T-ara (/tiˈɑːrə/; Korean: 티아라; Japanese: ティアラ; stylized as T-ARA,T♔ARA, or TΛRΛ) is a South Korean girl group that debuted in 2009 under Core Contents Media, now known as MBK Entertainment. Before their debut, there was a high level of interest in the group as they were called the "Super Rookies" and had been training for three years prior.[1]
Originally a five-member group composed of Jiae, Jiwon, Eunjung, Hyomin, and Jiyeon, they released their first song "Good Person" (좋은 사람, Joheun Saram) for the soundtrack of the Korean drama Cinderella Man in April 2009. After Jiae and Jiwon withdrew from the group two months later, T-ara debuted as a six-member group with the addition of Boram, Soyeon, and Qri in July 2009,[2] releasing their first single "Lies" (거짓말, Geojitmal).
Their debut studio album Absolute First Album was released in December 2009 and spawned several hit singles including "TTL (Time to Love)", "Bo Peep Bo Peep", and "You Drive Me Crazy" (너 때문에 미쳐, Neo Ttaemune Michyeo). The album was followed by the group's first extended play, Temptastic, in 2010. Their second extended play John Travolta Wannabe (2011) produced "Roly-Poly", which was nominated for several awards and went on to become the Gaon chart's number one single of the year. In less than six months, the group released their third extended play Black Eyes (2011), which spawned three number one singles: "Cry Cry", "We Were in Love" (우리 사랑했잖아, Uri Saranghaetjanha) and "Lovey-Dovey". In 2011,
T-ara signed a $4.3 million contract with management company J-Rock for their Japanese debut, the highest out of all the Korean girl groups debuting in Japan.[3] The group's first single was a remake of their 2009 hit "Bo Peep Bo Peep". It ranked at number one on the Oricon weekly charts.
Kara (Hangul: 카라, Japanese: カラ, often stylized as KARA) was a South Korean pop girl group formed by DSP Media in 2007. The group's final line-up was composed of Park Gyuri, Han Seungyeon, Goo Hara and Heo Youngji. The group's name comes from the Greek word "chara" (χαρά, lit. "joy"), which they interpreted to mean "sweet melody".[1]
The group originally started off as a quartet and made their debut with "Break It" (2007) while displaying a strong female image and a mature R&B sound. Expectations for the group were big because they were considered as successors to their senior labelmate, Fin.K.L. They released their first studio album titled The First Blooming in March 2007. However, their debut was not well received by the public and was a commercial failure. The following year, Kim Sung-hee departed the group due to parental pressure, and members Goo Hara and Kang Jiyoung were brought in.[2] After their addition, the group also changed their musical style and their image to the "pretty but natural" appeal, releasing their first mini-album, Rock U in July 2008.[3] They achieved their first number one song with "Honey" (2009).[4] In July 2009, the group released their second studio album, Revolution and spawned the hit single "Mister", whose choreography featured the "butt-dance", that helped increase the group's popularity within East Asia.[5] Their follow-up singles including "Lupin" (2010), "Jumping" (2010), "Step" (2011), and "Pandora" (2012) were also successful and helped further establish the group within the Korean music industry. The group were ranked at No. 6 and No. 5 in Gallup Korea in 2009 and 2010 respectively, thus making them the second best girl group in Korea for 2010. They were also ranked at No. 4 and 13 in February 2012 and 2013's Forbes Korea Power Celebrity 40 list.[6]
After finding national success, the group began to expand their music to Japan by signing to Universal Music Japan's subsidiary label, Universal Sigma in 2010. The group's debut was a success as they were dubbed as "Japan's No. 1 Rookie Artist of 2010" by Oricon[7] and also receiving the "New Artist of the Year Award (International)" from the Japan Gold Disc Awards. In April 2011, the group achieved their first number one single in Japan with "Jet Coaster Love", making them the first foreign female group since the creation of the Oricon to rank number one in the first week of release and also the first foreign female group in thirty years to do so.[8] Overall, the group managed to sell over one million physical singles within two years, making them one of the fastest-selling South Korean acts in Japan.[9]
In 2014, Nicole Jung and Kang Jiyoung decided not to renew their contracts with DSP Media thus leaving the group to pursue their own endeavors; Nicole debuted as solo artist and Jiyoung became an actress in Japan. Following their departures, a reality show titled Kara Project was aired on TV to select members to join the group. Seven trainees from DSP Media took part in the program. The winner of the competition was Heo Youngji who became the latest member to join the group.
In 2016, DSP Media announced on January 15 that the contracts with Park Gyu-ri, Han Seung-yeon and Goo Ha-ra expired and they decided not to renew their contracts. With their departure from the label, the group was disbanded.[10]
E-girls is a 20-member, Japanese, collective girl group signed to record company Rhythm Zone and managed by LDH and Avex Trax. It features all the members of the groups Dream, Happiness, Flower, and three original members who debuted as part of the group. They are the sister unit of the Japanese boy-band, Exile. The group name stands for Exile Girls Unit and Girls Entertainment project.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmjDyCF87dE
Orange Caramel (Hangul: 오렌지 캬라멜) is the first unit group formed from the South Korean pop group After School. This unit was formed with the third generation members: Nana, Raina and Lizzy. Orange Caramel’s concept is the Candy Culture (which involves a cute and colorful style).
History
2010-2011: Pre-debut In 2011, Exile held a nationwide audition event called "Exile Presents Vocal Battle Audition 3: For Girls". The televised competition was held to find members for LDH's dance-only four member group, Flower, and to find members for a new dance and vocal group, Bunny. Exile's Hiro announced the "Girls Entertainment Project" or E-Girls (later changed to E-girls) would consist of all members from Dream, Happiness, and Flower. Bunny was not originally formed as part of E-girls, and was to debut separately in 2013, but they have never carried out any activities of their own except for one live performance at Vocal Battle Audition 3 titled "Why?".
2011-2012: Debut and "Follow Me" Following their formation in 2011, E-girls consisted of 21 members, which included all the members of Dream, Happiness, and Flower at the time. They released their first single, "Celebration", on 28 December 2011. In 2012, for the release of their second single, "One Two Three", two new members joined the group, Reina Kizu, and Anna Suda, both being members of EGD (EXPG girls dancers) a dance group of Exile Professional Gym (Exile's Dance Academy). The single was released on April 18, 2012. Happiness member, Mayu Sugieda, went on a hiatus in August to undergo medical treatment after being diagnosed with infectious mononucleosis.[1]
Before they released their third single, "Follow Me", the group consisted of a total of 31 members (with Dream's Sayaka Yamamato and Happiness' Mimu Hioki on hiatus) due to the addition of Bunny and more EGD members. The increase in number led to a new system for the release of their next single in which the girls were required to undergo a period of training and afterwards, the girls who excelled and fit the image of the single would be chosen to participate. 16 girls were featured on the single jacket cover and music video. The single was released on 3 October 2012. It is E-girls' best selling single digitally and combined with sales of physical copies. It remains E-girls' most recognizable song to Japanese fans. Dream's Sayaka Yamamoto officially left the group on 31 March 2012. Mimu Hioki officially left the group in October 2012.[2]
2013: Lesson 1 and rise of popularity In late 2012, three members from Bunny left E-girls, EGD member Ruri Kawamoto joined E-girls and all of the 28 remaining and newly added members were featured in the single "The Never Ending Story", on which their name was changed from E-Girls to E-girls. It was released on 20 February 2013. In the music video, they introduced a new member, Momoka Nakajima, the girl reading the book. On 13 March 2013, a new single was released, titled "Candy Smile", featuring 12 members. On 17 April 2013 the group released their first studio album, Lesson 1. It ranked at number 1 on Oricon's weekly albums chart, selling 57,337 copies in its first week.[citation needed]
In May, Anna Suda and Ruri Kawamoto, both from EGD, joined Happiness. Some months later, Reina Kizu from EGD left E-girls. Momoka Nakajima officially joined E-girls in September, replacing Reina Kizu. After months of being on hiatus, Mayu Sugieda returned to E-girls and Happiness. All 29 members were featured in the single "Gomennasai no Kissing You", released on 7 October. The single is E-girls best-selling physical single.[3] It won the MTV Video Music Awards Japan for best choreography.[4] On 11 October 2013, LDH announced a new member of E-girls, Marina Watanabe, being part of EGD. A week later, it was announced that Elina Mizuno had left both E-girls and Flower to focus on her actress career, with Marina Watanabe as her replacement. On the same day, their seventh single, "Kurukuru" (クルクル?), was announced featuring 18 members on the jacket covers and music video. The group gained considerable momentum in 2013, appearing on year-end shows and being invited to Kōhaku Uta Gassen.[5]
2014: A Perfect Day for Love Letters, second album and first tour On 5 January 2014, Dream's Aya Takamoto was appointed as the leader of E-girls. 10 members of the group, Shizuka, Kaede, Karen Fujii, and Anna Suda, Shuuka Fujii, Nozomi Bando, Harumi Sato, Kyoka Takeda, Anna Ishii, and Nonoka Yamaguchi, each starred in one episode of the drama A Perfect Day for Love Letters Based on a manga of the same name. Broadcast started on 6 January. The opening theme song of the drama, "Diamond Only", was released as their eighth single on 26 February. The group later released their second album, Colorful Pop, on 19 March, and made their first national tour in July and August, titled "E-girls Live Tour 2014 'Colorful Land'".[6][7] On 7 April, Mayu Sugieda left both Happiness and E-girls to pressure a solo career. Two weeks later, on 20 April, Kyoka Takeda left the group to focus on her studies and her acting career. On 12 June, LDH announced that the group would be releasing three singles consecutively, one per month. The first single, "E.G. Anthem: We Are Venus", was released on 9 July, and included all members and all vocalists singing. Since this release, the members from bunny and EGD were mixed into one unit, simply titled as the name of the group, E-girls. The names Bunny and EGD were also removed from their official website. The second single, "Odoru Ponpokorin", was released on 13 August, and included only 14 members in the music video and jacket covers. The song was used as the opening theme song of the TV anime Chibi Maruko Chan. The third single, "Highschool Love", was released on 10 September, and included all members on it. The song was used as the theme song for the Fuji TV's drama "Great Teacher Onizuka". In October, Flower member Chiharu Muto left E-girls to study abroad but she ended up launching her own fashion line. She left Flower in November after the recording date of Flower's eighth single "Akikaze no Answer" (秋風のアンサー?) was pushed up so she could sing in it. E-girls were invited to Kōhaku for the second time.[8]
2015 The group released their third album, E.G. Time, on 1 January 2015. They held their second national tour, titled "E-girls Live Tour 2015 'Colorful World'",[9] in February and March. On 27 January, LDH announced a new system for the members line-up, called "E-girls Pyramid". Following the same system used for "Follow Me", the girls undergo a series of reviews configured annually. The members who need more training get classified as Rabbits (high school age or older) or Bunnies (junior high school age or younger). Members Yuzuna Takebe, Misato Hagio, Rio Inagaki, Risa Ikuta, Momoka Nakajima, and Marina Watanabe therefore returned to the training period at Exile Professional Gym, reducing E-girls to 20 members. On 29 April, it was announced on both Dream's and E-girls' official websites that Dream member Ami would debut as a solo artist in summer 2015. Ami was also given an official website.[10][11][12][13]
On 7 October 2015, it was confirmed that Erie Abe would change her position from vocalist and performer to DJ and was given an official website, and Kyoka Ichiki would graduate from Flower and E-girls, making Flower a six-member group.[14] On 20 November 2015, the group announced the release of their first compilation album, E.G. Smile: E-girls Best, set to be released on 10 February 2016. On 15 December 2015, it was announced that Rabbits' member, Yuzuna Takebe would be rejoining E-girls, replacing Kyoka. E-girls were, once again, invited to Kōhaku,[15] where they perfromed Dance Dance Dance as well as another year-end special on CDTV[16] where they revealed a new song from E.G. Smile: E-girls Best, "Dance With Me Now!"[17]
| Girls' Generation | |
|---|---|
|
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Seoul, South Korea |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | |
| Website | girlsgeneration.smtown.com |
| Members | |
| Past members | Jessica |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 소녀시대 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 少女時代 |
| Revised Romanization | Sonyeo Sidae |
| McCune–Reischauer | Sonyŏ Sidae |
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This article contains Japanese text.Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of kanji andkana. |
Girls' Generation (Hangul: 소녀시대; So Nyeo Si Dae), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed byS.M. Entertainment. The group is composed of eight (formerly nine) members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri,Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Girls' Generation officially debuted on August 5, 2007 with its debut single "Into the New World" and subsequently gained some attention with their self-titled debut album. However, it was not until 2009 that they rose to prominence with the single "Gee", which claimed the top spot on KBS's Music Bank for a record-breaking nine consecutive weeks and was named the most popular song of the 2000s decade by Melon.[1] The group solidified their place in the South Korean music industry with follow-up singles "Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)", "Oh!", and "Run Devil Run" from late 2009 to early 2010.
In mid-2010, the group signed with Nayutawave Records (present-day EMI Records Japan) to embark into the Japanese music scene. In April 2011, Girls' Generation's Japanese self-titled debut album was released, which peaked atop the Japanese Oricon Albums Chart and became the first album by a South Korean girl group to achieve a double Platinumcertification by the RIAJ.[2] The group returned to the South Korean music scene in October 2011 with The Boys, which has sold over 457,000 copies in South Korea, becoming the best-selling album in the Gaon chart history since its launch in 2010.[3] During this time, the group also expanded their endeavor to the United States by signing with Interscope Records. In 2013, Girls' Generation's fourth Korean studio album titled I Got a Boy was released. The title track was subjected to major attention from western media after it was awarded Video of the Year at the inaugural YouTube Music Awards.[4]
Girls' Generation has sold over 4.4 million albums and 30 million digital singles as of 2012.[5] The group's immense popularity in its native South Korea has earned them numerous accolades, notably titles such as "The Nation's Singers" and "The Nation's Girl Group".[6] Girls' Generation is also regarded as the most popular K-pop girl group in Japan alongside Kara;[7] the group is the first South Korean girl group to have two number-one albums on the Japanese Oricon Albums Chart.[8] Korean newspaper Asia Today placed the group at 45 on its 50 Korean Power Leaders list in 2011.[9]