Girls’ Generation Is Honored By Being The Only Korean Group Invited To China’s JSTV Lunar New Year’s Gala

2015 was a huge year for Girls’ Generation. Technically known as So Nyeo Shi Dae (SNSD), or Shoujo Jidai in Japan, the popular veteran K-pop idol girl group has rebounded from the dark shadow cast when Jessica Jung was kicked out. Though their song “Catch Me If You Can” was the first to be promoted without Jessica, it was previously performed with her. The first song to truly feature eight members was “Party,” the first single off their first album as eight members, Lion Heart. Their eight-member comeback was successful with two major singles, not including “Party,” thus far. Their album’s self-titled song, “Lion Heart,” dominated Korean charts for months and “You Think” did fairly well, too.

Though their 2015 has been very successful, it is safe to say that Girls’ Generation is technically successful almost every year. As a result, they’ve ascended beyond most K-pop idol groups. Case and point, they are the only Korean group to be invited to China’s JSTV Lunar New Year’s Gala.

The phenomenal news for Girls’ Generation was first announced by SM Entertainment in a statement to Korean news outlet Naver translated through Soompi. According to the K-pop idol girl group’s agency, Girls’ Generation has been confirmed to be at the show and is expected to perform their recent hit “Lion Heart,” along with old favorites including their 2009 breakthrough hit single, “Gee.”

Right now, Girls’ Generation is busy with their fourth concert tour titled Phantasia, which began on November 21, 2015, with shows in South Korea. The tour goes on to perform in three other countries. They recently finished the 12-day Japan stop of their tour and will be heading to Thailand to perform on January 30 and 31. Their final shows of the tour will be on April 9 and 10 in Hong Kong.

For those who don’t know about the JSTV Lunar New Year’s Gala, it is one of the biggest celebrations for China’s lunar new year. It has the largest audience for any entertainment show in the world and is often described as the most watched television program in the world. To truly understand just how big this event is, the 2014 edition of the Gala drew in an estimated 800 million viewers to the broadcast. It should also be noted the Gala comes off like a variety show since it often features musical, dance, comedy, and drama performances with numerous special guest appearances including Ruby Lin, Andy Lau, Zhang Ziyi, Phoenix Legend, S.H.E., and Jackie Chan.

Girls’ Generation is not only the only Korean group to be invited to this year’s JSTV Lunar New Year’s Gala, they are probably the only Korean group to be invited throughout its history. It is true both Kris Wu and Luhan of EXO were supposed to perform at a previous Gala showing and they did not because they filed lawsuits against SM Entertainment at the time, but it should be noted EXO was divided up into two groups, one for Koreans and one for Mandarin-speaking audiences. In that sense, EXO can technically be considered a Chinese group, as well.

At this moment, not much is revealed about the upcoming JSTV Lunar New Year’s Gala except it will air on February 8, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.

Note: Multiple sources have noted discrepancies regarding the air time, whether it is Korean Standard (KST) or one of the Chinese time zones. This detail should be cleared up closer to the actual air date.

[Image via SM Entertainment]