The Wonder Girls, a five-member, all-girl band from South Korea, took the hit reality show “So You Think You Can Dance” by storm last night (Dec. 9) and may well launch the Korean invasion of U.S. pop music.
The oldest Yubin , 21, joined band in late-2007. Sunye (Sun), the leader of the group, and Ye-eun (Yenny) are 20 years old. At 17, Sunmi (Mimi) and Ahn So-Hee are the youngest members.
Kim Hyun-Ah left the group because of health problems in mid-2007 and was replaced by Yubin, making her the newest member. Hyun-Ah joined another girl-group, 4Minute, this year.
The band’s performance on last night’s show gave them their first exposure before a major U.S. audience, but they have already caught the attention of the music industry, including Dave Stewart, formerly of The Eurythmics.
Stewart is producing their first album, set for release in February. The group is also planning to launch a headlining U.S. tour in January.
The Wonder Girls became the first Korean singers to ever enter the U.S. singles charts in October, landing at 76 on Top-100 singles charts with virtually no promotion.
They performed the hit “Nobody,” with Kris Allen, the season eight “American Idol’ winner. Allen also performed his newest single “Live Like We’re Dying.”
The girls are already major pop stars on the Korean peninsula and were introduced as a “pop sensation” on the Fox program’s Web site.
“They are the striking chord with a young U.S. audience,” their producer and manager, singer-songwriter Park Jin-Young, said in a release.
The girls also have opened for the Jonas Brothers on the North American leg of the Jonas Brothers World Tour 2009 and have two No. 1 hits in Korea, “Tell Me” and “So Hot.”
The Wonder Girls appeal to young tween fans because of their cute and easy-to-follow dance moves and lyrics.
In a testament to their potential, the group has signed a management contract with the Jonas Group and Hollywood’s Creative Artists Agency (CAA) which will rep them in the United States.
Stewart announced his collaboration with the Wonder Girls on Twitter over the wekened along with a short demo of “Always Without Me,” which will be on the Girls’ new album.
The Eurythmics, which included Stewart and Annie Lennox, had a string of hits in the 1980s including “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” and “Here Comes the Rain Again.”