Kara (Hangul: 카라, often stylized as KARA) is a popular South Korean girl group signed with DSP Media (DSP). The band name Kara comes from the Greek Word "chara" (χαρά, lit. "joy"), which the group interpreted to mean "sweet melody".
Kara originally started as a four-member group and made their debut with "Break It" while displaying a strong female image and a mature R&B sound. Expectations for the group to be as big as their senior labelmates, Fin.K.L, were extremely high and the members were promoted as successors to them. They released their first album titled The First Blooming in 2007. However their debut was not well-received by the public and the album was a commercial failure.
In 2008, Kim Sunghee departed the group due to parental pressure, and two new members were brought in; as such, the group currently consists of five members: Park Gyuri, Han Seungyeon, Jung Nicole, Goo Hara, and Kang Jiyoung. The addition of the two new members also faced a change in the group's original image to a "pretty but natural" appeal. The five-member band eventually went on to achieve their first number one song with "Honey".
The group eventually made their debut in Japan in 2010. By the end of that year, Kara was dubbed as Japan's #1 Rookie Artist of 2010 by Oricon and also received the New Artist Of The Year Award (International) from the Japan Gold Disc Awards. In April 2011, the group achieved their first #1 single with "Jet Coaster Love", making them the first foreign female group since the creation of the Oricon (43 years ago) to rank #1 in the 1st week of release and the first foreign female group in 30 years to rank #1 in the charts all together. They also hold the title as the first Korean girl group to top the Oricon Weekly Single Chart. Their official fanclub is Kamilia, derived from a combination of the words "KARA" with the Latin word for family, "familia." Kara's official balloon color is pearl peach.
Kara originally started as a four-member group and made their debut with "Break It" while displaying a strong female image and a mature R&B sound. Expectations for the group to be as big as their senior labelmates, Fin.K.L, were extremely high and the members were promoted as successors to them. They released their first album titled The First Blooming in 2007. However their debut was not well-received by the public and the album was a commercial failure.
In 2008, Kim Sunghee departed the group due to parental pressure, and two new members were brought in; as such, the group currently consists of five members: Park Gyuri, Han Seungyeon, Jung Nicole, Goo Hara, and Kang Jiyoung. The addition of the two new members also faced a change in the group's original image to a "pretty but natural" appeal. The five-member band eventually went on to achieve their first number one song with "Honey".
The group eventually made their debut in Japan in 2010. By the end of that year, Kara was dubbed as Japan's #1 Rookie Artist of 2010 by Oricon and also received the New Artist Of The Year Award (International) from the Japan Gold Disc Awards. In April 2011, the group achieved their first #1 single with "Jet Coaster Love", making them the first foreign female group since the creation of the Oricon (43 years ago) to rank #1 in the 1st week of release and the first foreign female group in 30 years to rank #1 in the charts all together. They also hold the title as the first Korean girl group to top the Oricon Weekly Single Chart. Their official fanclub is Kamilia, derived from a combination of the words "KARA" with the Latin word for family, "familia." Kara's official balloon color is pearl peach.
