IN: Manic Street Preachers are a Welsh rock band, formed in 1986 in Blackwood, Caerphilly and consisting of James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar), Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics) and Sean Moore (drums, percussion, soundscapes). They are often colloquially known as the Manics. Following the release of their first single, "Suicide Alley", the band was joined by Richey Edwards as co-lyricist and rhythm guitarist. The band's early albums were in a punk vein, eventually broadening to a greater alternative rock sound, whilst retaining a leftist politicisation.

In late 2005, both Bradfield and Wire announced that they intended to release solo material prior to a new album by the band. A free download of Nicky Wire's debut solo offering I Killed the Zeitgeist was posted on the band's website for just one day, Christmas Day 2005, while "The Shining Path" was released exclusively on iTunes for download. In addition, a promotional album sampler had been sent out to the press and certain other people which included "I Killed the Zeitgeist", "Goodbye Suicide", "Sehnsucht", and "Everything Fades".  The album was officially released in September 2006. It charted at No. 130 in the UK. The sound of the album, which Nicky referred to as his "nihilistic anti-everything album", was inspired by, among others, Neu!, the Plastic Ono Band, Einsturzende Neubauten, the Modern Lovers, Richard Thompson and Lou Reed. Only one official single was released, "Break My Heart Slowly", which charted at No. 74. Nicky toured small intimate venues across the UK with his band the Secret Society.  Bradfield's solo album, The Great Western, was released in July 2006, to positive reviews from critics. It reached No. 22 in the UK. The sound of the album was inspired by, among others, Jeff Beck, Badfinger, Simple Minds and McCarthy. Two singles were released: "That's No Way to Tell a Lie" (No. 18) in July, which was also the background music to the BBC's Match of the Day's 'Goal of the Month' competition, and then "An English Gentleman" (No. 31) in September. The latter is in remembrance of the first Manics manager Philip Hall, to whom The Holy Bible had been dedicated. The initial pressings of the red 7" single were actually made with black vinyl, some of which were sent out to distributors by mistake. James toured the album with a band that included Wayne Murray, who would subsequently play second guitar for Manics live performances. James' solo gigs featured covers of the Clash songs "Clampdown" and "The Card Cheat", both from the album London Calling.  In a later interview, when the band were collectively asked what they had learned from making a solo album, Sean Moore dryly quipped "Not to do one".
QUESTION: What album did they release prior to their 2006 solo works?
IN: Girls' Generation (Hangul: sonyeosidae; RR: Sonyeo Sidae), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by S.M. Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piece group, Jessica later departed from the group in September 2014. Girls' Generation debuted in 2007 with their Korean eponymous debut album.

Prior to the group's debut, some of the members were already involved in the entertainment industry. Yoona had gone through about 200 auditions for music videos, dramas, and movies before becoming a singer for Girls' Generation. Sooyoung was exposed to the Japanese music scene as a member of a pop duo named Route th, which disbanded one year after its debut in 2002.  The first member of the group to join S.M. Entertainment's training system was Jessica in 2000, after she and her sister, Krystal Jung, were scouted in a mall in South Korea during a family vacation. That same year, members Sooyoung and Hyoyeon were cast into S.M.'s training system through the 2000 S.M. Open Audition, in which Hyoyeon danced for her audition. Yuri was the next Girls' Generation member to become an S.M. trainee after coming second in the 2001 S.M. Youth Best Dancer competition. Yoona was cast the following year through the 2002 S.M. Saturday Open Casting Audition, where she sang and danced to her favorite singers, BoA and Britney Spears. Seohyun, the group's youngest member, was scouted in the subway by an S.M. scout; she then auditioned in 2003, singing children's songs.  The group's leader, Taeyeon, was cast in 2004 after winning first place in the S.M. Youth Singing Competition. That same year, member Tiffany auditioned at S.M.'s Starlight Casting System in Los Angeles, and joined the company in October 2004. The final member of the group to be added was Sunny, who had become an S.M. trainee in 1998 and trained for five years before moving to another company, Starworld. At Starworld, she trained to debut in a duo named Sugar, which never debuted. In 2007, on the recommendation of Korean-Japanese singer IconiQ, Sunny moved back to S.M. Entertainment and became a member of Girls' Generation.  In July 2007, Girls' Generation had their first stage performance on Mnet's School of Rock, where the group performed their first single, "Into the New World" (dasi mannan segye; Dasi mannan segye). On August 5, 2007, the group officially made their debut on SBS's Inkigayo, where they performed the same song. Girls' Generation subsequently released their self-titled debut studio album in November 2007, which was preceded by the singles "Girls' Generation" (sonyeosidae; Sonyeo sidae)--a remake of Lee Seung-cheol's 1989 song, and "Kissing You". Girls' Generation became the twelfth best-selling album of 2007 in South Korea, selling 56,804 copies. The album has sold over 120,000 copies in the country as of 2009. In March 2008, the album was re-released under the title Baby Baby. The album was preceded by a single with the same name, which was released on digital music sites on March 17, 2008.
QUESTION:
How many singers were there?