S.E.S. (group)

S.E.S. (Hangul: 에스이에스; acronym for Sea, Eugene, Shoo) was a South Korean girl group formed in 1997 by SM Entertainment, featuring three members: Bada, Eugene, and Shoo. Their debut album I'm Your Girl sold 650,000 copies, becoming the third best-selling album by a female group in South Korea. Their follow-up albums, Sea & Eugene & Shoo in 1998, Love in 1999 and A Letter from Greenland in 2000 also became best-sellers. Early in their career, they were dubbed as the female counterpart of H.O.T., who were also their labelmates. S.E.S. were challenged by groups like Fin.K.L, Jewelry and Baby V.O.X, which debuted around the same time and were also largely successful. The group officially disbanded in December 2002, after unsuccessful contract renewal negotiations with Bada and Eugene while Shoo maintained her career with SM until 2006. They released the compilation album Beautiful Songs in mid-2003 as their final release. In October 2016, the group's members were confirmed to form a reunion in order to celebrate their debut's 20th anniversary. SM later confirmed that the group would return with an album and a concert. In November 2016, the group's released the buzz single "Love [story]" under SM's music project SM Station as a part of their 20th anniversary project, which would later include a concert, an album and a reality program. Their 20th anniversary special album Remember was released on January 2, 2017, with double title tracks "Remember" and "Paradise". Their official biography video states that Bada was the first one to be discovered, when Lee Soo-man saw her singing at her performing arts school in 1996. Taken by her voice, he quickly offered her a recording contract. Eugene, on the other hand, was not cast in person. Instead, she sent in a video from Guam, where she was living at the time, showcasing her bubbly personality. It reached SM executives, who agreed that she could be a star. The last member to be cast was Shoo, who was the only one to go through a "real" audition process.