ZiLong

Of course, this is my favourite one.

Can someone verify something for me, since I can't read Japanese? Apparently on Tower Records (Japan), Kara have topped the pre-order charts with this album. Is this the case?

To put it bluntly: Blind hate is just plain dumb.

Props to Gyuri for such honesty. I feel she might be taking this a little too seriously than the situation warrants, but this at least shows that the Kara members are not taking this addition of a new member lightly. As I have always said and continue to say, I will let the results speak for themselves. I will continue to support Kara and just as Gyuri says, the members will look out for one another. In the same way, I will put my trust in Kara to do their best. And seriously, everyone talking about 'luck'... Man, you make it all sound like being an idol is the be-all-end-all. So much work and effort goes into it that you have no idea. Dancers like me try time and time again to land those jobs just so that we can pay our rent, and if we ever land a big gig, we have to work our butts off to earn our stripes. So please, don't act like being an idol is easy or getting into a popular group is 'lucky'. Youngji has to earn her place in our hearts through her hard work, and I have faith that she won't disappoint, listening to the new album spoilers. Just you all wait and see. I believe Youngji's gonna prove herself as a Kara member; I'm bold enough to put that out there. I may be wrong, but that's not gonna stop me believing, just you watch her.

I'm going to go get an internship in S. Korea, I don't care what it takes. Sigh. I wish. OTL

Well, I don't exactly have any reason to dislike her, so why should I? Girl has great potential and I want to see her succeed, one human being to another. Simple as that, really. Okay, fine, you got me. She's pretty cute too. Happy now?

I think I'm gonna wait for the comeback before I fully judge. However, the Baby Kara Project showed Youngji with great promise.

I'm gonna give it some time before I say what I like about her. I was rather impressed with her during auditions, though. Very consistent.

Honey Mister Lupin Step Damaged Lady I don't listen to the others as much =D

The albums are usually released around the same time as their comeback, so yeah.

Word. You put it very very well. Kudos.

Um... let's get a few things straight here. 1) I didn't say 'people like you are wrong'. I simply said that people going against DSP's decision don't know what they're talking about. I didn't say whether they were right or wrong. 2) Similarly, I said that DSP does not know whether its decision is right or wrong until they see it through. 3) Moreover, how am I 'denigrating' your point of view? I am simply saying that you don't know what the future for KARA4.2 will hold with the inclusion of Youngji. At one point or another, every single member of KARA has made a mistake whilst performing on live stage, long after they debuted as KARA5. What I'm saying is that all the people who are naysaying to Youngji before she has had a chance to properly perform with KARA know absolutely bugger-all about whether she's a positive addition or not. 4) I'm not actually trying to convince you. For some reason, you seem to think that I'm pro-DSP, where I'm not. I'm pro-KARA and that's the way it should be. Discouraging Youngji just because DSP made that decision seems a bit irrational. And whether you like it or not, KARA is under DSP and they have been very successful up until this point, so your argument that DSP has done bad things and as such can't trust them is kind of invalid... 5) How exactly am I being immature? I didn't think I was really saying anything immature, and as a graduated student who studied philosophy of psychology and also psychotherapy, I can't identify anything I said as immature. On the other hand, I think it's a mature choice of action to allow a girl who went through training and auditions, along with international voting one frigging chance instead of naysaying because the company might make a mistake. I mean, listen to yourself. What if you were Heo Youngji? Is what you are saying in this thread what you want to be said to you as Heo Youngji? Well, actually, if we're talking semantics, then there are some opinions that can be right or wrong by virtue of also being 'fact' simultaneously. For example, my opinion that 'the Sun orbits the Earth' can be verified as true or false (in this case, false). Some opinions (not all) can be categorized as facts, whilst facts cannot be categorized as opinion (because it's true regardless of what your opinion actually is). But that's offtopic. Concerning whether a new member of KARA is good for KARA is indeed, simple opinion, since different perspectives can be taken on the developments. But you are 100% correct that there are ways to express respect and disrespect, not just as a fan, but as a human being. @sarah09 Think about how much respect is being afforded to Youngji. The girl has done nothing to make you dislike her and already the lynch mob is out? Man, that ain't just disrespect, that's outright inhumane. One last thing. I can respect that people have different opinions, but I don't have to respect the actual opinions (because seriously, there are some dumb things that are said out there). If someone told me that in their opinion, it was alright to kick a dog for no reason other than fun, you can't be serious that I respect that opinion. It is on this ground that discussion can disagree. There are so many other things I wish to point out, but I simply don't have the patience to write it out and I get the feeling it's going to fall on deaf ears anyway. But to tl;dr: You don't have to accept their decision, but you don't need to lynch Youngji for it either.

They need to start making digital download copies, my PC doesn't have a CD drive, q.q

Everyone was having a go at DSP for not knowing what they were doing, but with the acquisition of Duble Sidekick and the efficient shooting of the MV, it shows that DSP had a plan the whole time and did not hesitate in its execution. All that's left is to see how well the comeback does. Hwaiting!

I'd have to agree. There's much potential with the remaining 6 that shouldn't be wasted. Maybe Baby Kara should become official, ho hum.

If I'm honest, I think it makes her look older than she is. :/ I mean, she's beautiful and all, but I personally don't think I'd be attracted to any girl wearing that makeup.

Let's be honest here, when a good number of KARA fans acted the way they did when KARA Project began and thought a new member couldn't possibly be good for KARA, they don't really know anything at all. There's a whole list of idol groups that have undergone member changes and are still loved regardless. Giving DSP all this unnecessary hate just makes it harder for them to concentrate on making the best out of their decision. It's already hard enough without all these naysayers yapping like spoilt puppies. I won't say that DSP wishes only the best for KARA, but it's certainly in their interest to and they certainly do care about them in one way or another. Therefore, as I have always said concerning this matter, just give KARA your full support as their loving fans. This also includes Youngji from now on.

I'm in the business of dancing with a network. From what you say, I'd probably judge that you have no idea how managing a team of performers work, especially on ones with differing styles or, in this case, newer members joining. So much time and so much organisation is required even for the addition of one new member (and I know this best, because I AM that new member), so to go with one young member is actually the most cost-efficient, time-efficient and attention-efficient method of doing it. For Jiyoung and Hara it was a different story because KARA was still recent and new, so they could mould well with the group nonetheless. However, 4-5 years down the line is a whole different story - similar to my dance network who has been around for near on a decade. I'm not saying DSP shouldn't have added two new members, but their decision to only add one on the basis of focusing on the addition of just one to make a 4-person group is not an 'excuse'.

I didn't read the whole article, because I can't read Korean, but the conclusion it reaches as far as I'm concerned is just way off the mark. Yes, there are things that DSP could perhaps do better, but by the large, what they did wasn't wrong, either. There are also many factors that the author simply isn't aware of and that, as a newswriter, is appalling. I'm just a simple fanboy and I know more than the article says. I'm a bit unique in the way I think, so I can definitely understand if people disagree with me, though. I wouldn't say anything short of cheering isn't allowed either. On week 3 of the KARA Project (I think), there was a lot of criticism thrown there about the KARA Babies and even in this thread, there's a whole lot of agreement that DSP messed up somehow. But you just got to keep in mind that at the end of the day, Kamilia will want to support KARA, because that's who we are. That's all there is to it.

Are you kidding me? I swear some people just want to kick up a firestorm for the sake of kicking up a fuss. Poor awareness locally? Remind me what channel it was broadcasted on. Oh yeah, that's right. MBC Music. Last I checked, that was a Korean channel. I couldn't find this out on BBC News and it wasn't on NHK nor Nippon or any other Japanese channel. Deciding to complain more than a month later when a new member has been selected about there being poor exposure when there was SO much exposure on the DSP Youtube Channel along with 17249017490187490 other Korean and non-korean online news sources that fans all OVER the world are talking about it... You have the audacity to say that coverage was poor? If you're blaming poor exposure when I've heard about it here in the UK and managed to follow it, then seriously, you just suck at keeping up with news. That's not an exposure problem, that's a 'you've-got-your-head-stuck-under-a-rock' problem. As for the audition being lax, if you're saying that, then you're really ill-aware of the selection process in the first place. Dubious got it all laid out - some were trainees picked from the company. These weren't girls they just picked up from the streets, they were girls who had already undergone prior training and other initial tests before being chosen for the project. Again, the reporter is ill-informed and is not even remotely aware of the process. As for the one month - one month is actually ample time to see potential. Just look at the votes - Youngji wins two weeks and comes in the top 3 all other times. The strongest members were pretty much decided by the first two episodes. Continuing it for another month or two would likely only yield the same results. You can argue that the voting is skewed, but I'm not sure a perfect balance is easy to find anyway - do you put emphasis on the fan votes, because they're the ones cheering the members on? But then it becomes a popularity contest and not a test of skill. Do you give emphasis to the expert votes, because they know how to tell ability? But then it ignores fan preferences. Though I can't say the voting percentages were the best, I think they did their job. As for her debuting with KARA as early as August... That might be a bit early, especially if it's Japan and not Korea. However, since I suspect that since they are singing in Korean and not Japanese, I think she'll manage. It's concerning that KARA-3 does not appear to have had any interaction with Baby Kara (a mistake, in my opinion). In any case, we can just give her our support, so even if she might not do the best as an actual member right now, there's plenty more room for her to grow.

It's interesting to see. Although 'Step' has the most votes, it's still not number 1 in most people's eyes. :3 Will be most curious to see how this will all turn out.

Yes, it's harsh but true. You really can't slack when it comes to stuff like the performing arts. I've been on tour with my dance group and we still had to go over choreography every single day to make sure we didn't forget any of it. Even then, it's possible to say that we slipped up sometimes. Our director is pretty harsh on us as well, telling us everything we do wrong and then getting us to push 10 if we get it wrong again. Showbiz is 10x harder than what I did and more noticeable given their exposure. Any of the dancers in my group would have been thrilled to hear about hard choreography, to tackle that challenge and grow from it. As aspiring Kara members, they shouldn't be discouraged by difficult choreography, but determined to do better. If they take away from this well, then it will prove to be a very valuable growing experience. If this discourages them... I hate to say it, but those kind of people just don't cut it as performers as they are. These are new members for a well-established group. Not rookies in a new group having their first debut, but additions to a veteran group. There's a not-that-well-known saying that circulates dancing: 'If you're not hungry for it, you don't get to eat.' I wish only the best for the Kara Babies. Don't be discouraged!

I'm not quite up to times with the Kara Baby Project, but there are some things I would like to say after reading this. Whenever someone receives negative criticism, it is important not to lose heart. Even if it makes you feel like you should just stop what you're doing and give up, if you really want it, you must persist and not give up. As a dancer and performer myself, I understand all too well the frustration. As a b-boy, it is part of our dance culture to constantly battle each other and compete against each other. Since it is often the case that I'm actually pitted against people who are easily better than me, losing a lot is part of the process in battling. Many frustrations come with training, battling, losing and then having to repeat that entire process again. But it should be kept in mind is just that if you come out and you think you didn't perform well, the only solution is to go back into the workshop and work 3 times as hard. Get smoked in a battle? Nothing you can do, go back to the lab and work it up. So I say to you - do not be discouraged. I understand what it is like to constantly be frustrated, to be negatively judged and criticised. Perhaps you do not have the appeal of an idol star now, but that is not to say you cannot get it in the future. The project is not over yet, and there is time for great improvement. Give it your best and then some. Swallow that bitterness and fight until the end, through the tears and through blood. When you come out the other side and have still lost, you can hold your head high in that you gave it your all; that the experience changed and shaped you, making you stronger. And when the project is over, with your newfound experience, go on to new and further heights. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FIDP9YUpRo&index=9&list=PLhnqClUHh17HXFcLIWqS_uHC0TkxGwLib

Many thanks. It's good to see that the Karaholic forums are far more cohesive and welcoming than other fanbase forums I've joined before.