The tuy vậy not only catapulted Super Junior lớn stardom, but it revolutionized K-pop — & everyone from Seventeen to lớn NCT have covered it
By Alexis Hodoyan-Gastelum
On any given day, fans of K-pop groups rally on Twitter to get their faves noticed. Whether that’s trending hashtags to get them onto social truyền thông media charts or lớn win actual awards, you can’t escape their passionate presence on your timeline. And though social truyền thông has always been an integral part of K-pop fandom, it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that K-pop stan Twitter became a force to be reckoned with. K-pop groups regularly dominate Billboard’s social chart, & now even brands stan Loona. But in order lớn get to lớn that place in the digital space, a lot of ground had khổng lồ be broken, và it can be traced back to lớn exactly 10 years ago.
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In terms of Hallyu (Korean pop culture) history, 2009 was an iconic year. Some would even argue it was a more impactful era in terms of K-pop reaching audiences outside of Korea than 2012’s “Gangnam Style.” According khổng lồ an unpublished survey collected by Korea Creative content Agency USA in 2014, the majority of K-pop fans in the States (39.5 percent) started consuming K-pop earlier than 2009, as opposed khổng lồ 26.8 percent between 2012 & 2013. PSY might have turned himself into a viral phenomenon, but 2009 was a launch pad for a lot of what K-pop is today.
2009 is distinguished by K-pop classics like Girls’ Generation’s “Gee” and Brown Eyed Girls’ “Abracadabra,” as well as the debuts of staple groups like 2NE1 & f(x). The Wonder Girls became the first Korean act to break onto Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart with an English-language version of their 2008 hit “Nobody," released just a day before they joined the Jonas Brothers on tour in the U.S. Similarly, Hallyu legend BoA’s self-titled U.S. Release appeared on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
The Wonder Girls attend the Teen Choice Awards in 2009
The year also marked a pivotal time in the internet age, which helped the globalization of Korean music. By 2009, YouTube và social truyền thông media platforms had already started making K-pop content like music videos and choreography videos more accessible lớn consumers. This accelerated the spread of information — and dance crazes — khổng lồ the world. One of the first male acts lớn set off a dance craze on social media was veteran K-pop group Super Junior with their 2009 mega hit “Sorry, Sorry.”
Released first as a digital single and soon followed by an album of the same name & the music clip on March 12, "Sorry, Sorry" not only catapulted Super Junior lớn Hallyu stardom, but it revolutionized K-pop itself.
Right from the start, the tuy nhiên says what it’s all about: dance. Packed with a repetitive chorus, chant-like hooks, and auto-tuned vocals, “Sorry, Sorry” utilized the pop formula of the day lớn perfection và delivered an earworm. The album debuted at No. 1 on one of South Korea’s most important music charts, and the song topped the charts too. It also reached No. 1 in other countries like Taiwan và Thailand, and it landed in the vị trí cao nhất 10 in the Philippines. In Taiwan, “Sorry, Sorry” spent 36 consecutive weeks at No. 1. For a lot of older K-pop fans, "Sorry, Sorry" was an entry point, thanks to the countless flash mobs — a very 2009 trend — và dance covers uploaded online from Malaysia khổng lồ Indonesia lớn even a prison in the Philippines.
Sorry, Sorry signaled Super Junior’s coming of age, not only sound-wise, but conceptually. Their sleeker, more sophisticated neutral màu sắc palette showed a more mature side lớn the SM Entertainment group, who made their debut in 2005. They shifted away from the visual kei-inspired concept of previous songs lượt thích “Don’t Don” & “U” — a major trend at the time — and instead embraced an aesthetic that would inspire the next decade of K-pop. The focus on the choreography highlighted Super Junior’s strengths in numbers, which helped popularize the idea of larger-sized male groups (think ZE:A, SEVENTEEN, & The Boyz). Not khổng lồ mention, the virality of a point dance had been something representative of girl groups at the time, but after “Sorry, Sorry,” male groups lượt thích SHINee (“Ring Ding Dong”) và 2PM (“Again and Again”) followed suit.
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And Super Junior were pioneers in other ways as well. They were the first K-pop group to lớn feature a Chinese national in its ranks, & though he constantly ran into setbacks for being a foreigner & eventually left the group, Hankyung (who now goes by his Chinese name Han Geng) opened doors for all non-Koreans in the idol industry today.
Super Junior attend the 20th Golden Melody Awards in Taipei in June 2009
Following the steps of their labelmate BoA, who single-handedly opened a path for K-pop in Japan, Super Junior spearheaded K-pop in the Chinese market. They dedicated a specific sub-unit, Super Junior-M, to actively promote in đài loan trung quốc and sing in Mandarin, adding Zhou Mi & Henry (both ethnically Chinese) lớn their ranks. Thanks to lớn hits lượt thích “Sorry, Sorry” và follow ups lượt thích “Bonamana” & “Mr. Simple,” Super Junior dominated the Asian market & even made strides of their own in the West. The group was the first Korean act khổng lồ win a Teen Choice Award in 2015 for Choice International Artist, and their fans, known as ELF, also won the fandom award. But perhaps more importantly, just last year on their 13th year as a group, Super Junior once again proved they are trailblazers in the global music industry by collaborating with Latinx artists Leslie Grace & Play-N-Skillz on the English-Spanish-Korean banger “Lo Siento” — và with Reik on “Otra Vez” — becoming the first Korean act khổng lồ enter Latin Billboard charts twice.
Due to mandatory military enlistments, departures, & other issues, Super Junior’s lineup has been changing for the better part of a decade. The act’s current active members are Leeteuk (real name Park Jeong-su), Kim Heechul, Yesung (Kim Jong-woon), Shindong (Shin Dong-hee), Eunhyuk (Lee Hyuk-jae), Lee Donghae, Choi Siwon, và Kim Ryeowook. Once mang đến Kyuhyun wraps up his service in May, Super Junior will have a fixed lineup active for the first time in 10 years.
Nowadays, "Sorry, Sorry" is almost lượt thích a rite of passage for newer groups, with everyone from EXO to SEVENTEEN lớn NCT, và even BTS, GFRIEND, & TWICE — together with Leeteuk, who"s become a favorite on Korean variety shows — covering it. The tuy vậy is also a frequent pick on competition shows like Produce 101, where all but two members of the winning “Sorry, Sorry” team ended up debuting in the popular temporary group Wanna One.
To celebrate 10 years of Sorry, Sorry và its lasting impact on K-pop today, let’s take a look at some of the standout tracks that made that album so iconic.
