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.
2012: Karasia, further success
On January 11, 2012, the group attended the "Golden Disk Awards" that was held in Osaka, where they won 2 awards; the "Disk Bonsang" and the"Best Hallyu Star Award". On January 18, 2012, the group was awarded with Asia Star Award at 7th Asia Model Awards Ceremony. The prize is a special honor only given to entertainers who played a pivotal role in spreading Asian culture throughout the world for a given year. The group was selected as the winner of the prize for the considerable achievement they’ve earned during the last year of 2011 as one of the most favored “Korean Wave” stars On January 19, 2012, the group attended the Seoul Music Awards and brought back 2 awards, the "Hallyu Special Award" and "Bonsang Award". At 2nd Best Application Contest of the 2011 Korea Mobile Awards, the group was awarded with Korea Communications Commission Award (Grand Prize). The group's app called Journey Through Japanese was launched in December 2011 and has received good reviews from the users by satisfying both learning and entertainment areas. On January 27th, the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) held the 26th annual Japan Gold Disc Awards ceremony, where the group was honored in five categories including Best Asian Artist, Best 3 Asian Albums, Song of the Year by Download, Best 5 Songs by Download and Best Music Video. The group also received GCS International Grand Award : Korea-based global social movement proposed and initiated (Idol Group - Donated to Japan's tsunami and earthquake relief)
On February 18, 2012, the group embarked on their first headlining Asia tour. They held their first solo concert at Seoul Olympic Park on February 19. This was Kara's first ever solo concert in five years since their debut.
Kara became the first-ever foreign artist to seize the top spot of two different categories on the Oricon Chart. Kara's DVD-Blu Ray Kara Best Clips II & Shows released on February 29 rose to #1 on Oricon's DVD Ranking Chart as well as the Blu Ray Disc Ranking Chart. This is the first time an artist from overseas has accomplished this feat, and Kara is the fifth artist overall to achieve this record after popular J-Pop singer Namie Amuro, girl group AKB48, Mr. Children, and Radwimps.
Kara becomes the first girl group to be made into figure dolls. On March 15th, Kara's agency DSP Media reported through a press report that 12-inch figure dolls created with the “Mister” theme would begin selling in both Korea and Japan around the end of March. The new dolls were produced by professionals from Hot Toys, DC Comics, Nokia, Enterbay, and more. In the past, figures were created for celebrities in Korea, namely actors, but Kara is the first girl group to be made into figure dolls. This will also be the first time a Korean girl-group doll will be sold in Japan. Different from other dolls, the Kara figures will boast a sleeker "statue" design for a more realistic feel.
Kara has become the first Korean artiste to have their own premium fragrance line. K5J the name is an acronym for "Kara 5 Jewel" and members of Kara participated in the development of the perfume from the beginning."We couldn't have achieved this historic milestone without our fans and thank you all for your love and continued support", Kara members said in a statement. The fragrance is a special gift for the fans and to bring them even closer together. The Eau de Toilette made in the United Kingdom has fruity, floral and woody notes. "We hope our fans would feel the sunshine and happiness of the Paris we experienced", Kara said. K5J, which is short for "Kara 5 Jewel", was created in Paris in partnership with 3CY, a premium Asian lifestyle brand. "The natural beauty and enthusiasm that radiates from inside each member makes KARA a perfect choice for us. We are excited to build on and continue our relationship with DSP Media going forward," declared a representative of 3CY.
Kara has achieved gold status for all of the singles released in Japan. This makes up a total of 11 times which includes albums and also DVDs. Kara is the first Korean girl group to achieve the impressive feat of having received the gold status more than 10 times and is the 3rd Korean artist to achieve this feat after BoA and TVXQ.
Members
| Stage name | Birth name | Date of birth | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romanized | Hangul | Romanized | Hangul | |
| Gyuri | 규리 | Park Gyuri | 박규리 | May 21, 1988 |
| Seungyeon | 승연 | Han Seungyeon | 한승연 | July 24, 1988 |
| Hara | 하라 | Goo Hara | 구하라 | January 13, 1991 |
| Nicole | 니콜 | Jung Nicole | 정니콜 | October 7, 1991 |
| Jiyoung | 지영 | Kang Jiyoung | 강지영 | January 18, 1994 |
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