Kara (; ; often stylized in all caps) is a South Korean girl group formed by DSP Media in 2007. The group's current lineup is Gyuri, Seungyeon, Nicole, Jiyoung, and Youngji. Kara made their debut in March 2007 with their first studio album, The First Bloooooming. Originally a quartet composed of Gyuri, Seungyeon, Nicole, and Kim Sunghee, Kara showcased a strong female image and a mature R&B sound. However, their debut was a commercial failure. The following year, Sunghee left the group due to educational issues, and members Goo Hara and Kang Ji-young were added.
Kara's image changed to a "pretty but natural" concept with the release of their first mini-album, Rock U, in July 2008.Kara / Mini Album Rock U – K-Pop CD – Korea CD & DVD . Star-thots.com (July 30, 2008). They saw an increase in recognition in 2009, where they received significant attention for the "butt dance" choreography in "Mister". In 2010, Kara began to promote their music in Japan by signing to Universal Music Japan's subsidiary label, Universal Sigma. Their Japanese debut was a commercial success, where they became the first foreign female group to top the Oricon Singles Chart in 30 years.
Kara's second Japanese album, Super Girl (2011), sold over 740,000 copies by the end of 2012. They recorded sales of over one million physical singles in Japan within two years, making them one of the fastest-selling South Korean acts in the country.KARA Sells One Million Singles – Yahoo! News Philippines . Ph.news.yahoo.com (July 6, 2012). In 2014, Nicole and Jiyoung decided not to renew their contracts with DSP Media and left the group. Following their departures, a reality TV show titled Kara Project aired to select a new member to join the group. Seven trainees from DSP Media took part in the program, and the winner, Hur Youngji, became the last member to join Kara.
On January 15, 2016, DSP Media announced Gyuri, Seungyeon, and Hara's contracts expired and left the company. For Kara's fifteenth anniversary in 2022, members Gyuri, Seungyeon, Nicole, Jiyoung, and Youngji reunited and released Move Again. They embarked on their fifth and sixth Karasia tours in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
Name The group's name comes from the Greek word "chara" (χαρά, lit. "joy"), which they interpreted to mean "sweet melody".
History 2007: Early beginnings and debut The group started off as a quartet with members Park Gyuri, Han Seung-yeon, Kim Sung-hee, and Jung Nicole. On March 29, 2007, Kara debuted on Mnet's M Countdown with "Break It" from their first album The First Blooming. Their debut song displayed a strong female image and R&B sound. Other singles from the same album were titled "If U Wanna" and "Secret World". Music videos for the first two singles were created. 1집 Blooming . Naver Music. March 29, 2007 Although their album was acclaimed by critics, it was not well received by the general public and was overshadowed by other girl groups who debuted the same year. All promotions for their first album ended in the summer of 2007. In August 2007, the group came out with a documentary on Mnet called Kara Self Camera which showcased the group, their talents, and the relationships they had with each other. The first season debuted on August 8, 2007, and ended on December 12, 2007, with over 15 episodes. In the following months, member Seungyeon continued participating in many television variety shows to keep the group's name recognizable to the public, as their first album was not a commercial success. Myung-Hwa Jung "한승연, 카라 지키려던 무명시절 눈물 고백" . joynews.inews24.com. November 4, 2009. Retrieved July 21., 2010.
Comparisons were often drawn between them and their senior labelmates, Fin.K.L, because of their similarities in style and concept as well as the fact that the two groups were signed to the same label. Additionally, each individual member of Kara was paralleled to a member of Fin.K.L. In response to the comparisons, the members of Kara stated that they regarded the comparisons as beneficial and inspiring. Yeong-hyeon Kim. "카라 '핑클과 비교될 정도로 잘하고 싶어'" . Hankooki.com. May 1, 2007. Retrieved March 20, 2008.
2008: First line-up changes, Rock U, Pretty Girl and career breakthrough The group was scheduled come back in March 2008 with their second album. However, on February 28, DSP announced that Sunghee would be leaving the group and retiring from the entertainment industry. She stated that her departure from the group was due to parental pressure to focus on her education after she failed all of her college exams. As a result, DSP announced that the second album that was recorded would be shelved and replaced by a mini-album to come in May; in addition, two members would join the group. Auditions were held, and the two new members were eventually revealed to be Goo Hara and Kang Jiyoung. The group made their return to the music industry as a quintet on July 24, 2008, with "Rock U" on M Countdown. Their first mini-album titled Rock U was released the next day. They made their comeback with a cute and playful image, the complete opposite of the group's mature image from their debut. The second season of Kara Self Camera premiered on August 18, 2008, and chronicled how the group was adapting to their two new members.'카라 탈퇴' 김성희 "아쉽지만 음악공부에 전념할 것" . Joynews.inews24.com.
On November 29, 2008, DSP released a teaser video for their upcoming single, "Pretty Girl", which received over 40,000 hits within 12 hours. Gil, Hye-sung. 걸그룹 카라, 신곡 티저영상 12시간 만에 4만 클릭 (Girl Group Kara, New Video Teaser received 40,000 Clicks in 12 Hours) . MoneyToday. November 29, 2008. Retrieved December 1, 2008. The full video was released online on December 2, 2008 and was positively received by the public. The EP Pretty Girl was released on December 4, embodying a "fun-party" concept. The group began promoting their comeback on all major music shows on December 4, 2008, starting with M Countdown. Kim, HyunKoo. 카라 4일 새 미니앨범 발표 '2개월 만에 컴백' (Kara's New Album on the 4th, "Second Comeback in Two Months") . Newsen. December 2, 2008. Retrieved December 21, 2018. During their first national performance on KBS's Music Bank, member Goo Hara accidentally cried out live on air due to slipping on confetti, and reportedly cried profusely afterwards. Kim, HyunKoo. 카라 구하라 첫 컴백 무대 후 눈물 펑펑 . Newsen. December 5, 2008. Retrieved December 5, 2008. The incident became a hot topic among viewers, but Goo Hara received comfort instead of criticism from the general public. 카라 "깜찍·발랄 국민여동생? 호호호~"(Kara "Cute & Lively National Sisters? Hohoho~") . Sports Hankook. December 10, 2008. Retrieved February 4, 2009.
Park Gyuri attributed their popularity increase to their "pretty but natural" appeal,카라 "깜찍·발랄 국민여동생? 호호호~" (Kara "The Country's Cute and Lively Younger Sisters? Hohoho") . Hankook Ilbo. December 10, 2008. Retrieved December 10, 2008. while media reports gave credit to the band for finally finding its own identity in the music industry since the group's debut카라 '원더걸스-소녀시대-브아걸, 거기 서!' (Kara: "Wonder Girls, Girls' Generation, Brown Eyed Girls, Stop Right There!") . Sports Seoul. December 15, 2008. Retrieved December 15, 2008. and to older male fans, most notably singer Shin Hae Chul.Kim, Hyeong-woo. '대세' 카라를 있게 한 사람들 누굴까 (Who made Kara "Popular"?) . Newsen. January 29, 2009. Retrieved January 30, 2009. Due to their increasingly hectic schedule as their popularity rose, a few of the group's members were taken to the hospital on December 19 after a Music Bank rehearsal for cold symptoms and exhaustion. Park, Gun-wook. 카라, 감기 피로누적으로 '집단 응급실행'...큰 이상 없어 (Kara, Due to Cold and Exhaustion "Taken to Emergency as a Group"...Nothing Serious) . Asia Economy. December 19, 2008. Retrieved December 19, 2008.
2009: Rise in popularity in South Korea, Honey and Revolution
At the end of January 2009, DSP announced that it would commence voting on January 28 for the follow-up single to "Pretty Girl". The vote was hosted on the group's official website, and ended on February 2. Choi, Dae-han. 카라 '하니' 후속곡으로 결정! (Kara "Honey" Chosen as Follow-up Single!) . Today Korea. February 2, 2009. Retrieved February 4, 2009. "Honey" was the clear winner, with 60% of the votes. 카라하니, 달려라 하니? "'프리티걸' 인기에 이어 달릴 거야!!" (Kara Honey, Let's Go, Honey? "We Will Ride "Pretty Girl" Popularity!!") . Hankook Gyung-jae. February 2, 2009. Retrieved February 4, 2009. The song was remixed from the original version, and also underwent a slight name change from "" (Ha-ni) to "Honey".Kim, Hyeong-woo. 카라 "Honey" 12일 선공개 순위 급상승 '청순 폴폴' (After Kara's "Honey" Released on 12th, Quick Rise in Popularity, "Purity Overflowing"). Joins.com. February 12, 2009. Retrieved February 12, 2009. The group released the music video for "Honey" on February 16 and had their first live broadcast comeback on KBS's Music Bank program on February 13, 2009; a repackaged mini-album entitled Honey followed on February 19 which featured remixed versions of songs from the group's previous EP. "Honey" became the group's first number one single when it topped Gaon'''s weekly singles chart. The song earned the group their first music show award on M Countdown on March 5. It held onto the position for three nonconsecutive weeks. The song also won the Mutizen award on SBS's Inkigayo카라 "소녀시대 게 섯거라" 데뷔 2년만에 TV 첫 1위 눈물 울먹울먹 . Joins.com. March 9, 2009. Retrieved March 9, 2009. and the award for Best Dance at the 2009 Mnet Asian Music Awards.2009 Mnet Asian Music Award (MAMA) – Winner list « K Bites . Sookyeong.wordpress.com.
At the end of March, the group was chosen for the fourth season of MBC's Idol Show, which marked the group's first hosting duties for a show.. News.mk.co.kr. The group then appeared in a reality show called MTV Meta Friends, which chronicled a group of fans getting a chance to become friends with the group members. For the show, the group held their first concert since their debut in 2007.. News.mk.co.kr (May 27, 2009).
In June 2009, the group stated they would make their comeback in late July, with their concept upgraded. 걸그룹 대란속 '조용한' 카라 뭐할까 "업그레이드 카라 온다" (What is "silent" Kara doing during the girl group uproar – "An Upgraded Kara is coming.") . Newsen. June 16, 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2009. The first teaser pictures of the group were released in mid-July, showing radical changes in the group's style and also saw a slight return of the strong and mature image previously seen in their debut. 카라 "이제 소녀 아닌 여자로 봐주세요" (Kara: "Please see us as women, not girls") . Joins.com. July 20, 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2009. Im, I-rang. '컴백' 카라, 백발머리 변신 파격 스틸컷 공개 ("Comeback" Kara, White-Hair Transformation Pictures Revealed) . MyDaily. July 21, 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2009. Their single "Wanna" was released on July 28, 2009, and immediately charted on various digital music charts. Kim, Hyeong-wu. 카라 "Wanna" 뮤비 전격 공개 '성숙해진 깜찍발랄 매력 폴폴' (Kara's "Wanna" Music Video Release Blitz, "Matured Cute and Lively Image Overflowing") . Joins.com/Newsen. July 29, 2009. Retrieved July 28, 2009. The music video was released on July 29, with the full album, Revolution, available online on July 30. Comeback activities commenced on July 31, beginning with Music Bank; the group performed both "Wanna" and "Mister". Kang, Eun-yeong. "카라 '엉덩이춤' 너무 귀여워~" ("Kara's "Butt Dance" is So Cute~") . Sports Hankook. August 5, 2009. Retrieved August 4, 2009. "Mister" proved to be popular with netizens due to the "butt dance" featured prominently in the choreography. 카라 '엉덩이춤' 눈길 확~ 대박 조짐 (Kara's "Butt Dance" is Eye-grabbing; Huge Hit). Joins.com/Newsen. August 5, 2009. Retrieved August 4, 2009. Due to the popularity of "Mister", Kara's overall popularity increased, evidenced by an influx of advertisement requests by various companies; in total, they had more advertisements in October 2009 than they had had the previous two years. Kim, Won-gyeong. 실룩샐룩! 카라 '엉덩이'에 CF계 홀렸다 (Shake, Shake! Commercials Fall for Kara's "Butts") . Nate News. November 18, 2009. Retrieved November 18, 2009.