Debut
According to leader Jea, Jea herself went around and searched for the other members of BEG. The first member Jea picked out was Miryo, who was known as a great female rapper from the hip-hop community. Miryo previously worked with other fellow rappers, such as Gil Seong-joon from Leessang, and the main female rapper in well-known hip-hop group Honey Family. Narsha was chosen when Jea remembered her as "talented singer" from her high school days. Ga-in was selected by the three members after she was eliminated from "Battle Shin Hwa". According to Ga-in, she was crying in the bathroom after failing the audition, was found by composer Ahn Jung Hoon, and then was chosen through the audition in Brown Eyed Girls' company. The four members held several small size concerts, and was actually known as "Crescendo" before officially debuting as "Brown Eyed Girls".[citation needed]
After more than 3 years of training in singing and holding several small size concerts, the Brown Eyed Girls (sometimes abbreviated as "BEG") released their debut album Your Story in South Korea in February 2006. The album was well-received critically but did not do as well as expected commercially.[citation needed] However, it did spawn their hit debut single "Come Closer" (다가와서), which became a minor hit throughout Korea. The album was later re-released to include "Hold The Line" (which samples "Push The Button" by British girl band Sugababes and "Technologic" by Daft Punk). This song also became a hit, further boosting the band's popularity. "Hold the Line" was disclosed across the world because it was included in the list of songs from the game Pump it Up.
After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (떠나라 미스김), which included the single "You Got Me Fooled" (너에게 속았다). Subsequent singles were "Oasis" (오아시스) featuring Lee Jae Hoon and "It's Mine" (내꺼야), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa.
During the break between their debut and second albums, the Brown Eyed Girls released their first digital single entitled "I Am a Summer" (내가 여름이다), which was later included in their second LP.
The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene.[citation needed] However, the commercial success was relatively higher in two singles between the first and second albums.[citation needed] "Hold the Line" and "Oasis" can be categorized as dance and retropop, respectively. Moreover, the second album containing "You Got Me Fooled" (너에게 속았다) was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' "Tell Me" which received a nationwide success in Korea. Therefore, their second album was once again a commercial disappointment.[citation needed] At the same time, the general K-pop scene was changing from R&B ballads to dance music.[citation needed]
2008: With Love and My Style mini albums
In January 2008, the group released their first mini album With Love. The first single taken from the mini-album was "Love", which became an instant hit in South Korea, making the girls a household name.[citation needed] "Love Action" was the second single taken from the mini album and was another hit for the group. With Love also marked the group's second digital album (after "I Am a Summer"), though it was released in conventional CD format as well. After the release of their first mini-album, they could achieve the commercial success.[citation needed] "Love" was composed by Saint-Binary and Min-Soo Lee.
In September 2008, the "Brown Eyed Girls released their second mini-album in My Style. Their new single "How Come" (어쩌다) became their biggest hit of 2008, topping many music charts. After promotion for "How Come" ended, they released the 3-track follow-up My Hidden Style, which included the single "My Style", a remake of their hit "Love". Both "My Style" and "How Come" were successful singles. Their second mini album, My Style contained "How Come". It also contained "You", which was composed by Saint-Binary and Min-Soo Lee.
2009–present: Sound G
On July 20, 2009, the Brown Eyed Girls released their third full-length album, the double-disc Sound G . Even though "Candy Man" was the first song unveiled from the album, the first heavily promoted single was "Abracadabra"- The release of this album also saw a shift in the image of the group, as the members redefined themselves as independent and mature city girls, which is a trend with many K-Pop groups.
The release of the "Abracadabra" music video sparked controversy. As the group is sporting a substantially more provocative visual style, criticism has arisen for the suggestive and erotic themes that the video presents. They later released a "stage version" of the video, which focuses only on the choreography. "Abracadabra" was composed by Ji-nu and Min-Soo Lee. Ji-nu was a famous bassist in the legendary acid-jazz band in Korea, Roller Coaster. After the disband of Roller Coaster, Jinu became a famous DJ regarding electronic music. He composed the first part of "Abracadabra", and tried to compose the refrain part. However, he could not think of a good idea to make the refrain part. Therefore, Min-Soo Lee, who worked with BEG previously, helped and composed the refrain part of "Abracadabra".
The Brown Eyed Girls revealed a repackaged version of the album titled Sign that included a new single, "Sign", along with "Drunk On Sleep" and a remix of their previous hit "Abracadabra". The repackaged album was released along with the music video for "Sign". The music video caused controversy because of its content, it featured scenes of violence and death, including Ga-In drowning in a tank of water. "Sign" has reached certain success, but it has not matched the success of the band's previous single "Abracadabra".
In August 2010, the group re-released Sound G in Japanese to promote them in the country . Also, a new music video was filmed for the Japanese version of "Sign". Its content is completely different from the original Korean version of the song, since the new version focuses on choreography while the original version did not feature any.
After the success of the album, two members were selected for popular variety shows in Korea. Ga-in has appeared on We Got Married with 2AM's Jo Kwon since September 2009. The couple is very popular in Korea and is one of the most recognized virtual couples in the country. Narsha (who also made a solo debut in 2010) has appeared on Invincible Youth (also known as G7) since October 2009. She is known on the show as "Sung In Dol" (Adult idol) due to her age difference with other members and her funny, but naughty reactions on the show.
2011
On January 17, the Japanese music video for "Sign" was released. [2] The group is planning to begin promotions in Japan in early 2011. [3]
Meanwhile, the group is planning a Korean comeback, and their fourth studio album was rumored to be released on March 2011 however the stated release date of the album is found to be untrue but the group is actually in the midst on their preparaton for their comeback {tentatively set for June 2011}.[4]
Other musical efforts
The girls have also been featured on several South Korean Drama soundtracks. Including The Vineyard Man (Loving You), Queen of Games (독한 사랑), Dae Jo Yeong (대조영), The Kingdom of The Winds (다애), My Fair Lady (I Love You), and Chuno (Me-Ah).
JeA also participated in OST songs even before Brown Eyed Girls' debut.
Also, Miryo and JeA collaborated for the single "Love Is..." which was released in May of 2010.
No comments:
Post a Comment