Wonder Girls () were a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group debuted in February 2007 with the single "Irony" and 5 members: Yeeun, Sunye, Sunmi, Hyuna, and Sohee. After Hyuna's departure in July, Yubin was added into the group prior to the release of their debut studio album, The Wonder Years (2007). The album spawned the hit single "Tell Me", which topped various South Korean music charts.
Wonder Girls further established themselves as one of the top girl groups in the country with the hit singles "So Hot" and "Nobody", released in 2008. After being released as a single in the U.S. in 2009, "Nobody" charted at No. 76 on the Billboard Hot 100, making Wonder Girls the first South Korean act to enter the chart. The group began their entry into the American market the same year as an opening act for the Jonas Brothers' World Tour, performing English versions of their songs.
In early 2010, Sunmi left the group to pursue an academic career and was replaced by Hyerim prior to the worldwide release of the single "2 Different Tears" later that year. Their second studio album, Wonder World (2011), yielded the hit single "Be My Baby". In 2012, Wonder Girls starred in the TeenNick movie The Wonder Girls, and released their last 3 singles as a quintet, notably "Like This" and "Like Money", before going on a 3-year long hiatus. In 2015, it was announced that Sunye and Sohee decided to leave the group while Sunmi would resume promotion with the remaining members. The 4-piece adapted a band-oriented concept for their acclaimed third and final studio album, Reboot (2015), and the No. 1 2016 single "Why So Lonely".
Wonder Girls are also known as "South Korea's Retro Queens", as their music has been noted to contain elements from the 1960s through 80s. In 2017, Billboard ranked Wonder Girls at number 3 on their "Top 10 K-pop Girl Groups of the Past Decade" list. The group officially disbanded on January 26, 2017, after unsuccessful contract renewal negotiation with some of its members. On February 10, 2017, they released their final single "Draw Me", which also served as a celebration of their 10th anniversary.
History
2006–07: MTV Wonder Girls, debut and line-up changes
After Park Jin-young revealed the name of his first girl group Wonder Girls in May 2006, the Wonder Girls were introduced through a TV show titled MTV Wonder Girls. The first four episodes outlined the characteristics and profiles of each member. Shortly after selecting Yeeun as the fifth member, the Wonder Girls held their first showcase in the MTV Studio. They performed a cover version of "Don't Cha" by the Pussycat Dolls as well as original songs, including "Irony" and "It's Not Love". Sunye sang Destiny's Child's "Stand Up for Love", while Hyuna performed a showcase of her dancing skills. The other three members—Yeeun, Sunmi, and Sohee—performed a cover version of Janet Jackson's "Together Again".
The Wonder Girls officially debuted in early 2007 on MBC's Show! Music Core, performing "Irony", the hip-hop single from their debut EP, The Wonder Begins. The album sold 11,454 physical copies in 2007. Shortly after, "Wonderfuls", the official Wonder Girls fanclub, was established. The group held several showcases in China after receiving Chinese lessons. In mid-2007, however, members of the Wonder Girls were beset by various injuries and health problems. On June 25, Sohee was sidelined for a month after tearing a knee ligament in a fall from a running motorcycle during the filming of the movie I Like It Hot.
The remaining four members continued performing until late July, when Hyuna withdrew from the group due to her problems with chronic gastroenteritis and fainting spells.Yang, Jeff. ASIAN POP: Next stop, Wonderland . San Francisco Chronicle. April 9, 2008. Retrieved March 2, 2009. In August 2007, the talent agency Good Entertainment sent their trainee Yubin to JYP Entertainment as a replacement for Hyuna. She made her debut three days later in the group's live performance of "Tell Me" on Music Bank.
Their first full-length album, The Wonder Years, was released the following week with "Tell Me" as the lead single. Due to the last-minute addition of Yubin, the album version does not contain her part. However, the performance version of the song was reworked to include a bridge with rapping by Yubin. The single was a hit and reached number one on various Korean television and internet music charts, including KBS's Music Bank. The song also became a number one hit in Thailand. The choreography for the song was simple and widely imitated: by October, many fan performances of the dance circulated on video sharing sites such as YouTube and Daum, including one by a group of policemen who were eventually profiled on SBS's Star King. The dance's popularity it received became widely known as the "Tell Me Virus". The Wonder Girls had an extensive promotional schedule for their album, and in late 2007 they began performing their second single, "이 바보" ("This Fool"). MTV also began broadcasting The Wonder Life, a reality TV series starring the girls.
2008: Breakthrough In February 2008, the Wonder Girls joined their producer Park Jin-young for his month-long concert tour through Korea and the United States as special guests, where they filmed the music video for "Wishing on a Star" while in New York. "So Hot" was released on May 22, 2008. The song topped online charts soon after. In mid-2008, they performed on MBC's Show! Music Core, performing "So Hot" and "This Time". Due to a vocal cord injury, Yubin temporarily lip-synced her parts under doctor's orders.
On September 22, 2008, the group released the single "Nobody". They performed the following weekend on Show! Music Core, Music Bank and Inkigayo. The song went to No. 1 on KBS' Music Bank, staying there for four consecutive weeks,원더걸스 JYP 선배 비 제치고 뮤직뱅크 1위 등극 . Newsen/Joins.com. October 24, 2008. Retrieved November 6, 2008. and also won Cyworld's "Song of the Month" award in September and October 2008.원더걸스 2달 연속 싸이월드 어워드 수상 '총5회 빅뱅과 동률' . Newsen/Joins.com. November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 6, 2008. Like "Tell Me", "Nobody" also sparked a dance craze.Nobody sparks dance craze . The Straits Times. May 17, 2009. Retrieved June 13, 2009.
At the 2008 Mnet KM Music Festival Awards, the Wonder Girls received three awards: the "Song of the Year" award, "Best Music Video" for "Nobody" and "Best Female Group". The group also won an award at the 2008 Golden Disk Awards for high digital sales. At the 18th Seoul Music Awards, the Wonder Girls won the Daesang ("Artist of the Year" award), the highest award offered, for "Nobody", in addition to two other awards. In October 2008, the Wonder Girls were signed by the Creative Artists Agency (CAA). By the end of 2008, they had earned ₩12 billion ($9 million US) as a group.원더걸스 `돈방석` 올 120억 벌었다 (Wonder Girls "Cash Cow", Have Earned 120 Billion) . HanKyung.com. November 4, 2008. Retrieved November 6, 2008.
2009–10: Focus on international activities, touring and line-up changes
The Wonder Girls tour began on February 28, 2009, in Bangkok, Thailand. Along with their mentor, JYP, they held concerts throughout the United States. The group then returned to South Korea, holding concerts in late March in Seoul and Busan.Wonder Girls Pull Off First Concert With Success. The Korea Times. March 29, 2009. Retrieved April 9, 2009. This tour was documented in the M.net reality show Welcome to Wonderland. Following the tour, the Wonder Girls debuted a music video for "Now", a cover of the Fin.K.L single.
In March 2009, the Wonder Girls confirmed that the group would launch in an English-language music career in the United States with the official release of an English version of "Nobody" in summer 2009.Wonder Girls on MySpace . Retrieved March 2, 2009. It was later announced that the release would be followed by an English version of "Tell Me", and that an English album would be forthcoming.Wondergirls to Make US Debut. The Korea Times. June 6, 2009. June 13, 2009. In June 2009, JYP Entertainment announced that the Wonder Girls would be joining the Jonas Brothers on the North American leg of the Jonas Brothers World Tour 2009. Kim, Hyeong-wu. 원더걸스 미국 데뷔 성공 가능성 얼마나 될까 (What are the Wonder Girls' Chances of Succeeding in American Debut?). Joins.com/Newsen. June 5, 2009. Retrieved June 5, 2009. The Wonder Girls were initially signed on for 13 concert dates across the US, but they eventually joined the Jonas Brothers for a total of 45 concert dates.Newsdesk. "Wonder Girls Make Waves in the US as Opening Act for Jonas Brothers' Tour" . MTV Asia. July 24, 2009. Retrieved August 23, 2009. In order to concentrate on their American debut, Sohee and Sunmi dropped out of high school. Jin, Hyang-hee. . Maeil Kyeongjae. June 14, 2009. Retrieved June 14, 2009.Han, Sang-hee. "Two Members of Wonder Girls Quit School for US Debut". The Korea Times. June 15, 2009. Retrieved June 18, 2009. The English version of "Nobody" was released on June 26, 2009, the day before the start of their tour with the Jonas Brothers. "Nobody" entered the Billboard Hot 100 in October 2009, making them the first Korean group to enter the chart. "Nobody" became the best-selling physical single in the United States in 2009. The song also topped the Taiwan and Hong Kong music charts.
On January 22, 2010, JYP announced that Sunmi would be postponing her musical career to pursue an academic career and that Hyerim, a JYP trainee, would take her place.Wonder Girls World. wondergirlsworld.com (January 22, 2010). 선미, 원더걸스 탈퇴 왜? "Why Did Sunmi eave Wonder Girls?'". JoongAng Ilbo. January 23, 2010. Retrieved January 22, 2010. Sunmi continued as a participating member of the group through February. Sunmi's departure put many of the group's American plans into disarray. The Wonder Girls had been preparing an English album, with six tracks to consist of English versions of Korean singles and the other half of brand new material, initially scheduled for release in February 2010.Bell, Crystal. "Breaking & Entering: The Wonder Girls" . Billboard. November 20, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2009. They were also planning to begin a headlining tour in January 2010; however, due to Sunmi's departure, plans for the tour were delayed and the album was eventually scrapped."Wonder Girls cancel tour after Sun Mi announces departure" . JoongAng Daily. February 4, 2010. Retrieved February 6, 2010.
On April 5, 2010, the Wonder Girls announced a 20-show tour of the US and Canada in conjunction with Live Nation, "The Wonder World Tour", which included label mates 2PM for nine dates.Wonder Girls World. wondergirlsworld.com (April 5, 2010). The tour consisted of a combination of the English and Korean versions of their songs alongside covers of popular English-language songs. The first leg of the tour began in Washington, D.C., on June 4, 2010. The tour was eventually extended to add an additional leg in which label mates 2AM opened for the group during several dates.