2009: Gee, Genie and rising popularity
On December 26, 2008, posters of the Girls' Generation members wearing roller-skates were posted up in various locations around Seoul. SM Entertainment's phone lines were blocked up by callers asking whether the posters were for sale and the company asked fans to stop taking the posters down for personal use.[11] On December 29, the group's management stated that the posters were indeed teaser posters and that the group would soon release their first EP, Gee, in January 2009.[12]
A teaser video was released in January 2009 and the first single "Gee" released soon after. "Gee" topped Cyworld's hourly music chart on the release day.[13] The song also went No.1 on all major digital music charts within two days.[14] The music video set a record on release, garnering 1 million views on GomTV in under a day.[15]
The group began its album promotion in January 2009 on MBC Music Core where they sang their new lead single "Gee" and the track "Himnae (Way To Go)", another song from their mini-album.[16] "Gee" went on to become a phenomenal hit, breaking the record for consecutive No.1 wins on Music Bank with 9 consecutive wins, as well as receiving a triple crown onSBS Inkigayo. The track also showed strength on other charts, topping the Mujikon, Melon and Mnet charts for 8 consecutive weeks, the Dosirak chart for 7 weeks, the Muse chart for 6 weeks and the Baksu chart for 4 weeks.[17][18]
After a short break, SM Entertainment announced that the group would be back with a new mini-album sporting a "Marine Girl" concept. The new single was to be titled "Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)" (소원을 말해봐 (Genie); literally, "Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)"); with the full mini-album being released digitally on June 22, 2009.[19][20] The group started their promotional activities on June 26, 2009, appearing on KBS Music Bank.[21] The performance was followed by follow-up comeback performances on MBC Music Core and SBS Inkigayo on June 27 and 28, 2009. The physical release of Genie was delayed by SM Entertainment in order to redo the album art, and was released 4 days later on June 29, 2009.[19]
The track proved to be a success as it conquered various music sites, including Melon, Dosirak, Mnet, and Bugs, and it was No.1 on the weekly charts and SKT ringtone weekly charts of the first week of July.[22] The mini-album sold an estimated 50,000+ copies in its first week after released (almost double the numbers from the first-week sales of Gee), an unusual feat for any Korean girl group.[23]
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