The catchy beat, easy-to-follow lyrics and S.E.S.'s schoolgirl image zoomed by other hit makers on the charts - including boy band sensations H.O.T. and Sechs Kies plus top vocalist Lim Chang Jung. The girls went on to release an extensive list of hits and sell a remarkable amount of records. Although the group disbanded in 2002, the trio's legacy continues today, with S.E.S. still labeled as Korea's best bubblegum novelty.
S.E.S. (Hangul: 에스.이.에스; initialism for Sea, Eugene, Shoo) was a South Korean girl group under the management of SM Entertainment. Lasting from 1997 to 2002, they were viewed as the female version of H.O.T., another SM group who also enjoyed phenomenal popularity during the same years. S.E.S. was K-pop's first highly successful girl group. They were challenged by groups like Fin.K.L and Baby V.O.X, which debuted soon after S.E.S. and were also successful. Through the years, the members went through various style and image changes. S.E.S. broke up at the end of 2002, and its members have gone solo to varying degrees of success. wikipedia.org
Their last major album, Choose My Life-U, was released in early spring of 2002. This was a continuation of their sophisticated theme, with the album booklet full of suggestive pictures of the girls. Their first single "U" was quite different, being very dance-intensive; the video showed the girls in dominant roles and positions, with Eugene even becoming a dominatrix for one scene. This song also did well and returned S.E.S. to the top of the charts. "Just A Feeling", their second single from this album, was an energetic dance track with an equally energetic video.
However, their promotional schedule for the song was limited and it was not performed as often as their other singles. "Feeling" became one of their few singles to not hit the top spot on the music show charts. Their last album as a group, Friend (their "5.5"th), was released at the end of the year. Their single was titled "Soul II Soul (S.II.S.)", which was a play on words (as the number 2 can be pronounced as "E" in Korean). The music video, though, was quite dark, as Bada is seen writing letters while crying, Eugene is cutting up bunnies in a room (suggesting mental instability), and Shoo is seen caressing a large ball of light on her bed. However, it did not create much controversy, because it was officially announced that S.E.S. was breaking up at the end of 2002.
Although Eugene was the first to leave, news reports stated that the girls had promised each other at the end of 2000 that they would break up in a couple of years, no matter what. The news did not increase sales of their last album: final numbers ended up being under the 100,000 mark.
