On May 17, 2022, SM Entertainment announced that Girls' Generation would be returning for their fifteenth anniversary with a new album in August, ending their five-year hiatus.

[1] On July 4, member Sooyoung teased on tvN's Take Care of Me This Week that the group would be releasing their seventh studio album.

[2] On July 24, SM Entertainment announced that the group would be releasing their seventh studio album, titled Forever 1, on August 8.

The lead single "Forever 1" was described as dance-pop song with "energetic melody" and "exciting festival-like atmosphere" with lyrics about "eternal love for precious people who give strength anytime and anywhere".

[11] The fourth track "Villain" was described as a dance song with "heavy bass and drum beat", with lyrics written by Tiffany and Sooyoung and the former also participating the composition.

[12] The ninth track, "Freedom", is a "dreamy" synth-pop song with "rich harmony" and lyrics "about discovering who you really are and feeling free when you are with the person you love".

In a four-star review, Tanu I. Raj of NME described Forever 1 as "a revisit of their classic sounds and songs that were recast into a more modern, mature image, creating a charming medley of the past and the present".

[27] Joshua Minsoo Kim of Pitchfork praised the album for being a "concise record" and named it among Girls' Generation's best due to the group's "lack of musical identity compared to their juniors, making them as versatile as ever".