Pop Life Is Tough Work, Say Wonder Girls

The girls looked tired in their short skirts. “We sing seven or eight times after finishing school every day,” says one of the Wonder Girls, somehow managing a bright smile. The five Wonder Girls — Sun-mi, Sun-ye, Ye-eun, Yoo-bin and So-hee — were wearing heavy makeup and their individually unique, funky outfits. “We really feel our popularity when 30-year-old guys ask us for autographs. It’s amazing. It seems like people have been waiting for easy songs like ours.”

“People who were students in the 1980s say our retro-style song ‘Tell Me’ feels familiar. And teenagers like it because it sounds fresh. People think of us as a group rather than as individuals. I just really appreciate it when they recognize us,” says Sun-ye, the 18-year-old leader of the group.

“When we sang the song ‘Irony,’ some students were jealous of me,” says Sun-mi, 15. “But recently everybody likes the ‘Tell Me’ dance. There’s even another Wonder Girls group at school. Five students made up a group and dance to ‘Tell Me.’ They even asked me to teach them the dance.”

The Wonder Girls enjoy watching UCC (user created content) in their free time. “I was impressed by a video from a group of soldiers who danced to ‘Tell Me’ in their uniforms,” says Ye-eun, 18. “They rolled up their pants like hot pants. They were pretty good dancers, but the video was hilarious.”

Each of the members has been through a long period of training. “My dream was to become a singer. Of course there were tough times, but I had confidence in myself that I could do well,” says Sun-ye, who spent seven years preparing for her debut. “I got frustrated sometimes during my two-year training period,” says 19-year-old Yu-bin with a smile. “But two years seems like nothing compared to Sun-ye’s seven years.”

The Wonder Girls say they were stunned by the outfits and choreography for “Tell Me” when they first saw them. “We didn’t like wearing the outfits. But once we shot the music video in them, it was fun,” says So-hee, 15. The music at the time was still new to them and it wasn’t easy to get the choreography right. “The choreography looks simple but it’s actually quite complex. Small repetitive motions with the hips, chin and shoulders — it makes a strong image,” said the Wonder Girls. (taken from englishnews@chosun.com)

Comment
I didn’t quite like the song when I first saw them on Music Bank performing it, their outfits were kind of weird too. But after their special stage with Big Bang on Music Bank and repeated listens, I have grown to like this song. Granted I still can’t fix their names to their faces, but I do like Sun-ye among them all.

Mentor/boss Park Jin Young cheoreographed their dance for them.

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