S.E.S. (band)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

S.E.S. (
Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...
: 에스이에스; acronym for Sea, Eugene, Shoo) was a South Korean
girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...
formed in 1997 by
SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company ha ...
, featuring three members:
Bada Bada (stylized as bada; Korean: ) is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Samsung Electronics for devices such as mid- to high-end smartphones and tablet computers. The name is derived from " (bada)", meaning "ocean" or "sea" in ...
, Eugene, and Shoo. Their debut album '' I'm Your Girl'' sold 650,000 copies, becoming the third best-selling album by a female group in South Korea. Their follow-up albums, '' Sea & Eugene & Shoo'' in 1998, ''
Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...
'' in 1999 and ''
A Letter from Greenland ''A Letter from Greenland'', stylised as ''A letter from Greenland'', is the fourth studio album by S.E.S., released on December 30, 2000, by S.M. Entertainment and Avex Asia is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsu ...
'' in 2000 also became best-sellers. Early in their career, they were dubbed as the female counterpart of H.O.T., who were also their labelmates. S.E.S. were challenged by groups like
Fin.K.L Fin.K.L ( ko, 핑클) is a South Korean girl group formed by DSP Media in 1998 consisting of members Lee Hyori, Ock Joo-hyun, Lee Jin, and Sung Yu-ri. Fin.K.L was one of the most popular K-pop groups of the late 1990s and early 2000s, alongs ...
,
Jewelry Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western ...
and
Baby V.O.X Baby V.O.X ( ko, 베이비복스) was a South Korean K-pop group formed in 1997, whose final and best-known line-up consisted of Kim E-Z, Lee Hee-jin, Kan Mi-youn, Shim Eun-jin, and Yoon Eun-hye. They are considered one of the most promin ...
, which debuted around the same time and were also largely successful. The group officially disbanded in December 2002, after unsuccessful contract renewal negotiations with Bada and Eugene while Shoo maintained her career with SM until 2006. They released the
compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
'' Beautiful Songs'' in mid-2003 as their final release. In October 2016, the group's members were confirmed to form a reunion in order to celebrate their debut's 20th anniversary. SM later confirmed that the group would return with an album and a concert. In November 2016, the group's released the
buzz single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...
"Love
tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
under SM's music project
SM Station SM Station is a digital music project by South Korean record label SM Entertainment. It undertook to release one digital single every Friday starting from February 3, 2016. The project's first season ended on February 3, 2017, with 52 songs. Its ...
as a part of their 20th anniversary project, which would later include a concert, an album and a reality program. Their 20th anniversary special album ''
Remember Remember may refer to: Film and television * ''Remember?'', a 1939 film starring Robert Taylor and Greer Garson * ''Remember'' (1926 film), an American silent drama film * ''Remember'' (2015 film), a Canadian film by Atom Egoyan, starring Chris ...
'' was released on January 2, 2017, with double title tracks "Remember" and "Paradise".


History


1996–1997: Formation

Their official biography video states that Bada was the first one to be discovered, when
Lee Soo-man Lee Soo-man (, born 18 June 1952) is a South Korean business executive and record producer who is best known for being the founder of SM Entertainment, a multinational South Korean entertainment company based in Seoul. He has also been referred ...
saw her singing at her performing arts school in 1996. Taken by her voice, he quickly offered her a recording contract. Eugene, on the other hand, was not cast in person. Instead, she sent in a video from
Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
, where she was living at the time, showcasing her bubbly personality. It reached SM executives, who agreed that she could be a star. The last member to be cast was Shoo, who was the only one to go through a "real" audition process. They quickly began training, going through voice, dance, and interview lessons.


1997–1998: Debut and ''Sea & Eugene & Shoo''

They released their first album, '' I'm Your Girl'' and had their public debut on November 28, 1997. Their image at the time was very innocent, with their discography consisting mostly of love songs. In much of their promotional work, including an appearance on Lee Sora's "Propose" show, they displayed their multiple abilities: Eugene demonstrated her piano playing, while Bada and Shoo sung together. Eventually, the singles " I'm Your Girl" (which had future
Shinhwa Shinhwa () is a South Korean six-member boy band based in Seoul, composed of Eric Mun, Lee Min-woo, Kim Dong-wan, Shin Hye-sung, Jun Jin, and Andy Lee. Launched by SM Entertainment on March 24, 1998, the group signed with Good Entertainment in ...
members
Eric Mun Eric Mun (born Mun Jung-hyuk on February 16, 1979) is a South Korean rapper, songwriter and actor. He is a member and leader of the South Korean boy band Shinhwa. He is also well known for several dramas such as '' Phoenix'' (2004), ''Super R ...
and Andy Lee rapping in the introduction) and "Oh, My Love!" became huge hits for S.E.S., and they quickly became one of the top-selling groups in
K-Pop K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, gos ...
. Their second album, '' Sea & Eugene & Shoo'', was released in 1998. The single " Dreams Come True", a cover of Finnish group
Nylon Beat Nylon Beat was a Finnish girl group consisting of Jonna Kosonen and Erin Koivisto (later known as Erin during her solo career). Their main period of popularity was during the late 1990s and early 2000s. History The band was formed in 1995 as ...
's "" ("Like a Fool"), became a hit along with "너를 사랑해 (I Love You)". Eventually, the album sold over 650,000 copies. ''Meguriau Sekai'', a Japanese album, was released in the same year. In between their Korean albums, S.E.S. continued to release Japanese singles and albums, but those were never as widely received as their Korean works.


1999–2000: ''Love'' and rising popularity

At the end of 1999, their third album ''Love'' was released. It became their best-selling album, with over 762,000 copies sold. The title song from the album, "Love", a
mid-tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...
pop song, also became a success for the trio. The music video that accompanied the track was filmed in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and cost over US$1,000,000, an amount considered large for a music video at that time. The band's dark concept was later dropped at the end of their promotional schedule, and all three members reverted to a simpler image; the dance for "Twilight Zone" was subsequently changed as well. Promotional activities resumed at the end of January 2000.


2000: ''A Letter From Greenland''

In December 2000, S.E.S.'s fourth album, ''
A Letter From Greenland ''A Letter from Greenland'', stylised as ''A letter from Greenland'', is the fourth studio album by S.E.S., released on December 30, 2000, by S.M. Entertainment and Avex Asia is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsu ...
'' was released. "감싸 안으며 (Show Me Your Love)" was the first single from the album. A cover of
j-pop J-pop ( ja, ジェイポップ, ''jeipoppu''; often stylized as J-POP; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively also known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1 ...
star
Misia Misaki Itō, commonly known as and stylized as MISIA, is a Japanese singer and songwriter. Born in Nagasaki, Misia moved to Fukuoka at the age of 14 to pursue a recording career. There, she continued her secondary education and briefly attended ...
's "Tsutsumi Komu Youni...", the song was a slow, ballad influenced by
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
. This single and album continued S.E.S.'s winning streak, helping to cement their status as K-pop's top group at the time. The second single, "Be Natural", also did fairly well, even though under-promoted in comparison to the first.


2001: ''Surprise''

In the summer of 2001, a special album was released (receiving the ".5" label). Called ''Surprise'', their 4.5th album was a collection of their Japanese songs re-recorded in Korean (with new instrumentals). The first single, "꿈을 모아서 (Just In Love)", brought S.E.S. back to a happy, poppy theme, although they avoided the cutesy images from their debut. The video was filmed in
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
, and it matched the sunny theme of the song. The track was successful, and counted with heavy promotion. Promotions, however, were cut short after member Bada collapsed from exhaustion during a performance on one of Korea's major music shows. Because of that, their other singles from the album were released without newly filmed music videos, with them being compilation or montage videos instead. The album underperformed compared to the group's previous works, although it still managed to sell more than 350,000 copies.


2002: ''Choose My Life-U'' and ''Friend''

Their major comeback album, '' Choose My Life-U'' was released in early spring of 2002. This was a continuation of their sophisticated theme, with the album booklet full of suggestive pictures of the girls. Their first single "U" was quite different, being very dance-intensive; the video showed the girls in dominant roles and positions, with Eugene even becoming a
dominatrix A dominatrix (; ) or femdom is a woman who takes the dominant role in BDSM activities. A dominatrix can be of any sexual orientation, but this does not necessarily limit the genders of her submissive partners. Dominatrices are known for inflic ...
for one scene. This song also did well and returned S.E.S. to the top of the charts. "Just A Feeling", their second single from this album, was an energetic dance track with an equally energetic video. However, their promotional schedule for the song was limited and it was not performed as often as their other singles. "Feeling" became one of their few singles to not hit the top spot on the music show charts. Their comeback album ''Friend'' (their "5.5"th), was released at the end of the same year. The main single was titled "Soul II Soul (S.II.S.)", which was a play on words (as the number 2 can be pronounced as "E" in Korean). In the dark-themed music video, Bada is seen writing letters while crying, Eugene is cutting up bunnies in a room (suggesting mental instability), and Shoo is seen caressing a large ball of light on her bed. The song was never performed on television.


2003–2015: Post-disbandment activities and reunions

After releasing the
compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
'' Beautiful Songs'', members followed solo careers in
music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
and
acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...
. In 2007, the group celebrate their 10th anniversary, and in 2008, they appeared as a group on the South Korean show ''
Happy Sunday ''Happy Sunday'' ( ko, 해피 선데이) is a Korean reality-variety show shown on the KBS2 network, which competes directly against MBC's '' Sunday Night'' and SBS's '' Good Sunday'' line-up. Although it has been broadcast since 2003, its line ...
''. In October 2009, they made another appearance together on the show ''Come To Play''. In 2014, their song "Be Natural" was remade by their labelmate girl group Red Velvet, which at the time consisted of 4 members. The track served as their second official single. Also in that year, members Bada and Shoo appeared as guests on the show ''
Infinite Challenge ''Infinite Challenge'' (; abbreviated as ''Mudo'') is a South Korean television entertainment program, distributed and syndicated by MBC, that ran from 2005 to 2018. As of January 2013, it had the largest market share for its timeslot; with ...
'', as a part of their 1990s-themed special ''Saturday, Saturday, I Am A Singer''. At the occasion, Eugene was absent due to pregnancy and was represented by
Girls' Generation Girls' Generation (), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piece ensembl ...
member
Seohyun Seo Ju-hyun (; born June 28, 1991), known professionally as Seohyun, is a South Korean singer, actress and songwriter. She debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation (and later its subgroup Girls' Generation-TTS) in August 2007, which ...
.


2016–2017: 20th anniversary project

On May 28, 2016, S.E.S attended the charity event Green Heart Bazaar. A few months later, on October, it was announced that S.E.S. would make an official comeback to the music scene in 2016, almost 20 years since the release of their debut album. On November 23, the group's schedule was revealed by their
record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
, with the official announcement of a special celebrative album. On November 23, the group's comeback project ''#Remember'' was revealed, detailing S.E.S.'s upcoming releases. On November 28, S.E.S. released the song "Love
tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
, a remake of their 1997 song "I'm Your Girl" and 1999 song "Love", through the
SM Station SM Station is a digital music project by South Korean record label SM Entertainment. It undertook to release one digital single every Friday starting from February 3, 2016. The project's first season ended on February 3, 2017, with 52 songs. Its ...
project. Its music video was released on December 29. Starting from December 5, the group starred in the ten episode reality show ''Remember, I'm Your S.E.S.'', broadcast through mobile app Oksusu. They also held a two-day concert "Remember The Day", on December 30 and 31 at
Sejong University Sejong University (SJU; ) is a private university located in Seoul, South Korea known for its standing in hospitality and tourism management, dancing, animation and rhythmic gymnastics. Founded as the Kyung Sung Humanities Institute, it was rename ...
's Daeyang Hall in
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
. On December 17, 2016, S.E.S. performed on ''
You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook ''You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook'' () is a South Korean talk show and live music television program airing from April 24 2009 until July 22nd 2022. It was hosted by You Hee-yeol, also known as his one-man band, Toy. The program has aired since April ...
''. On December 27, it was announced that S.E.S.'s new album would be titled ''
Remember Remember may refer to: Film and television * ''Remember?'', a 1939 film starring Robert Taylor and Greer Garson * ''Remember'' (1926 film), an American silent drama film * ''Remember'' (2015 film), a Canadian film by Atom Egoyan, starring Chris ...
'', and would contain two main singles. Two days later, previews for the music videos of main singles "Remember" and "Paradise" were released alongside the full music video of "Love
tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
. The first single "Remember" was officially released prior to the album on January 1, with its music video; the second single "Paradise" was released on January 2, also with its music video, alongside the full album. On March 1, they held a fanmeet called "I Will Be There, Waiting For You".


Discography

Korean albums * '' I'm Your Girl'' (1997) * '' Sea & Eugene & Shoo'' (1998) * ''
Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...
'' (1999) * ''
A Letter from Greenland ''A Letter from Greenland'', stylised as ''A letter from Greenland'', is the fourth studio album by S.E.S., released on December 30, 2000, by S.M. Entertainment and Avex Asia is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsu ...
'' (2000) * '' Choose My Life-U'' (2002) * ''
Remember Remember may refer to: Film and television * ''Remember?'', a 1939 film starring Robert Taylor and Greer Garson * ''Remember'' (1926 film), an American silent drama film * ''Remember'' (2015 film), a Canadian film by Atom Egoyan, starring Chris ...
'' (2017) Japanese albums * '' Reach Out'' (1999) * '' Be Ever Wonderful'' (2000)


Concerts

* A Sweet Kiss from The World of Dream (2000) * Remember, the Day (2016)


Awards and nominations


Listicles


See also

*
List of best-selling girl groups A girl group is a popular music act featuring several female singers who generally harmony, harmonize together. Girl groups have been popular at least since the heyday of the The Boswell Sisters, Boswell Sisters beginning in the 1930s, but the t ...


References


External links


Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:S.E.S. 1997 establishments in South Korea 2002 disestablishments in South Korea 2016 establishments in South Korea 2017 disestablishments in South Korea Japanese pop music groups J-pop music groups K-pop music groups MAMA Award winners Musical groups disestablished in 2002 Musical groups disestablished in 2017 Musical groups established in 1997 SM Entertainment artists SM Town South Korean contemporary R&B musical groups South Korean dance music groups South Korean expatriates in Japan South Korean girl groups