Kara, shown here at its first solo concert in 2012, has become one of the biggest girl groups in K-pop, thanks to its hit songs and great style.
GIRLS’ GENERATION
SM Entertainment
Before summer 2012 turned the world of K-pop upside-down, Girls’ Generation was the biggest K-pop group on YouTube, led by their light and bubbly “Gee,” which now has more than 100 million views. The nine-member girl group featured some of the catchiest songs and dances in K-pop, not to mention some of the leggiest videos.
Formed in 2007, Girls’ Generation, called Sonyeo Sidae (소녀시대) in Korean, was in many ways SM Entertainment’s female answer to Super Junior, a large, upbeat K-pop group that could appeal to the widest possible audience. Jessica, Sooyoung and Hyoyeon joined SM in 2000, and the other members slowly came together over the years, with Sunny being the last to join, in 2007, although she had been a trainee with SM way back in 1998.
MEMBERS
Taeyeon (김태연) March 9, 1989
Jessica (정수연) April 18, 1989
Sunny (이순규) May 15, 1989
Tiffany (황미영) August 1, 1989
Hyoyeon (김효연) September 22, 1989
Yuri (권유리) December 5, 1989
Sooyoung (최수영) February 10, 1990
Yoona (임윤아) May 30, 1990
Seohyun (서주현) June 28, 1991
SUBGROUP
Girls’ Generation-TaeTiSeo (Taeyeon, Tiffany, Seohyun)
KOREAN ALBUMS
Girls’ Generation (2007)
Oh! (2010)
The Boys (2011)
I Got a Boy (2013)
KOREAN MINI-ALBUMS
Gee (2009)
Tell Me Your Wish (Genie) (2009)
Hoot (2010)
JAPANESE ALBUMS
Girls’ Generation (2011)
Girls & Peace (2012)
FAN CLUB SªNE (So-One)
OFFICIAL COLOR Pastel rose
The group started out quite well, but nothing could compare to the leap it took in 2009 with “Gee.” Exploding with aegyo (Korean for “cuteness”), “Gee” quickly rocketed up the charts, smashing records left and right. It followed that song with more hits, like “Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)” and “Run Devil Run,” but the Teddy Riley-produced “The Boys” in 2011 would become its biggest hit since “Gee.”
Not surprisingly, Girls’ Generation has also done exceptionally well outside of Korea. The group began promotions in Japan in 2010, and its debut album there, Girls’ Generation, was the fifth biggest seller of 2011 and the highest by a Korean group. It also got a nod from America’s Spin magazine.
Since then, the legend of Girls’ Generation has kept growing. The group appeared on Late Night With David Letterman in early 2012, then on French television, and an English-language album has long been rumored. Along with that push into America, Girls’ Generation earned a lot of the early attention from the Western press, both before Psy came along and after, and the group was a major focus of The New Yorker’s big profile of K-pop in October 2012.
Whether in dresses, sportswear or short shorts, Girls’ Generation always presents a fresh, fun image.
Five members of the group now have songwriting credits to their names, a sign that their abilities are continuing to grow.
Like many K-pop groups these days, Girls’ Generation also has its sub-unit, Girls Generation-TTS (or TaeTiSeo, as in Taeyeon, Tiffany and Seohyun). It has done well so far, with its first single, “Twinkle,” charting in Korea and Japan and on Billboard’s world chart.
Girl groups have always been an important part of the foundation of K-pop, with huge stars like FinKL, S.E.S., Baby Vox and others. But by the mid-2000s, most of those groups had disbanded or seen their popularity fade. Girls’ Generation, together with the Wonder Girls, brought back the all-girl group, re-establishing the importance of girl groups in the K-pop scene.
Given that Girls’ Generation beat out many of the top pops acts in the world to win the Video of the Year at the first YouTube Music Awards in late 2013, the group’s future looks limitless.
Girls’ Generation takes the cake.
2NE1
YG Entertainment
Feisty, unconventional and full of swagger, 2NE1 is perhaps the most rocking girl group in K-pop. Founded by YG Entertainment to be a “female Big Bang,” the 2NE1 girls trained for four years before their 2009 debut with Big Bang in “Lollipop,” a song that doubled as an advertisement for LG’s Cyon phone. In “Lollipop,” both groups wore all bright colors, reminiscent of H.O.T’s debut “Candy,” way back in the 1990s, but soon after that 2NE1 grew more edgy and unconventional.
Starting from its first single, “Fire,” in 2009, 2NE1 has consistently pushed a harder, bolder sound than any other girl group in Korea. “I Don’t Care” showed that the group also had a softer side, but the dominant theme throughout 2NE1’s career has always been swag.
The young women who make up 2NE1 come from diverse backgrounds. CL grew up in France and Japan because of her physicist father’s job. Dara spent many years in the Philippines, where she entered talent programs and released music of her own. Bom lived in the United States for a time and even entered the Berklee College of Music before getting the nod from YG. Minzy, who is a full ten years younger than Bom and Sandara, grew up in Gwangju, Jeolla province, where her emphasis on dance helped her capture the attention of YG.
2NE1 performing at the DMZ Documentary Film Festival in 2011.
Flashy and brash, 2NE1 has some of the loudest and most fun styles in K-pop.
MEMBERS
CL (Lee Chaerin; 이채린) February 26, 1991 (leader)
Bom (Park Bom; 박봄) March 24, 1984
Dara (Park Sandara; 박산다라) November 12, 1984
Minzy (Gong Minji; 공민지) January 18, 1994
KOREAN ALBUMS
To Anyone (2010)
Tba (2013)
KOREAN MINI-ALBUMS
2NE1 (2009)
2NE1 2nd Mini Album (2011)
JAPANESE ALBUMS
Collection (2012)
SOLO ALBUM
CL: “Baddest Female” (2013)
FAN CLUBS Blackjack (Korea), Blackjack Nolza (Japan)
OFFICIAL COLOR Hot pink
It was 2NE1’s 2011 single “I Am the Best” from its second EP that really defined the group. Boastful and brash, “I Am the Best” featured perhaps the wildest video in all of K-pop, with plenty of leather and spikes, crazy hair and heavy weaponry. It racked up more than 80 million views on YouTube.
Let’s say it was the wildest until CL released her own solo album in 2013, led by the uber swag “The Baddest Female.” A K-pop star wearing a gold grill with vampire teeth? Crazy. In fact, it may have been too crazy of K-pop, with its bare-bones beats and austere sound and there was quite a reaction against “Baddest Female.”
CL is the leader of 2NE1 and is rapidly becoming an icon in her own right. (In the world of K-pop, gays and lesbians love CL as much as they love Robyn in Western pop music.) CL has also helped change how YG develops female stars.
In her early days, the company pushed CL to have plastic surgery, but she refused. Today, YG says it has stopped pushing its stars to have plastic surgery.
2NE1 returned to the scene soon after CL’s solo album and released a slew of new singles in the second half of 2013. This time, the much more poppy and listener-friendly tracks, “Falling in Love” and “Do You Love Me,” hit the sweet spot, reminding the group’s fans why they love 2NE1 so much.
WONDER GIRLS
JYP Entertainment
You could be forgiven for thinking that the Wonder Girls weren’t going to make it. Their first single, “Irony,” in early 2007 didn’t do much and disappeared quickly from the scene. Founding member Hyuna withdrew from the group in July, citing health problems.
But, wow, did that all change with the Wonder Girls’ second single, “Tell Me.” First, Yubin replaced Hyuna in the group. Then, in October, JYP Entertainment released the Wonder Girls’ first full-length album and right away they knew they had a major hit on their hands. “Tell Me” was huge, thanks to a catchy Stacy Q sample from the 1980s song “Two of Hearts” and a signature dance that was fun to copy. The song zoomed up to No. 1 on Korea’s charts and stayed there for weeks.
Wonder Girls first attracted acclaim with its catchy single “Tell Me.”
MEMBERS
Sunye (Min Sun-ye; 민선예) August 12, 1989 (leader)
Yubin (Park Yu-bin; 박유빈) October 4, 1988
Yenny (Park Ye-eun; 박에은) May 26, 1989
Lim (Woo Hye-lim; 우혜림) September 1, 1992
Sohee (Ahn So-hee; 안소희) June 27, 1992
PAST MEMBERS
Hyuna (Kim Hyun-a;김현아)
Sunmi (Lee Sun-mi; 이선미)
KOREAN ALBUMS
The Wonder Years (2007)
Wonder World (2011)
KOREAN MINI-ALBUMS
The Wonder Years: Trilogy (2008)
Wonder Party (2012)
JAPANESE ALBUMS
Nobody for Everybody (2012)
FAN CLUB Wonderful
OFFICIAL COLOR Pearl burgundy
The Wonder Girls—Sunye, Yenny, Yubin, Sunmi and Sohee—sporting a 1960s retro Motown look in 2008.
It wasn’t long before the Wonder Girls had another major hit, the 1960s-influenced “Nobody.” Released in 2008, “Nobody” saw the Wonder Girls now sporting a retro look, like something out of Motown but incredibly rich and stylish. It was stylish enough that the influential blogger Perez Hilton picked up on it, calling the video “so fab” and giving the song a major push in the West. Soon, the Wonder Girls was opening for the Jonas Brothers on their America tour, performing the English version of its hit “Nobody.” By fall 2009, the English language version had actually made it onto Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart—the main chart, that is, not the K-pop chart or anything else. Eventually, the song made it up to No. 76, nothing to frighten Beyonce, but for K-pop it was an amazing, tantalizing taste of what success in the West could mean.
Since then, JYP Entertainment has put a lot of its energies into pushing Wonder Girls in the West. In 2010, Wonder Girls entered the Chinese market with its compilation album Wonder Girls, which included Chinese language versions of “Tell Me,” “Nobody” and “So Hot.”
Although the group got its own made-for-TV movie on Teen Nick in 2012, it was never able to make the leap up to the next level, and some of its fans in Korea and Asia complained of feeling forgotten.
It’s also worth noting that the Wonder Girls have gotten involved in some of the songwriting for their group. Yenny has been the biggest contributor, with her name on the credits for eight songs. And Yubin even helped update the classic “The Beauty” (Miin), a Shin Joong-hyun rock song from the 1970s.
Now that Sunye has gotten married and had a baby, the rest of the Wonder Girls are concentrating on their solo careers. It’s so rare that real life intrudes upon the magical world of K-pop that sometimes even something as normal as marriage and motherhood can seem surprising. But with so many passionate fans, there is no telling what the future might hold for the Wonder Girls, “the girls who can amaze the world.”
One of the most iconic images of the Wonder Girls from the peak of the group’s “Nobody” phase.
After working hard to break into the US market, the Wonder Girls starred in a made-for-TV movie for Teen Nick in February 2012.
The Wonder Girls endorsed a street basketball video game in 2008.
4MINUTE
Cube Entertainment
Two years after leaving Wonder Girls, Hyuna was back in the K-pop spotlight, now part of the girl group 4Minute, along with fellow JYP Entertainment alumna Ji-hyun, 4Minute’s leader. The other three members were introduced in the weeks that followed and then 4Minute’s first mini-album came out in June 2009.
From the beginning, Cube Entertainment was very active in pushing 4Minute internationally, recording with American artist Amerie for the Asian release of her fourth album, touring Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan and more in 2010, and releasing its first Japanese single in May 2010.
Cube has made a point of coordinating its artists’ releases, so 4Minute, Beast and G.Na often tour together and sing on each other’s tracks. They’ve held concerts together around the world, in London, China, Brazil (in the first paid-ticket K-pop concert in South America) and, more recently, in Malaysia.
In a K-pop world full of cuteness, 4Minute, comprising So-hyun, Ga-yoon, Hyun-a, Ji-hyun and Ji-yoon, often shows a more mature side than other groups.
4Minute performing live at the Dream Concert in 2011.
MEMBERS
Nam Ji-hyun (남지현) January 9, 1990 (leader)
Heo Ga-yoon (허가윤) May 18, 1990
Jeon Ji-yoon (전지윤) October 15, 1990
Kim Hyun-a (김현아) June 6, 1992
Kwon So-hyun (권소현) August 30, 1994
SUBGROUP
2Yoon (Ga-yoon, Ji-yoon)
KOREAN ALBUMS
4Minutes Left (2011)
KOREAN MINI-ALBUMS
For Muzik (2009)
Hit Your Heart (2010)
Heart to Heart (2011)
Volume Up (2012)
Name Is 4Minute (2013)
JAPANESE ALBUMS
Diamond (2010)
SOLO MINI-ALBUMS
Hyuna:
Bubble Pop! (2011)
Trouble Maker (2011)
Melting (2012)
FAN CLUB 4NIA
OFFICIAL COLOR Pearl purple
So far, 2013 has been 4Minute’s best year yet, as its album Name Is 4Minute spurred the group’s most successful single to date, “What’s Your Name?” A surprise single released in late June, “Is It Poppin’?,” turned into one of the biggest songs of the summer.
Even while a member of 4Minute, Hyuna has had a very successful solo career, gaining fame—and some infamy— for her sexy vixen image. The ridiculous and infectious “Bubble Pop” received plenty of attention in the West, and has racked up 56 million views on YouTube. But her biggest claim to fame is being the women Psy dances with in “Gangnam Style,” earning her a gazillion views on YouTube. Her version of the song “Oppa Is Just My Style” has also gained a respectable 385 million views.
Ga-yoon and Ji-yoon have teamed up to form a 4Minute subgroup called 2Yoon. Their EP Harvest Moon, released in early 2013, did fairly well, earning some note for a rare K-pop foray into the world of country music, well, K-pop-style quasi country.
AFTER SCHOOL
Pledis Entertainment
While the composition of most K-pop groups is fiercely guarded, After School has gone in the opposite direction, freely letting new girls come and go as needed. Since After School’s debut at the end of 2008 as a five-member group, three members have left and six have joined. With three subunits within the group, After School is one of the busiest K-pop acts around.
Initially modeled on the Pussycat Dolls—showing plenty of skin and sultriness—After School caught on quickly, winning many new artist awards in 2009 in Korea and Japan. Since then, the group has also gone on to build big fan followings all over Asia, as well as Europe and South America.
From its inception, After School was never shy about going for the big concept. The girls have tap danced, cane danced, performed a drum line and even tackled the physically challenging art of pole dancing on the 2013 release, “First Love” (injuring three members in the process, luckily not seriously), confirming them as K-pop’s top performers.
Orange Caramel has been a successful subgroup, nearly as popular as After School itself, presenting a slightly younger and cuter image. After School Red and Blue further divide the group, with Red (Jungah, Uee, Nana and Kahi) going for a sexier style, and Blue (Jooyeon, Raina, Lizzy and E-Young) more fresh and cute.
Rahi, who graduated from the group in 2012, has had a long career as a successful dancer in Korea, having worked with many leading artists like DJ D.O.C. and BoA, before becoming the leader of After School. Although she has now left the group, her solo career continues to go strongly.
After School is a rare K-pop group that openly changes its members.
MEMBERS
Jungah (Kim Jung-ah; 김정아) August 2, 1983 (leader)
Jooyeon (Lee Joo-yeon; 이주연) March 19, 1987
Uee (Kim Yu-jin; 김유진) April 9, 1988
Raina (Oh Hye-rin; 오혜린) May 7, 1989
Nana (Im Jin-ah; 임 진아) September 14, 1991
Lizzy (Park Soo-young; 박수영) July 31, 1992
E-Young (Noh Yi-young; 노이영) August 16, 1992
Kaeun (Lee Ka-eun; 이가은) August 20, 1994
GRADUATED MEMBERS
Soyoung (Yoo So-young; 유소영)
Bekah (Rebekah Kim; 레베타 김)
Rahi (Park Ji-young; 박지영)
SUBGROUPS
Orange Caramel (Raina, Nana, Lizzy)
After School Blue (Jooyeon, Raina, Lizzy, E-young)
After School Red (Jungah, Uee, Nana, Kahi)
KOREAN ALBUM
Virgin (2011)
JAPANESE ALBUM
Playgirlz (2012)
Orange Caramel
Lipstick (2012)
Orange Caramel (Japan)
FAN CLUB Play Girlz
OFFICIAL COLOR Yellow
After School at a music festival on New Year’s Eve 2011.
BROWN EYED GIRLS
Nega Network
Brown Eyed Girls stands out in K-pop, especially among female groups, for how the members have taken control of their music and careers. The group wasn’t formed by a management team but instead was put together by group leader JeA. They write many of their own songs. In fact, Miryo is the most prolific female songwriter in all of K-pop. And they aren’t shy about presenting adult, grown-up messages about life and love, sometimes far from the bubbly, cutesy world that dominates much of K-pop.
JeA had played in a rock band in high school and written and sung songs for television soundtracks for several years under her real name, Kim Hyo-jin. But her attempts at becoming a K-pop star hadn’t panned out until one day she was asked by Nega Network to form a new group. So JeA got in touch with Miryo, a young rapper, and asked her to join, followed by Narsha, who had been a friend of hers from high school, and lastly the youngest member, Ga-in.
The four women trained together for three years, originally under the name Crescendo, before releasing their first album. But its generic R&B sound did not make much of an impact, especially as the group deliberately kept their images off the early promotions, opting for a blank-slate marketing campaign. Their next release, an EP called With L.O.V.E, did better, as did their second full album.
Brown Eyed Girls is one of the most grown-up girl groups in K-pop, and its members (clockwise from top) Ga-in, Miryo, Narsha and JeA, are quite active in shaping their music.
The members of Brown Eyed Girls are quite diverse, with interesting solo projects. ed Girls are quite diverse, with interesting solo projects.
MEMBERS
JeA (Kim Hyo-jin; 김효진) September 18, 1981 (leader)
Miryo (Jo Mi-hye; 조미혜) November 2, 1981)
Narsha (Park Hyo-jin; 박효진) December 28, 1981
Ga-in (Son Ga-in; 손가인) September 20, 1987
PAST MEMBER
Kang Mi-jin
KOREAN ALBUMS
Your Story (2006)
Leave Ms. Kim (2007)
Sound-G (2009)
Sixth Sense (2011) Black Box (2013)
KOREAN MINI-ALBUMS
With L.O.V.E. (2008)
My Style (2008)
Festa on Ice (2010)
SOLO ALBUMS
Narsha (2010)
Miryo Miryo aka Johoney (2012)
JeA Just JeA (2013)
MINI-ALBUMS
Ga-in
Step 2/4 (2010)
Talk About S (2012)
Romantic Spring (2013)
FAN CLUB Everlasting
OFFICIAL COLORS Yellow and black
But Brown Eyed Girls really took off with Sound-G in 2009, which changed its style to more of an electronic dance sound and the look of the girls to one that was more provocative and sexy. That album also featured the group’s fantastically popular single “Abracadabra,” which became one of the biggest hits of the year. You might recognize the main dance move in the video for “Abracadabra,” a hypnotic hip shake that was adopted by Psy for his “Gentleman” video.
Since then, Brown Eyed Girls has been a top K-pop group, but the individual members have also had great success. Narsha released a solo album in 2010. Miryo’s solo album came out in 2012 and, as mentioned, she has been incredibly productive writing for other groups. JeA is actually the second most prolific female K-pop songwriter and she has also recorded with numerous other artists and released her solo album in 2013.
But Ga-in has been the most successful solo artist, having released three solo mini-albums and numerous singles, including the big hit Talk About S in 2012. Talk About S, especially its single “Bloom,” was surprisingly adult and frank about sex, earning an adults-only rating in Korea, but it was more than just a sleazy, leering exploitive song and video. “Bloom” was positive, mature and empowering, a rare combination in any country’s pop music.
In July 2013, the four members of Brown Eyed Girls finally had their long-awaited group return with Black Box, an album that records their journey.
DAVICHI
Core Contents Media
Davichi is one of the very rare duos in K-pop, having built a large fan following with its simple, acoustic-based songs and strong singing. The style of Davichi focuses on melodies and singing rather than the typical flash and bang of most K-pop, but, make no mistake about it, the twosome is still big-time and has played to sizeable crowds from Vietnam to Chile.
Davichi made its debut in 2008 with the ballad “I Love You Even Though I Hate You,” which featured a dramatic and elaborate video that starred singing superstar Lee Hyori and actress Lee Mi-yeon as two women who had just been released from prison.
Since then, Davichi has gone from hit to hit. Its second studio album, Mystic Ballad, released in March 2013, was its biggest success yet, and was almost immediately followed by a new hit single in July, “Missing You Today.”
Davichi has been a popular duo in K-pop since 2008 when it dominated the rookie awards.
MEMBERS
Lee Haeri (이해리) February 14, 1985
Kang Min-kyung (강민경) August 3, 1990
KOREAN ALBUMS
Amaranth (2008)
Mystic Ballad (2013)
KOREAN MINI-ALBUMS
Davichi in Wonderland (2009)
Innocence (2010)
Love Delight (2011)
FAN CLUB Girls High
OFFICIAL COLOR n/a
“Missing You Today” by Davichi duo Min-kyung and Haeri held off the mighty 2NE1 in the summer of 2013 on the Billboard K-pop chart.
F(X)
SM Entertainment
Probably the most electronic and edgy group SM Entertainment has ever produced is f(x), pushing the conservative boundaries of Korea’s leading music label. In 2013, it even became the first K-pop group to play at the SXSW music festival in Texas, a raucous and sprawling music fest that features thousands of bands, usually of the rock variety.
Let’s not overstate things, of course—f(x) is definitely K-pop. But it could be growing into the next great K-pop super group.
Like most of SM Entertainment’s groups, f(x) started out with a bang in the fall of 2009, and it wasn’t long before the group was performing in Japan, Paris and elsewhere. Songs like “Pinocchio” and “Hot Summer” did well, and the girls’ popularity kept growing.
The group’s big leap came in 2012 with its second mini-album, Electric Shock, led by the single of the same name. The propulsive, crackling “Electric Shock” jolted fans, earning more than 52 million YouTube views, vaulting the band ever higher in the K-pop hierarchy.
As popular as “Electric Shock” was, Pink Tape was probably even more so, reaching No. 1 on Billboard’s World Album chart. “Rum Pum Pum Pum” may have been the lead single, but other tracks on the album, such as “Airplane,” were a lot stronger. SM Entertainment is famous for having a particular house style, but f(x) on Pink Tape showed a willingness to push SM’s boundaries with a bigger, edgier sound.
One of the most unusual and edgy looks of all the SM Entertainment acts is f(x).
MEMBERS
Victoria February 2, 1987 (leader)
Amber September 18, 1992
Luna (박선영) August 12, 1993
Sulli (최진리) March 29, 1994
Krystal (정수정) October 24, 1994
KOREAN ALBUMS
Pinocchio (2011)
Pink Tape (2013)
KOREAN MINI-ALBUMS
Nu ABO (2010)
Electric Shock (2012)
Krystal is the younger sister of Girls’ Generation’s Jessica, and has been working with SM from when she was just five years old (she had a small appearance in a Shinhwa music video). Of course, she was too young to be a trainee then, but over the years she appeared in several television commercials before her parents finally allowed her to join SM Entertainment full-time in 2006.
And with Chinese member Victoria and Taiwanese-American Amber, f(x) is yet another symbol of how seriously SM takes the Chinese and international markets for their music. In fact, when f(x) made its debut, SM described it as an “Asian dance pop group,” not a Korean one. Does that still make them K-pop? Or is SM-pop a new genre?
KARA
DSP Media
Kara’s debut, The First Blooming, in 2007 didn’t exactly set the K-pop world on fire. Maybe it was the pressure to become the next FinKL, the classic K-pop group also started by DSP Media, or maybe it was just the wrong sound for the time, but its first album was a bit of a dud. Soon after, parental pressure forced Kim Sung-hee out of the group and new members, Goo Ha-ra and Kang Ji-young, joined, injecting the group with a burst of energy.
For the past three years, Kara has been one of the most successful K-pop acts in Japan.
MEMBERS
Park Gyu-ri (박규리) May 21, 1988
Han Seung-yeon (한승연) July 24, 1988
Goo Ha-ra (구하라) January 13, 1991
Nicole Yong-joo Jung (정영주) October 7, 1991
Kang Ji-young (강지영) January 18, 1994
PAST MEMBER
Kim Sung-hee
KOREAN ALBUMS
The First Blooming (2007)
Revolution (2009)
Step (2011)
KOREAN MINI-ALBUMS
Rock U (2008)
Pretty Girl (2008)
Honey (2009)
Lupin (2010)
Jumping (2010)
Pandora (2012)
JAPANESE ALBUMS
Girl’s Talk (2010)
Super Girl (2011)
Girls Forever (2012)
FAN CLUB Kamilia
OFFICIAL COLOR Pearl peach
Ji-young, Nicole, Gyu-ri, Seung-yeon and Ha-ra performing at a concert in Seoul in February 2012.
The extended play Rock U did a bit better, and Pretty Girl better still. With Honey in 2009, Kara finally got its first No. 1 hit.
By the time Kara’s second full album, Revolution, was released in mid-2009, the group had finally found its identity, expressed by a fun, party vibe. Its third single from Revolution, “Mister,” was the group’s biggest hit, thanks in part to a popular “butt dance” that went with it.
When the song was released in Japan, it did particularly well (Oricon said it was the best debut by a girl group in nearly 30 years), and suddenly Kara was well on its way to becoming a leader in K-pop’s rise in Japan. Over the last three years, Kara has won plenty of awards in Japan and held one sold-out concert after another.
However, Kara nearly missed out on its fabulous success, coming to the verge of breaking up in early 2011 when four members of the group (all except for Gyu-ri) announced that they wanted out of their contracts with DSP. Fans were shocked and worried that this would turn into another TVXQ! and possibly end another promising K-pop group. Things were looking really bad at first, but after three months of furious negotiations, DSP and all the members of Kara came to an understanding, the lawsuit was withdrawn and Kara was soon recording and performing again.
Since then, Kara has been better than ever and, fortunately for the Kamilias, they look like they will be singing for some time to come.
MISS A
JYP Entertainment
Miss A was JYP Entertainment’s attempt at creating a girl group with the China market in mind. What had started as a five-member “Chinese Wonder Girls,” as JYP Entertainment sometimes called them, changed as the concept developed, with two original members leaving and Hyerim (who is Korean but grew up in Hong Kong) moving to the actual Wonder Girls. Koreans Suzy and then Min joined in 2009, and by 2010 the group, now called Miss A, was ready for its debut single.
Like a lot of groups these days, including Big Bang and 2NE1, Miss A actually started with an advertising campaign for Samsung Anycall. Just a week later, the group released its first real single, “Bad Girl, Good Girl,” which quickly topped the charts, followed by its second song, “Breathe,” which also did well. Then, in 2011, Miss A released its first full-length album, A Class, which included its most popular song yet, “Goodbye Baby.”
Since then, Miss A has kept up a regular supply of juicy singles, even as the individual members have grown busier and busier with their own projects, whether on TV or in advertising (or, for Fei and Jia, back in China).
Despite the group not appointing an official “leader,” Suzy appears to be turning into Miss A’s break-out star, thanks to a series of high-profile acting roles. She was the lead of the popular TV series Dream High in 2011, the well-regarded movie Architecture 101, and the even more successful television drama Gu Family Book in 2013. Today, she is on the verge of having two million Twitter followers, by far the greatest number among K-pop female artists.
Miss A ready for a business meeting.
MEMBERS
Fei (Wang Fei Fei) April 27, 1987
Jia (Meng Jia) February 3, 1989
Min (Lee Min-young; 이민영) June 23, 1991
Suzy (Bae Su-ji; 배수지) October 10, 1994
KOREAN ALBUMS
A Class (2011)
Hush (2013)
KOREAN MINI-ALBUMS
Touch (2012)
Independent Women Part III (2012)
FAN CLUB Say A
OFFICIAL COLOR n/a
Jia, Min, Fei and Suzy of Miss A, JYP Entertainment’s strongest push yet into the China market.
Miss A can also rock the crazy cute outfits.
SECRET
TS Entertainment
In many ways, Secret is one of the most representative K-pop girl groups, with four attractive young women using catchy, sweet songs and plenty of cuteness to drive audiences into a frenzy.
The group is led by Hyo-sung, who had been obsessed with dancing and music from young but failed her first auditions. Only in 2005 did she pass an audition and then joined a reality TV program, Battle Shinhwa. Her success on that show led to her first contract, but that company was never able to get the group off the ground, and by 2008 she was out of the business again. Finally, TS Entertainment contacted her and soon Secret was on its way, with three other members.
From “I Want You Back” to “Magic” to “Madonna,” none of Secret’s songs were ground-breaking, but they kept making steady progress. The group also moved quickly to promote itself in Japan and soon built a sizeable following there as well.
Finally, in 2012, with the single “Poison,” Secret climbed to the next level. The single that followed, “Talk That,” began to earn the group better critical praise as their style got more sophisticated, going beyond just cute or sexy.
Secret may not be revolutionizing K-pop, but the group is a fine example of the high standard of pop that Korea is putting out today.
MEMBERS
Jeon Hyo-sung (전효성) October 13, 1989 (leader)
Jung Ha-na (정하나) February 2, 1990 (formerly Zinger)
Song Ji-eun (송지은) May 5, 1990
Han Sun-hwa (한선화) October 6, 1990
KOREAN ALBUMS
Moving in Secret (2011)
KOREAN MINI-ALBUMS
Secret Time (2010)
Madonna (2010)
Poison (2012)
Letter From Secret (2013)
JAPANESE ALBUM
Welcome to Secret Time (2012)
JAPANESE MINI-ALBUM
Shy Boy (2011)
FAN CLUB
Secret Time
OFFICIAL COLOR n/a
They’re cute, they’re catchy, they’re Secret.
The secret’s out. Secret is a great K-pop act.
Secret performing at a K-pop fashion show-cum-event in 2012.
SISTAR
Starship Entertainment
Sistar is definitely a group on the rise, having consistently grown in popularity since its 2010 debut. Each of its first three singles that year did better than the last on the charts, with “How Dare You?” giving the group its first No. 1.
The pulsing electro of “So Cool,” the title track from its first album in 2011, was one of Sistar’s biggest hits, pulling in 31 million views on YouTube, helped, no doubt, by plenty of short skirts and deep-bending dance moves, and was ranked one of the top K-pop songs of the year.
The next year, “Alone,” another Brave Brothers production, also did very well, reaching No. 1 on all the charts and setting the record for the longest stint at No. 1 on the Billboard K-pop album chart. “Loving U” was also a big hit.
Despite being so new, Sistar has, naturally, already got a subgroup: Sister19. Comprised of just Hyolyn and Bora, Sistar19 has released just two singles, but both have performed well.
With its second album, Give It to Me, released in June 2013, Sistar once again pulled in a haul of No. 1’s on the charts, despite facing some of the stiffest competition ever in K-pop. Sistar may not be in the top echelon of K-pop groups yet, but if the group keeps racking up hits, it won’t be long before it is.
MEMBERS
Hyolyn (Kim Hyo-jung; 김효정) January 11, 1991
Bora (Yoon Bo-ra; 윤보라) January 30, 1990
Soyou (Kang Ji-hyun; 강지현) February 12, 1992
Dasom (Kim Da-som; 김다솜) May 6, 1993
SUBGROUP
Sistar 19 (Hyorin, Bora)
KOREAN ALBUMS
So Cool (2011)
Give It to Me (2013)
KOREAN MINI-ALBUMS
Alone (2012)
Loving U (2012)
SISTAR 19 SINGLES
Ma Boy (2011)
Girl Not Around Any Longer (2013)
FAN CLUB Star 1
OFFICIAL COLOR Fuschia
Sistar, comprised of Dasom, Bora, Hyolyn and Soyou, may have started out slowly, but the group’s popularity keeps growing.
T-ARA
Core Contents Media
T-ara started out as a five-member group before losing two members, then gaining three, then gaining one more who left the group just a year later, making it a six-member group today.
Although T-ara did not start well in 2009, the group quickly improved and by the end of the year it was picking up plenty of rookie awards and rising up the charts. “Roly Poly” was one of the biggest singles of 2011, and in Japan “Bo Peep Bo Beep” became the first debut single by a non-Japanese girl group to hit No. 1. Arguably, the group’s 2012 single “Lovey Dovey” was even bigger.
T-ara was also the center of one of the more compelling and notable “scandals” in K-pop in recent years, the apparent bullying of member Hwayoung. In July 2012, Hwayoung’s contract was suddenly terminated with the management company, leading to speculation about what might have happened. Rumors quickly circulated that Hwayoung had been bullied out of the group—and the music label. Or perhaps she had acted unprofessionally and needed to be fired. With the issue now well into the past and no one talking about it anymore, the truth will probably never be known. But the Hwayoung issue was an important reminder that K-pop idols are human, as are members of their management companies, and are subject to the same pressures and fears as you or I.
MEMBERS
Boram (Jeon Bo-ram; 전보람) March 22, 1986
Qri (Lee Ji-hyun; 이지현) December 12, 1986
So Yeon (Park So-yeon; 박소연) October 5, 1987
Eun Jung (Ham Eun-jung; 함은정) December 12, 1988
Hyomin (Park Sun-young; 박선영) May 30, 1989
Jiyeon (Park Ji-yeon; 박지연) June 7, 1993
Dani (Kim Dan) (in training)
PAST MEMBERS
Areum (Lee A-reum; 이아름)
Hwayoung (Ryu Hwa-young; 류화영)
Jiwon (Yang Ji-won; 양지원)
Jiae (Kim Ji-ae; 김지애)
SUBGROUPS
T-ara N4 (Jiyeon, Hyomin, Dani, Eun Jung)
QBS (Qri, Boram, So Yeon); focused on Japan
KOREAN ALBUM
First Album (2009)
KOREAN MINI-ALBUMS
Temptastic (2010)
John Travolta Wannabe (2011)
Black Eyes (2011)
Day by Day (2012)
JAPANESE ALBUMS
Jewelry Box (2012)
Treasure Box (2013)
FAN CLUBS Queens (Korea), Sweet Treasure (Japan)
OFFICIAL COLOR Pearl ivory
T-ara’s “Sexy Love” featuring Eun Jung, Hyomin, Qri, Boram, So Yeon, Jiyeon and Dani, was one of the more memorable girl groups as living mannequins music videos.
Today, T-ara continues to shine. Subgroup T-ara N4 scored a bit hit in the spring of 2013 with the catchy “Jeonwon Diary.” QBS is another subgroup consisting of members not in N4, and is focused on the Japanese market.
T-ara N4 has its eyes on Western markets, with an English-language single on the way.