For Girls’ Generation, 2015 was a year that would either make or break them after Jessica Jung was “forced out” of the K-pop girl group late last year. With Jessica gone, Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun had to establish themselves as an eight-member group . They first started such by rerecording their song “Catch Me If You Can” without Jessica. They then redirected its music video in the same manner. By summertime, Girls’ Generation released “Party,” the first song to officially not include Jessica. Eventually, the transition would be complete with the release of their 2014 album, Lion Heart .
All of what Girls’ Generation did for 2015 would have been a bust if K-pop fans, especially Sones who are fans of the “OT9” (acronym recognizing the original nine member lineup of Girls’ Generation) had not accepted it. Fortunately they did accept Girls’ Generation as is making 2015 a successful year for the K-pop girl group. As a matter of fact, Korean music chart Gaon made it known that Girls’ Generation is in fact the number one K-pop girl group for the year according to their charts.
The statistics proving that Girls’ Generation is the number one K-pop girl group for 2015 were released by Gaon on their official Korean website. In it, they provided three charts for the K-pop community to analyze. The first chart shows the K-pop girl group sales for singles such as individual song purchases on iTunes. For Girls’ Generation, sales for their songs “Catch Me If You Can” and “Party” (summertime release prior to Lion Heart ) would probably be the bulk of their sales.
The second chart shows the K-pop girl group sales for albums. Purchases of Girls’ Generation’s latest album, Lion Heart , would have their sales calculated into this chart. Needless to say but any sales of past Girls’ Generation albums and extended plays such as Girls’ Generation , Oh! , The Boys , I Got A Boy , Girls & Peace , and Love & Peace also count.
Finally, the third chart combines the sales of both singles and CDs. It should be noted the third chart actually provides points for said combined sales. As shown below, Girls’ Generation is the high standard, as they have 100 points on their bar (furthest left). Apink, who is right behind Girls’ Generation, has a sales total of 42.6 points. That isn’t even half of what Girls’ Generation has earned.
If the charts seem confusing to analyze, KpopStarz provided a breakdown on how to read them. They are based on total sales volume starting on January 1, 2015 to the first week of December. Sales from sub-groups (such as Girls’ Generation-TTS) and solo acts (such as Taeyeon) were also accounted into the charts. However, any sales from K-drama and K-movie soundtracks, as well as collaborations, were not included. In the end, the combined graph puts the weight of albums and song sales at an even 50/50 ratio with a granted 50 points number one rankings on singles or album sales charts. Since Girls’ Generation ranked number one for both singles and albums, they scored a perfect 100 points. To be frank, the explanation still sounds a bit confusing.
Besides Girls’ Generation, there are three K-pop girl groups that should be noticed on the chart this year too. Apink climbed up one position from number three back in 2014. Red Velvet, the rookie group that may possibly become Girls’ Generation’s replacement, is ranked number three, an accomplishment worth noting since they are only 18 months old. Finally, TWICE – a rookie group less than three months old – made it into the top twenty, beating out more established groups like KARA, T-ara, and Dal Shabet.
[Photo by Valerie Macoon/Getty]