For K-pop fans who follow the industry, or for those who identify themselves as Sones (official fan club of Girls’ Generation), 2016 is a year where So Nyeo Shi Dae (SNSD), better known as Girls’ Generation, have set out for more individual endeavors. Technically starting in late 2015, after promotions for Lion Heart concluded, the first member to start her solo career was Tayeon with the release of her first EP, or mini-album, I . Tiffany would come next with her first mini-album, I Just Wanna Dance , followed by Taeyeon’s second mini-album, Why .
Though pursuing a solo career in singing would seem like the most-obvious choice for the members of Girls’ Generation to pursue, some have decided to go into acting. Yoona is well known for taking on acting gigs given the fact that she is the K-pop girl group’s “face.” However, both Yuri and Sooyoung have also taken on more prominent acting gigs in Neighborhood Hero and 38 Revenue Collection Unit respectively.
Then there is Seohyun. Unlike the aforementioned members, the maknae of Girls’ Generation will not only be acting (which was reported earlier), but will also continue her singing through a solo career. There are reports that Seohyun will be the next Girls’ Generation member to release a solo album.
The news broke when insider reports on Tuesday, July 12, claimed that Seohyun is currently preparing her solo album , as reported by AllKpop . The news was suddenly given more credence after SM Entertainment stated that Seohyun’s solo album is expected to release sometime this November. If that is the case, she will become the third member of Girls’ Generation, right after Taeyeon and Tiffany, to release a solo album. Just so it is known, news of Yuri working on her solo album, which was believed to release sometime after Tiffany released her solo album, seems to have dried up. There haven’t been many updates on the topic. As a matter of fact, it is possible Yuri may be concentrating more on her acting career given the success of Neighborhood Hero .
It is also possible that SM Entertainment pushed back Yuri’s solo album so that Seohyun could release hers first, simply because she is part of Girls’ Generation-TTS, or TaeTiSeo. When Seohyun releases her album in November, all the members of TaeTiSeo will have given K-pop fans, especially Sones, a solo release.
Seohyun’s solo career in singing does not take her away from her newfound acting duties. Seohyun currently has a supporting role in upcoming period C-drama Scarlet Heart: Ryeo (also known as Moon Lovers ) as Woo Hee, a gisaeng and last Princess of Later Baekje. On top of that, Seohyun will take on her first main role in web drama series Canvas The Emperor as Dong Pu Ti.
Ultimately, we can say that Seohyun is probably the most-ambitious out of all the members of Girls’ Generation if she’s pursuing a solo career in music and acting. It is possible to juggle both at the same time, but given her responsibilities as the maknae in Girls’ Generation, as well as its sub-unit Girls’ Generation-TTS, Seohyun is going to have a lot on her plate. Let’s just hope that Seohyun’s pursuit of more solo endeavors, as well as the other members of Girls’ Generation doing the same, is not a precursor of them disbanding anytime soon.
K-pop fans, especially Sones, know one day it will happen, but many have expressed they are not ready for it just yet. This will especially be bad if such were announced this year which already has a track record of K-pop groups losing members (Rania, 2NE1, B2ST) or disbanding (Kara, 4minute).
[AP Photo/Lee Jin-man]