Today marked the six years since Girls' Generation (So Nyeo Shi Dae/SNSD) had their first debut stage on SBS Inkigayo. They have come a long way from getting a black ocean to getting a recognition as the most powerful girl group in South Korea. From zero to hero, from nobody to somebody.
Today, I will dedicated this post to my lovely nine unnies. If you think that I will tell you a story about how I become their fans or how Taeyeon, Jessica, Sunny, Tiffany, Yuri, Yoona, Hyoyeon, Sooyoung, and Seohyun changed my life, well.....you're wrong. I will make something different this time ;)
Today, I will give you my own list of my most favorites Girls' Generation ballads. Why ballads? No, it's not because I super love ballad songs (you probably know how I sucked for ballads from my previous posts). It's because for me, one of Girls' Generation strongest point would be their ballads. They have many gorgeous ballads and it's such a pity that it's only get little recognition since most people only know them for their dance songs.
Today, once again, I will present to you nine of my most favorite ballads from them. I only choose nine from many of their great ballads because we all know how nine is a magic number for them ;) So, here is the list............
9. Born To Be A Lady (Girls' Generation : The First Japanese Album)
Born To Be A Lady is quite an unique song for me because of the contrary between the girls' vocals and music. In this song, their vocals were very soft while the music itself had strong beat with the drum sound. Both of them turned out to be complement each other without making it all over the place and make Born to be a Lady to become one of beautiful ballads.
Beside that, the lyrics also added a strong point to this song. It tells a story about how a girl should not be worry because at the end, they will grow into a woman. This is the type of lyrics that they should give to Girls' Generation more. As the most powerful girl group in South Korea, many young girls look up to them as a role model and I think it would be great if they can sing a song that give a strong message to them like this song instead of constantly doing a song about how to get a boyfriend in a very flirty way.
8. Dear Mom ("Gee" : The First Mini Album)
Dear Mom actually has a pretty standard arrangements for ballad songs with piano (though the intro is very lovely) and strings. But, what makes this song stood out is the lyrics, which all of us can relate to it. It is about how we often do wrong things in front of our mothers and hurt her. Ah...I teared up a bit writing this :"(
Moreover, the way the girls singing this song with full of emotions also made this song sounds great. It's like they feel it and we can feel their emotions too, especially Tiffany's. It's really heartbreaking to hear her sing this since her mother is already passed away. Fany you did an amazing job, your mother must be proud of you out there!!!
7. Lost In Love ("I Got A Boy" : The Fourth Korean Album)
Lost In Love is actually not really Girls' Generation song since its only featured Taeyeon and Tiffany vocals. But since its on their album, I decided to put it on the list. Anyway, Lost In Love strength relied on Taeyeon and Tiffany vocals. We all know how strong their vocals are and surprisingly for this song, they did not sound overpower each other. Instead, they complemented each other and for me, this is how a duet should sounded.
Furthermore, I really love how they know to put on their emotions based on the song lyrics. They know when they have to sing like they are in great pain because of breaking up and when they have to sing like they are ready to move on, which is the main theme of this song. Those emotions built up this song and made it become enjoyable to listen. In short, they made this song became alive.
6. Time Machine ("Girls' Generation - The Boys" : The First Japanese Repackage Album)
Time Machine showcased different side of Girls' Generation since this song has lower range than most of their songs and yes, they still nailed it. What I love the most about Time Machine beside their attempt to singing in low range is how this song able to tell a story only by the way the girls sing it and the piano sounds. For example, the way Sunny and Seohyun sang and the low piano sound in the first pre-chorus was dramatic and firm. It's different with Tiffany's gentle voice and the piano that sounds higher at the end of the first chorus. Just by listening to this, we know what kind of emotions that they tried to convey.
Time Machine is also one of few Girls' Generation ballad songs that have a music video. The music video portrayed their loneliness that somehow goes well with the regret theme of the song itself. The shots, the settings, and the girls, all of them were gorgeous.
5. All My Love Is For You ("Girls & Peace" : The Second Japanese Album)
All My Love Is For You opened with an unique drum sound that sounds like a marching band and then followed with their catchy and pleasant listening "hiye hiye hiyeee". The usage of drum sound like a marching band sound is interesting for me because it rarely being seen in other ballad songs. All My Love is for You is the opposite of Time Machine. If Time Machine displayed Girls' Generation abilities to sing in lower range, All My Love is for You displayed their abilities to carry high notes. Furthermore, it also showed their amazing harmonizations that rarely be seen in other songs. Oh...I love that!!!
All My Love is for You also had its own music video, which was pretty simple. It's about the girls talking with each other, laughing, and practicing dance in a big old room. It's not really special for me, but it's refreshing to see them be able to react with each other naturally.
4. Forever ("Oh!" : The Second Korean Album)
Forever may sounds like a typical ballads that can be found in Korean dramas (no surprise since it's also a soundtrack for MBC Pasta), but actually, it's more than that for me. Why? First of all, it is because of the lyrics that pretty much resembled Sones and Girls' Generation relationships. This song is about dreaming together with a person for the future, which is the same thing that happened to Sones and the girls since they wanted to be together for a long time. Beside that, this song also showed the girls' strong vocal performances. From Taeyeon that basically slayed this song to Yoona and Hyoyeon that actually sounded nice here.
And the last, surprisingly, came from the arrangements. What I like the most from it would be how it able to set the dynamic in this song. They knew when they have to put a little instruments and when they have to go all out. As a result, it made the song became more pleasant listening, enjoyable, and flowed nicely. Plus, it also supported each girl vocal to shine in this song.
3. Love Sick (Taetiseo "Twinkle" : Mini Album)
Different from other songs in this list and most Girls' Generation songs, Love Sick took different turn with its music that dominated by 90s R&B music from the beat to the instruments. In my opinion, Love Sick is a hard song. It required vocals that able to belt either low or high notes while also able to display emotions throughout the song. Once again, Girls' Generation (or Taeyeon, Tiffany, and Seohyun from Taetiseo/TTS, the sub-unit) nailed it. Accompanied by the strong R&B beat, Taeyeon, Tiffany, Seohyun's vocals made the song flowed smoothly and their emotions made the song alive. I really love how they change the way their singing from their shyness and doubtfulness in the verses to desperation in the refrain.
2. Tears ("Girls' Generation" : The First Album)
Another Girls' Generation song that sounded so old-school, so 90s, Tears. Oh God...those strings at the beginning that sooo old school hahahaha. But, it's quite understandable since it came from their first album. Anyway, what made Tears shined is because it able to show the girls amazing vocal ranges. Okay, maybe you already got bored since I always mentioned about how their vocals were amazing in ballads. But, seriously, Tears is another exception. It's another hard song for Girls' Generation because it required them to sing from low notes to super high notes. The girls nailed it again, especially Jessica (The last high note, it still gave me chills) and Yuri who surprised me the most because she managed to pull those low notes verses really well. Oh...how I wish she continued to sing like this and how I wish they give Girls' Generation more songs like this nowadays.
1. Complete ("Girls' Generation" : The First Album)
Finally, we are at the end of this list. I don't think there would be other song that will end it as perfect as Complete. We know how Complete had a special meaning in both Girls' Generation and Sones heart. Beside the special meaning, what I love from Complete is how a simple song like this sometimes held more power to our hearts than a super epic song. The arrangements are simple, but it enough to touch our heart. The vocals are genuinely nice too, I love how each of them got a fair amount of line.
As much as I love the original version of Complete, I still think the live version from their second Asia Tour topped it. The music was being kept to minimal and it made the vocals sounds more pure. And the pause after Jessica high notes......it still gave me goosebumps every time I watched it.
So, that's nine of my most favorites Girls' Generation ballads. Does your favorite get into the list? I'm sorry if they did not get into it because trust me, I also found it hard to only sort it into nine :(
At last, Happy Sixth Years Anniversary Girls' Generation!!!! I wish all of you can grow into a beautiful woman, not only as a group, but as a person too, while still stay girls in your heart. Thank you for giving all of us amazing experiences for these six year and we are looking forward to another amazing experiences for the next sixth and sixth and sixth years in the future. Though I only become your fan since two years ago, I really hope I can stay with all of you until the end. Jigeumeun So Nyeo Shi Dae, Apeurodo So Nyeo Shi Dae, Yongwonhi So Nyeo Shi Dae, So Nyeo Shi Dae Saranghae!!!
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