls’ American success doesn’t just end with their music. Nick Cannon, who claimed they introduced him to the world of K-Pop, teamed up with TeenNick to produce a tv film starring the group, titled The Wonder Girls in 2012 (I will refrain from posting the full movie here but you can find it on YouTube). 

One interesting point to make about Wonder Girls was their early focus on the Western market. Although most big groups are now expected to make a concentrated push in the West, that was not the case in the 2nd generation. Compared to most of their contemporaries in that era, Wonder Girls were one of the very few Korean artists making full English versions of their popular songs, (as discussed prior, JYP had his eyes on the market very early on). “Tell Me” and “So Hot” received English versions in 2010 with the release of their EP “2 Different Tears”, accompanied by an English title track of the same name. 

The Final Years

After their success in the late 2000s and early 2010s, the group went through several changes. From early 2013 up until 2015, the group was on hiatus. Their lineup would change throughout this period before finally settling with a final four of Sunmi, Hyerim, Yubin, and Yeeun (Of the members, Yeeun was the only one to have been active with the group for its entire timeline from its debut in 2007 to their disbandment 2017.)

With this lineup came a large stylistic shift in the group’s music too. Their 2015 album “Reboot” (note: PLEASE listen to it, it’s considered one of K-Pop’s greatest albums for very good reason) had them transition from a typical idol group to a band, utilizing live instruments for recordings and live stages of their new songs. This continued for their last 2 projects, the 2016 EP “Why So Lonely?” and the 2017 single “Draw Me”. The single would be the final song released by the group, whose disbandment was announced weeks earlier, and also commemorated their 10th anniversary. 

Legacy 

Wonder Girls left a great legacy in the K-Pop realm. Not only did they find quick success in Asia with early smash hits, but they were able to break through in America in a way that no one was able to before. Even today, it is extraordinarily difficult for even popular groups to reach the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and the group was able to break that barrier down to further introduce Western audiences to the genre’s charm. Our next artist here will also make himself very well-known on that chart with the creation of what can be argued as the genre’s biggest hit.

---

Notable Songs

• Nobody, 2008

• Why So Lonely, 2016

• Baby Don’t Play, 2015