Kara_Hyori Posted August 28, 2008 Report Share Posted August 28, 2008 For Second Generation Female Groups, the Competition's All About Image... Sexy vs Innocent vs Bubbly What influences do female groups have on the Korean music industry? They expanded market to include men as well, for the majority of the market in the past used to be females. Thanks to the competitive battles between SES and FinKL, female groups began to gain recognition, and the mature looks of Baby VOX and Jewelry diversified the fan level. Of course, Jewelry is much more popular at the moment, but just 3 or 4 years ago, the sexy competitions between these 2 groups exponentially increased the number of fans of female groups. Recently, while the competition between the so-called "2nd Generation" groups, SNSD and the Wonder Girls, have cooled off a bit, KARA took advantage of the short break and came back with a bright and bubbly concept. And there comes the smell of a subtle change in the girl groups' competition in the air. KARA, who came back last month, has been gaining quite a bit of popularity, particularly online. Although their comeback and performance on a music program has received many harsh criticisms, the girls were content because even though they were mostly cricitisms, it shows that they attract that much attention. In addition, their new bubbly concept has been deceivingly popular, for KARA has been continuously performing on music shows, and KARA-related search words have been showing up near the top in the most-searched lists on various portal sites. And what helped even more was the fact that both SNSD and Wonder Girls haven't been all that active when KARA came back. ... The spokesmen for DSP Entertainment, KARA's record label company, said they plan on actively promoting their bright and bubbly image to battle with SNSD's innocence and Wonder Girls' "sexiness" This kind of strategy should be a good way to try and attract more male fans of the ages from 20 to 40, who became a big market for female groups recently. It's because males in their 20's have grown up in the late 90's watching the rise of idol groups, so they are familiar with the music and dance steps of these groups. Also, male fans in their 30's and 40's are generally very curious about the entertainment industry and are very nostalgic about their past as well. In fact, it is the same logic as how the Wonder Girls, who came out with an old school look of the 80's in their first album, have drawn the support of many male fans with the cute sexiness concept in their 2nd album; it's also the same logic as how SNSD promotes their innocent concept, which helped the early idol groups to grow in their early stages. ... Hence, it seems like it will be one heck of a competition between SNSD, the Wonder Girls, and KARA. Credits to: Asia Economy & stoo.com Translations by: Seannn@soshified.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimishim Posted September 24, 2008 Report Share Posted September 24, 2008 I think KARA, SNSD, and the Wonder Girls are all great groups. I wish there wouldn't be any competition between them, but of course there is :/ But with competition, I'm always seeing people saying rude things like "Wonder girls are prettier," "SNSD can singer better," on KARA videos, blogs, threads, etc. I personally think all three groups are on the same singing level and they're all equally as pretty. I love KARA's bubbly image, it's really fresh and unique. It's different from SNSD's and Wonder Girls' images. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kookiekutter Posted September 24, 2008 Report Share Posted September 24, 2008 I like all the images, you get one of each. They should totally do covers of each other's songs, so you get even more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mae Posted September 24, 2008 Report Share Posted September 24, 2008 ^^ KARA gets bashings too but that's considering that they are WG and SNSD's competitions..so it's kind of like okay KARA's on their level enough to be bashed and compared..which to me is a compliment Kamilia are usually laid back people so we don't usually go around replying to people's bashings cause honestly such a waste of time..and yea KARA's comeback is considered a success i always liked KARA's image..a big part of why i fell for them, the way they treat each other is really what makes them stand out to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mae Posted September 26, 2008 Report Share Posted September 26, 2008 ^^ they are bubbly..DSP never claimed they were innocent..and the way the girls talk sometimes..they aren't innocent.. like how Gyul said if she ever learned one thing from Seungyeon it was SexEd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimishim Posted September 27, 2008 Report Share Posted September 27, 2008 ^ Haha yeah, I understand how that is a compliment Kara's image is why I like them so much too. The girls are hilarious, especially when they speak pevertedly haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solin Posted September 28, 2008 Report Share Posted September 28, 2008 KARA is lively and open-mind on things like Sexe lol. That is what make them so unique and be KARA. All 3 groups have their image and are great. Plus they are all friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QiannKoreanFreak Posted September 29, 2008 Report Share Posted September 29, 2008 All 3 groups have their own style. I love all 3 groups, fan of all of them. Ofcourse, Kara's bubbly image is what i love the most! It is very unique and different from wg's sexiness and snsd's innocence. P.S Besides being a Kamilia, I'm Wonderful and S♡ne too. Haha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love_elle Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 I love KARA's bubblyness! That's definitely one of things that attracted me to them...I never got the innocent vibe from them, always the playful, down-to-earth, one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Z-Min_ Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 I actually personally like Kara more than SNSD.Because they're more bubbly.Haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blizzard -x Posted October 3, 2008 Report Share Posted October 3, 2008 i was uber into snsd. haha kara's dragging me awau now with their bubbliness =P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yunyun Posted October 4, 2008 Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 i like kara and snsd, not sure about wg though, some of their dance moves are a bit too mature, but i still like theyre songs... kara is in the same level as them,,, but they're not too innocent, not too sexy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KARAokeing Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 I don't like either extreme, honestly. when you're going for a sexy image, there will come a time where you start underselling yourself due to your sexually charged image. in my mind, that cheapens both you, your image, and eventually your music. namie amuro best exemplifies this with a very large number of her songs having some sort of sexual connotation e.g. "do me do me" innocent images are marginally better than sexy images in that they don't ultimately resort to "trashiness", but in the long run, I'd get bored of the innocent image. innocent images might have an early appeal because of their apparent normalcy, but tend to be rather static. you can only go with so many outfits and arrangements for an innocent image. on the flip side, an innocent image makes for light-hearted talks on TV and radio. bubbly images are simply a no-no for me, again, primarily why I've kept on supporting kara 4 and not kara 5. why do I have this hate for bubbly images? it mostly has to do with the type of people I interact with. people who are cheery all the time may be people you can easily be friends with, but my goodness, bubbly people are just incredibly ANNOYING! I seriously can't stand bubbly people. they never give you personal space, always bug you at the worst times, and once they've locked you in their sights, you can't avoid a conversation with them. ever. celebrity-wise, bubbly images, again, just annoy me. trying to be cute all the time does not rub me the right way at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SML Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 ^ I agree with you on the first two parts..but I hope you don't mean you don't support the current Kara ;_; Sunghee's absence was inevitable, there was nothing the girls could do to change her decision. The only way they could achieve the popularity they have now (or even keep from disbanding or failing) was through the current cute trend and catchy songs. While I understand that overly bubbly personalities tend to get old fast and annoying, Kara has gained many new fans through their new image. I don't find the girls overly cheery imo, except for their greeting. But they've always had a very loud greeting and ending even with Sunghee. The girls (I think) have finally adjusted to their new concept and members and are accepting it. Their concepts have been rapidly maturing. I think the Honey concept fits them well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jihaebutt Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 I like KARA's Honey image better than their Pretty Girl Image. i feel like this is more natural. Not as much makeup, their skirts aren't short short, and the whole thing just has a very nice vibe to it. Also, male fans in their 30's and 40's are generally very curious about the entertainment industry and are very nostalgic about their past as well. -;; please please do not tell me DSP is marketing them to 40-year-olds. when i read the article on SM/SNSD about this i almost cried. it's like. AHHHHH T_T it's gross. Maybe not all old ajusshis are perverted but GAH what else could you possibly be thinking when you see 5 young, pretty girls being on a stage? Not KARA, too T_T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SML Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 ^^ Well I don't think they meant it in a bad way. Generally the older crowd buys CDs. Younger people tend to just download songs. But yes, I agree, it's not a very pleasant thought of 30-40 males gaping at Kara... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
`MeMel Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 why do fans have to fight over the two groups, wer they really rivals?? Go KaRa.jjang Go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KARAokeing Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 (edited) I don't find the girls overly cheery imo, except for their greeting. But they've always had a very loud greeting and ending even with Sunghee. The girls (I think) have finally adjusted to their new concept and members and are accepting it. Their concepts have been rapidly maturing. I think the Honey concept fits them well. It's not really how they talk, because that much hasn't changed on those TV shows. Gyuri's still Gyuri, Nicole's still Nicole, and Seung Yeon's still Seung Yeon. It's their demeanour on the stage that has been the most noticeable change. The outfits were clearly made to express pureness, cheeriness, happiness, etc. etc. etc. Some people might call that "saccharine" when used in association to happy cutesy music (which both "Pretty Girl", "Rock U" and "If U Wanna" were); for me, it just makes me feel incredibly uncomfortable partly because of the total loss of realism that the group is projecting. Sure, music's meant to be a diversion from what you experience in real life, but I mentioned in my earlier post that on many levels, cuteness and bubbliness - even if it's just an appearance or image - just rubs me the wrong way. And yes, it's pretty obvious Kara got more fans after their first two mini-albums. As much as I wish that popularity came after The First Blooming, that simply is the reality of the situation. ^^ Well I don't think they meant it in a bad way. Generally the older crowd buys CDs. Younger people tend to just download songs. But yes, I agree, it's not a very pleasant thought of 30-40 males gaping at Kara... When you're producing a pop act, as sad as this seems, you try to cater to the largest consumer demographics. The first obvious demographic is girls between the ages of 13-17; if you're still in high school, you'll know the urge that teenage girls sometimes get to buy things to satisfy their "needs" or to support their favourite artists (e.g. by ogling them after the purchase). The other demographic is the one with society's highest purchasing power - that's right, working men i.e. your dads and other single men that are their age. Edited February 18, 2009 by KARAokeing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alloviacie Posted September 20, 2009 Report Share Posted September 20, 2009 I like all of them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chanikarn Posted February 4, 2010 Report Share Posted February 4, 2010 I like all the images, you get one of each. They should totally do covers of each other's songs, so you get even more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeztine Posted February 24, 2010 Report Share Posted February 24, 2010 Thanks for the news & Sharing for us Karaholic~<3 Jjang!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akira jung solon Posted March 6, 2010 Report Share Posted March 6, 2010 these three girl groups are the best in korea! :3 and they really help in kpop industry right?? more on girl power!!! :3 i love all these concepts actually and it goes well with them! I know they don't feel competition because they are friends. :3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xiaodikoo Posted April 16, 2010 Report Share Posted April 16, 2010 you call wondergirls sexy... ?that really somehow not factual to me but it is really snsd is innocent group and kara is bubbly/// Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GyulSary17 Posted May 6, 2010 Report Share Posted May 6, 2010 I miss Sunghee too, but KARA is KARA and SNSD is SNSD, the same with WG, they can Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ismyfriend Posted June 27, 2010 Report Share Posted June 27, 2010 Hahah yes I do like her. She's so cute~and I like her even more because of her organism statement. :DD I prefer Sexy...cute and bubbly makes me wanna punch someone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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