Girls' Generation favorite pop group of 2009: poll

By Tony Chang
SEOUL, Dec. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korean female pop group Girls' Generation ranked
No. 1 in a Gallup survey of the nation's favorite singers released Wednesday.

In a recent survey of 2,919 people aged 13 to 59 conducted by Gallup Korea, 29.8
percent of respondents picked the nine-member band as their favorite pop artist
of the year, company officials said.
Girls' Generation, also referred to as SNSD, the acronym of the group's Korean
name "Sonyeo Shidae," debuted in 2007 under the SM Entertainment label and have
remained a dominant force on the Korean pop scene, churning out back-to-back hit
singles such as "Gee" and "Sowoneul Malhaebwa (Genie)" this year.
The group, whose members' ages range from 18-20, has enjoyed immense popularity
among males in their teens and 20s, 47 percent of whom gave favorable ratings in
the survey.
Big Bang, a five-member hip-hop boy band under the YG Entertainment label, took
second place, with endorsements from 21.1 percent of the respondents, trailed by
JYP Entertainment's all-boy group 2PM and Wonder Girls, which garnered 12.5
percent and 10.4 percent, respectively.
Girl's Generation also clinched the top two spots for favorite songs of the year,
with "Gee" and "Sowoneul Malhaebwa (Genie)" taking first and second place,
respectively. Son Dam-bi's "On A Saturday Night" came third, followed by 2PM's
"Again & Again."
"The top spots were all dominated by idol groups, given a large number of girl
groups and other idol acts storming the pop music scene this year," Gallup Korea
said.
odissy@yna.co.kr