The amount of anticipation surrounding a KARA and T-ARA release is to be expected, considering that both groups are very well-known within the K-Pop scene. However, unless you closely follow the ins-and-outs of the K-Pop social sphere, you may be surprised at all the talk of 'will they win or won't they win?' for both these groups. Doesn't it get to a point where you expect certain groups to win when they come out with a new single? Wouldn't it be odd, for example, if TVXQ, Big Bang, or SNSD released something and didn't pick up a single win for it?
Of course, as your average up-to-date K-Pop fan knows, KARA and T-ARA are two special cases. KARA, for one, recently wrapped up dealing with the departure of veteran members Nicole and Jiyoung and phasing in new member Youngji, the victor of a reality project DSP devised to fill up the group line-up (time and effort that could have been spent marketing DSP's oft ignored groups Rainbow and A-JAX, but that's a whole other story). But even before these changes, KARA hadn't been winning on music shows up to their usual standard with single "Damaged Lady," which didn't manage to score wins on either Inkigayo or M! Countdown following its release.
T-ARA also had their share of setbacks since the departure of member Hwayoung in 2012, when it was speculated that she had been bullied by the other members of T-ARA. Details on the truthfulness of that situation aren't very clear (I for one would be very surprised if there were no cases of a member being isolated within a group in K-Pop, but I don't know to what extent this happened to Hwayoung, though it did seem negative feeling were there), but the group has paid for it among netizens ever since with the group failing to take home any wins for "Number 9" last year after they dominated the charts with "Lovey Dovey" in 2012.
But where do their most recent efforts put them? Let's check out their fresh starts with "Mamma Mia" and "Sugar Free"
KARA's "MAMMA MIA"
I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't overly excited about the intro of new member Youngji. For one, DSP shouldn't go around draining resources into a reality show like "KARA Project" when they can barely promote the groups they do have properly. DSP was the label behind SS501 and should have their act and reputation together enough to the point where Rainbow and A-JAX could have been launched as top groups. But they don't, so they continue to throw money at KARA, even though the fans and members didn't necessarily want a new member initially. Secondly, out of all the members of the KARA Project, Youngji was one of the weakest vocally. KARA already has a visual and dance member who can't contribute much in the way of vocals (Goo Hara), so adding another such member seemed rather pointless.
On the other hand, KARA did still manage to keep their trademark dance sound strong on new single "Mamma Mia," so their new line-up does show promise. While not being quite a blow-your-mind number, "Mamma Mia" is fun, dance-able, and super catchy, and shows that the group is not going down in flames just because they lost two of their former members. Vocally, Youngji still didn't wow me in the song, but Gyuri and Seungyeon were enough to carry the more powerful parts of the song, while Hara and Youngji provided support. The "hit the lights let's go" line did get me pumped up every time they hit it, which gives me hope that one day they'll be able to do the same with an entire song for me, like they did with "STEP."
The music video was also a great watch, and for having a line-up that hasn't been together that long, they had good chemistry together during the performance.
However, the line-up change does put them in the position of feeling somewhat like a new debut to more casual fans, and unfortunately they were only able to get a win from Show Champion on their first go-round with the new team. If they keep at it, though, they'll probably be able to regain some of their old impact, but it doesn't seem like they're starting at their old popularity level automatically.
To be frank, I've never been a huge T-ARA fan, as much as I love their stage performances and dances for songs like "Lovey Dovey" and "Cry Cry." I'm not big into their electropop singles, and simply hearing the instrumentation of "Bo Peep Bo Peep" can get on my nerves. All the same, I like their ballads and enjoy their concepts as performers, so I don't dislike them per se-- they're just not a top bias group, and I usually skip their singles in favor for the more toned down side tracks on their albums.
However, as much as I usually don't favor this style from them, T-ARA did do a good job on "Sugar Free" as far as making it a solid club track to put you in the mood for dancing goes. Even the back up music didn't bother me as much as "Bo Peep Bo Peep," making it hold up nicely for multiple replays. If I do have any complaint, it's that EXID's LE was clearly doing the rap parts for the group but wasn't credited as a featured artist (unless T-ARA has gotten really good at copying her delivery, which I doubt) and that the sound effects made it sound like a Pepsi ad. Other than that, it was a solid EDM song, and it has a fair shot of pulling them out of their bullying scandal slump.
The video, on the other hand, I didn't like. Why, you may ask? Because I couldn't watch a single second of it. Like WINNER's Mino and "I'm Him," the group went ahead with an overload of flashing lights throughout the MV. I personally don't suffer from epilepsy, but flashing lights do trigger migraines for me, and it annoys me when groups don't consider the potential conditions of their fans when releasing their videos. I've tuned into their live stages, and I don't think their dance is as good as some of their earlier routines, but I do like the energy with which they perform the track as well as their styling. If only I could see how they portrayed it in their MV :( I'm sorry that I won't be contributing views to it, but I honestly don't want artists to continue using that kind of lighting in their releases for the sake of other fans like me.
Final verdict: As a song, "Sugar Free" is more memorable to me, but KARA has the better video and dance. I don't think either group has reached the same momentum as their "glory days," but the potential is still there. Both groups can and should claw their way back up to the top and keep fighting! KARA needs stronger vocal power (other groups have had their weaker vocals improve, so I have faith in Youngji... Hara should probably just focus on visuals and dance since her level really hasn't risen vocally over the years), and T-ARA either needs to improve the rap line of their team, be more clear about featuring LE, or -gasp- not rap at all. Honestly, I don't think rap contributes much to their style, and they should just bring more of their electropop flair to the table.
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