Girls' Generation also known as SNSD is one of the most celebrated girl group in the K-pop industry.
To commemorate their 9th-year anniversary last Aug. 5, SM Entertainment has posted an animated music video on SMTOWN's official YouTube page featuring the group's new pop ballad track "Sailing".
According to music chart website Billboard.com, "Sailing" is written by member Sooyoung and is dedicated to the Girls' Generation's fans popularly known as SONE.
"Sailing", the pop ballad song's title in English is in reference to the group's "pink ocean", a common appearance in Girls' Generation's concerts when SONEs wave their light sticks. On the other hand, the song's title is called "That Summer (0805)" when translated in Korean. Billboard reveals this reminisces the group's journey with their fans from being rookies to "Korea's reigning pop princesses".
The animated music video also highlights the Girls' Generation's different performances since their first debut. It features drawings representing the group's hit songs like "Into The New World" (airplane), "Gee" (hats) and "Lion Heart" (lion on a pedestal).
Moreover, the video has shown nine spotlights for songs "I Got A Boy" and "Mr. Mr." which the Billboard article has pointed out as references to Girls' Generation's former member, Jessica Jung.
Released midnight of Aug. 5, the "Sailing" music video has gained more than 1 million YouTube views within 24 hours.
The pop ballad track has also topped music charts. It placed no. 1 on real-time local music websites such as Naver, Genie, Mnet, Bugs, Olleh, Soribada and Monkey3, according to allkpop.
In addition, SM Entertainment also posted another video featuring the eight members of Girls' Generation namely Taeyeon, Tiffany, Seohyun, Sooyoung, Sunny, Yoona, Yuri and Hyoyeon.
The short video shows the girls expressing their heartfelt gratitude and love to their strong following of SONEs whom they regard as the reason behind their "legendary status".
In a report by Manila Bulletin, some of the group's messages have been translated in English.
According to Yoona, "I see other senior musicians, who have been around for nine or ten years and I used to think that they are amazing. But now we are also at that stage. It is really hard to believe."
Girls' Generation's kid leader Taeyeon said, "I think we grew up with everyone so I feel very proud."
Lastly, the group's youngest member or maknae Seohyun thanked the SONEs since they are the reason why they [Girls' Generation] have received various awards and unforgettable memories.
Watch Girls' Generation's anniversary message by clicking on the video below.
