No rest for industrious girl groups as discs due

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No rest for industrious girl groups as discs due

When it comes to Korea’s around-the-clock work ethic, girl groups are no exception.

Four-member K-pop outfit Kara released its third album, “Step” on Sept. 6, a mere 10 months after the launch of the mini-album “Jumping” back in November.

The band became embroiled in a contract dispute earlier this year that threatened to dissolve it until a resolution was hastily arrived at in April. After that, the girls wasted no time in producing their newest album.

The album’s title track, a rock and pop-infused electronic dance song also called “Step,” was written by Sweet Tune, the producing duo of Han Jae-ho and Kim Seung-soo, who produced Kara’s previous hits “Mr” and “Honey.”

T-ara is also set to release its new mini-album “Black Eyes” on Oct. 27 despite this coming on the back of a hectic schedule and their first showcase in Japan, which wrapped up in July.

The band’s agency, Core Contents Media, described the album as “stripping away the retro style of [T-ara’s] last hit song ‘Roly-Poly’ and switching to an electronic sound that will be much more appealing to a broader fan base.” Well-known songwriters Brave Brothers and Shin Sa Dong Tiger helped produce the album, Core added.

Meanwhile, Girls’ Generation became the second non-Japanese band to score a No. 1 album on the country’s Oricon daily music chart on June 1. It is preparing the launch of its new album this month.

The Wonder Girls are also getting ready to release a new album in November. The girl group saw its single “2 Different Tears” become a big hit last year. In the interim, it has kept busy with performance dates from Singapore to China and promotional activities in the U.S.

The new album contains an OST single from the upcoming TV movie, “Wonder Girls at the Apollo,” which will be broadcast on Teen Nick in the U.S.


By Kim Tae-rim contributing writer [estyle@joongang.co.kr]
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