GFriend

GFriend

GFriend in July 2016 (From left: Yuju, Umji, Yerin, SinB, Eunha, Sowon)
Background information
Origin Seoul, South Korea
Genres
Years active 2015 (2015)–present
Labels Source Music
Website facebook.com/gfrdofficial
Members
Korean name
Hangul 여자친구
Hanja 女子親舊
Literal meaning Girlfriend
Revised Romanization Yeoja Chingu

GFriend (Hangul: 여자친구; RR: Yeoja Chingu; stylized as GFRIEND) is a six-member South Korean girl group formed by Source Music in 2015.[1] The group consists of Sowon, Yerin, Eunha, Yuju, SinB, and Umji. They made their debut with the EP Season of Glass on January 15, 2015. GFriend won several 2015 female rookie awards and has garnered momentum since their debut, despite coming from a small company.[2] In 2016, they continued their success with their third EP Snowflake and won first place on many music shows with the title song "Rough". They released their first full-length album LOL in July 2016.

History

2015: Season of Glass, Flower Bud, and rise in popularity

Gfriend in 2015

On January 15, 2015, Gfriend released their five-track debut EP Season of Glass.[3] The promotional track "Glass Bead" (Hangul: 유리구슬; RR: Yuri Guseul), composed by Seo Yong-bae and Iggy, debuted at number twelve on Gaon's weekly chart.[4][5] The group started promotions for their album on January 16 on KBS's music program Music Bank.[6] According to YouTube, the M/V of "Glass Bead" ranked number nine in top ten "Most Viewed K-Pop Videos Around the World in January 2015".[7] On January 28, 2015, Billboard named Gfriend as one of "Top 5 K-Pop Artists to Watch in 2015".[8]

Gfriend released their second EP Flower Bud and the music video for title track "Me Gustas Tu" (Hangul: 오늘부터 우리는; RR: Oneulbuteo Urineun; lit. "Starting Today, Us") on July 23, 2015.[9] Gfriend started their group promotions on the same date as the album release, July 23, 2015 on Mnet's M! Countdown.[10]

The group garnered international attention after a fan-taken video of Gfriend members continuing and completing a performance of "Me Gustas Tu" despite continuously falling on a slippery stage went viral in September 2015. The group was praised for their professionalism, especially Yuju, who fell a total of eight times and suffered a twisted finger during the performance.[11][12]

On September 17, 2015, Gfriend made headlines again as the only girl group to be nominated in the 2015 MTV Europe Music Awards "Best Korean Act" category alongside boy groups B1A4, BTS, Got7, and VIXX.[13]

2016–present: Snowflake, first music show wins and first studio album

On January 25, 2016, Gfriend released their third EP titled Snowflake with the title track "Rough" (Hangul: 시간을 달려서; RR: Siganeul Dallyeoseo; lit. "Running Through Time"). "Rough" is the last song to complete Gfriend's high school concept trilogy along with "Glass Bead" and "Me Gustas Tu". During their fan-meeting after the EP's showcase release, Gfriend announced their fandom name to be "Buddy" (Hangul: 버디). Gfriend started the promotions for Snowflake on January 26 on SBS MTV's music program The Show. The album debuted at number ten on Billboard's World Albums Chart,[14] and the music video of "Rough" on YouTube ranked number three in top ten "Most Viewed K-Pop Videos Around the World in January 2016".[15]

On February 2, Gfriend received their first music show win for their song "Rough" on The Show. They subsequently won another fourteen awards on the music shows including winning their first triple crowns on M! Countdown, Music Bank, Show Champion, and Inkigayo. With a total of 15 wins, it placed second with the number of wins for girls groups, behind Apink who recorded a total of 17 wins with "Luv".[16][17]

On June 15 it was announced that Gfriend will star alongside Mamamoo on a new season of Showtime. On June 29, Source Music started teasing for Gfriend first studio album LOL, signifying at the same time "Laughing Out Loud" and "Lots of Love". LOL was released on July 11 with the title track "Navillera" (Hangul: 너 그리고 나; RR: Neo Geurigo Na), and reportedly had more than 60,000 pre-ordered copies worldwide.[18] On July 19, Gfriend earned their first music show win for the album's single "Navillera" on The Show.[19]

Members

Discography

Main article: GFriend discography

Filmography

Main article: GFriend filmography

Awards and nominations

They won their first award, "Best New Female Artist", on November 7, 2015 at MelOn Music Awards. Their first music show win was on The Show with "Rough" on February 2, 2016, after which the group would go on to receive a total of 15 music show wins during the song's promotion. During their Navillera promotions they got a total of 14 music show wins, making them the girl group with most wins gained within a year with a total of 29 wins.

Concerts/Showcases

Showcases

Participated Concerts

References

  1. ↑ "New Rookie Group GFriend Makes Debut with ′Glass Bead′ MV". Mwave. January 15, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  2. ↑ "GFriend Spills on SNSD Comparisons, Role Models and More". Newsen. January 31, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  3. ↑ "여자친구, 데뷔앨범 하이라이트 메들리 공개..'소녀감성'". Chosun. January 14, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  4. ↑ "여자친구, 오늘 데뷔 앨범 발표 '풋풋함 물씬'". SBS. January 15, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  5. ↑ "South Korea's Gaon weekly chart for January 11-January 17, 2015" (in Korean). Gaon Chart. January 17, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  6. ↑ Kim, Ha-jin. "여자친구, 데뷔곡 '유리구슬' 티저+뮤비 유튜브 조회수 20만 돌파 '대박'". Herald Economy. Herald Corporation. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Most Viewed K-Pop Videos in America & Around the World: January 2015". February 11, 2015.
  8. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (January 28, 2015). "Top 5 K-Pop Artists to Watch in 2015".
  9. ↑ "GFriend reveals their new song "오늘부터 우리는" on Mnet M Countdown". StarNews. July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  10. ↑ "GFriend reveals new song "오늘부터 우리는" on Mnet M Countdown". StarNews. July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  11. ↑ Regan, Helen (September 7, 2015). "This Video of a K-Pop Singer Falling 8 Times in 1 Song Will Inspire You to Keep Going No Matter What". Time. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  12. ↑ Jang, Mi-ran. "GFriend′s Yuju Talks About Viral Video of Her Falling on Stage". Mwave. CJ E&M Corp. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  13. ↑ "여자친구, MTV EMA 韓최우수 가수 부문 후보..'걸그룹 유일'" (in Korean). September 17, 2015.
  14. ↑ "GFriend moves into Top 10 of Billboard World Album Chart with 'Snowflake'". February 3, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Most Viewed K-Pop Videos in America, Around the World: January 2016". February 11, 2016.
  16. ↑ Park Se-jin (March 2, 2016). "G-Friend dominates Korean music scene". Aju Business Daily. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  17. ↑ [email protected] (March 2, 2016). "It's GFriend Time". koreatimes.co.kr. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  18. ↑ Kim Yu-young (June 30, 2016). "GFriend releases teaser photos for new album". koreaherald.com. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  19. ↑ Lee Gyu-yeon (July 20, 2016). "[화보] 여자친구, '너 그리고 나'로 컴백 후 첫 1위…'눈물 펑펑'" [[Pictorial] GFriend, first number one after 'You and I' comeback... "crying tears"]. Sports Hankook (in Korean). Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 최, 진실 (February 14, 2015). "여.친.소① 여자친구를 소개합니다". tenasia.hankyung.com. Korea Entertainment Media. Retrieved July 4, 2016.

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