String (Korea pop) : Kara (band)

Origin South Korea
Genres Pop, R&B, Dance,
Years active 2007–present
Labels Daesung Entertainment (DSP)
Website KARA's Official Website
Members
Park Gyuri
Han Seungyeon
Nicole
Goo Hara
Kang Jiyoung
Former members
Kim Sunghee

Kara (카라, often stylized as KARA) is a popular girl group from South Korea. They are under Daesung Entertainment (DSP). Kara comes from the Greek word "chara" (χαρά, lit. "joy"), which the group interpreted to mean "sweet melody".[1]

After losing a member in 2008, Kara regrouped to become a five-member band and eventually achieved their first number one song with "Honey".

Debut

They debuted as a four-member girl group on March 29, 2007 with "Break It" on M! Countdown. Their first album was called The First Blooming, and they debuted with the mature, independent, "strong-female" image and they focused on singing and music, instead of appearing on variety shows. They made two music videos from this album: "Break It" and "If U Wanna". Promotions ended in the summer of 2007.

Because of their similarity to Fin.K.L and the fact that both were under the same company, the two were often compared; in response, Kara stated that they wanted to work hard enough to deserve the comparison.[3]
[edit] New Members, Image Change, and Comeback

The group intended their comeback in March 2008 with their second album. However, Sung-hee left the group suddenly due to parental pressure, as her participation in the group was contingent on the maintenance of her grades. She failed to pass her college entrance exam, and was forced to leave the group. In response, DSP stated that the second album would be shelved and replaced by a mini-album to come in May; in addition, two members would join the group, chosen through public auditions, to be chronicled by music television station M.Net.[4][5] However, this show was canceled the day it was supposed to air.[citation needed]

The two new members were eventually revealed to be Goo Hara and Kang Jiyoung. KARA's comeback as a 5-member group was on July 24, 2008 with "Rock U" on M! Countdown. They made their comeback with the "cute" and "playful" image. In the same month, their first EP was released. After promotions for the song ended, Kara digitally released "Good Day: Season 2", a remake of a song on their EP, on October 13, 2008. A music video of this song was released a few days after.
[edit] Second mini-album
[edit] "Pretty Girl"

On November 29, 2008, DSP Entertainment released a teaser video for their upcoming single, "Pretty Girl", which received over 40,000 hits within 12 hours.[6] The full video was released on December 2, 2008 online and was positively received by the public,[7] while the EP was released on December 4.[6] The mini-album is supposed to have a "party/fun" concept.[7] The group began its comeback on all major music shows on December 4, 2008, starting with M.Net Countdown.[8] During their first national performance on KBS's Music Bank, member Goo Hara accidentally slipped due to falling confetti and accidentally said "Ah" in the middle of the performance and cried for an hour backstage.[9] Netizens made it a "hot issue", but Goo Hara received comfort instead of criticism from the public.[10]

Leader Park Gyuri attributed their popularity increase to their "pretty but natural" appeal,[11] while media reports gave credit to the band finding their own identity[12] and to older male fans, most notably singer Shin Hae-cheol.[13]

Due to the hectic promotional schedule, a few of the group's members were taken to the hospital on December 19 after a KBS Music Bank rehearsal, but a DSP representative said that it was not serious.[14]
[edit] "Honey" and Kara's First #1 Single

At the end of January 2009, DSP Entertainment announced that it would commence voting on January 28 at Kara's official website for the follow-up single to "Pretty Girl", which would end on February 2.[15] By the deadline of February 2, "Honey" was the clear winner, with 60% of the votes.[15][16] The group filmed a music video for the song, which was released on February 16. The song was also first performed on KBS's Music Bank program on February 13, 2009; a repackaged mini-album followed on February 19.[15][16]

"Honey" became the group's first #1 single when it topped the M.Net M! Countdown show, beating out Girls' Generation's "Gee" for the spot.[2] The song also won the "Mutizen" ("music netizen") award on SBS's program The Music Trend.[17]

The group did its last round of promotional activities for this album on April 10–12, 2009.[18]
[edit] Mid-2009 comeback with Revolution

Revolution was revealed in June that the group would return in late July 2009, with their concept to be "upgraded".[19] The first teaser pictures of the group were then released in mid-July, showing radical changes in the group's style.[20][21]

Their single "Wanna" was released on July 28, 2009. The song quickly charted on various digital music charts.[22] The music video was released on July 29, with the full album being available on July 30.[22] Comeback activities commenced on July 31, beginning with KBS's Music Bank; the group performed both "Wanna" and "Mister".[23] "Mister" proved to be popular with netizens due to a "butt dance" that is featured prominently in the choreography.[23][24] Due to the popularity of the song, Kara's overall popularity increased, with numerous advertisement requests coming in for the group; they had more advertisements in October 2009 than the previous two years.[25]

On August 30, 2009, "Wanna" won the "Mutizen Song" award from SBS's Inkigayo music program.[26]
[edit] 2010: Return with third mini-album "Lupin"

DSP Media released two teaser photos of Kara's comeback concept on February 9, 2010. The photos garnered a lot of interest because compared to their past album concepts, the new photos displayed a more mature, dark and mysterious Kara. The next day, the album jacket was unveiled with the concept being called "Stealer" and the title track named "Lupin". The teaser video was released on February 12 on Naver; the mini-album was released on February 17.[27] It has been confirmed that Kara will have their comeback starting on February 25, 2010 on M! Countdown.