T-ara come to get down!
T-ara is a seven-member girl group hailing from Korea; they are best known for their chameleon-like tendency to switch their concept and sound at the drop of a dime. While many praise their ability to adapt a new sound and image with relative ease, others criticize that it can also be a detriment as the group seems to suffer from an "identity crisis." The group has gone on record themselves as saying that they STRIVE to be different with each subsequent release, and that that is their true appeal. For the most part they seem to be spot on...they are one of the bigger breakout girl groups of the last three years, and are responsible for some of the
most addictively catchy pop songs you'll ever hear.T-ara got their start as a five-member vocal group (Hyomin, Eunjung, Jiyeon, Jiwon, and Jiae); their premise, ironically enough, was that they would primarily specialize in ballads and midtempos,
as the girls' voices were best suited to that style of music. Everything seemed to be going well for the group; they had been pegged as "super rookies" due to the three years they had trained before their debut (nearly a year longer than most groups are required to train), and the girls were instantly pegged as a "pretty" group due to their physical beauty. Then tragedy struck...well, not really. Jiwon and Jiae departed at the eleventh hour before their debut due to "creative differences," and as a result Core Contents Media (their record label) were left in a jam. Enter Soyeon (an SME trainee who was originally meant to join the uber-popular girl group
Girls Generation), Boram (a member of a family that is famous in the Korean entertainment industry), and Qri (a beautiful girl who would eventually become the visual center of the group). And thus, T-ara was born. Hwayoung, the latest addition to the group, would officially join the group shortly before promotions for their mini-album Temptastic began; she is the designated rapper.
While the group's official debut single, "Lies," did not fare well, that all turned around when four of the girls joined forces with male hip-hop group Supernova for the electroballad "TTL (Time To Love)." The song quickly became a hit for both groups, and paved the way for T-ara to smash the charts with the silly-yet-catchy
"Bo Peep Bo Peep"; their debut album, Absolute (and subsequent repackage
Breaking Heart) were decent sellers. Since then the group has been very consistent in one thing only: their propensity to completely revamp their image and sound at the drop of a dime. Sometimes it pays off ("Roly-Poly")...sometimes it doesn't ("Yayaya"). Their popularity has been on an upswing as of late, thanks in large part to a more adult sound with their latest mini-album
Black Eyes and a successful debut in Japan, making them one of the more well-known and successful girl groups in Korea at the moment.
Discography:- Korean Discography:
- Absolute First Album (2009)
- Breaking Heart (Repackage) (2010)
- Vol. 2 Temptastic (2010)
- John Travolta Wanna Be (2011)
- Roly-Poly In Copacabana (Repackage) (2011)
- Black Eyes (2011)
- Funky Town (Repackage) (2012)
- Second full-length Korean album (TBR in 2012)
- Japanese Discography:
- Bo Peep Bo Peep (Single) (2011)
- Yayaya (Single) (2011)
- Roly-Poly (Single) (2012)
- Debut Japanese album (TBR in 2012)
T-ara provides examples of the following tropes:
- Adorkable: Boram is trope personified. She's tiny but eats her weight in fast food and candy whenever she gets the chance. She's also one of the funnier members to watch on their reality shows.
- Auto-Tune: They've become quite notorious for their sometimes profligate use of it.
- Bare Your Midriff: Pretty much since day one.
- Big Eater: Boram. Boram, Boram, Boram.
- Breakout Star: Jiyeon. Eunjung and Hyomin are also quite popular, but it seems like Jiyeon has become the unofficial "face" of the group.
- Career Resurrection: After Temptastic and "Yayaya" failed to meet expectations, many wondered what would become of T-ara. Enter "Roly-Poly," which has become one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) hits of 2011.
- Cat Girl: Both the Japanese and Korean music videos for "Bo Peep Bo Peep."
- The Cutie: Boram definitely. She's one of the shortest idols in Korea and looks incredibly young for her age, which is made even funnier when you learn that she is, in fact, the eldest member of the group.
- Darker and Edgier: The girls sexed it up for their 2010 hit "I Go Crazy Because Of You."
- Their latest mini-album Black Eyes qualifies as this, especially since it was released on the back of the INCREDIBLY cutesy "Roly-Poly."
- This is most apparent in the video for "Cry Cry," best described as a gangster mini-epic.
- Department of Redundancy Department: T-ara excels at this.
- Bo Peep, Bo Peep, Bo Peep, Bo Peep, Bo Peep, Bo Peep, Bo Peep, ahhh!
- Roly-poly, roly-roly-poly...
- "Yayaya" from start to finish.
- Epic Riff: "Roly-Poly," "Yayaya," "Bo Peep Bo Peep," "Tic Tic Toc," "I Go Crazy Because Of You," and "Why Are You Being Like This?" to name a few.
- Euro Pop: Comprises quite a bit of their discography.
- Even the Girls Want Her: They got quite a few new female fans after dressing up as men for the Hallyu Dream Concert. "Manjung" and "Manri" were especially popular.
- Everything's Deader with Zombies: The "Zombie Version
" music video of "Lovey-Dovey"...complete with "Thriller" homage! - Everything's Funkier with Disco: "Roly-Poly," anyone?
- Family Business: Boram is the member of the Jeon family, several members of which are well-known entertainers in Korea.
- Genre Roulette: They run the gamut from cutesy, aegyo-styled pop to 2NE1-styled R&B/electro-pop.
- Girl Group: Well, duh.
- Good Bad Girl: They even have a song called "I'm So Bad."
- Gratuitous English: Most evident in a catch phrase they've used often in their songs..."T-ara come to get down."
- Grief Song: "TTL (Time To Love)" and its successor, "TTL 2 (Listen)."
- Hotter and Sexier: They had already shown shades of this when they promoted "Like The First Time" but they went all-out for "I Go Crazy Because Of You."
- Intercourse with You: It's heavily implied in "Like The First Time."
- Impossibly Cool Clothes: As with many Korean groups and idols they're often impeccably dressed for performances and appearances.
- In Da Club: Most of their music is tailor-made for it.
- "Roly-Poly" features a dance segment in a seventies-styled dance club.
- Irony as She Is Cast: The girls have caught a lot of flack for not being able to sing well live; this is only made worse by songs like "Bo Peep Bo Peep" and "Roly-Poly," which are either auto-tuned to death or are sang in octaves not within their natural range. The truth is that they actually CAN sing, as evident by a lot of songs from their first album as well as their latest mini-album Black Eyes.
- Japanese Pop Music: The girls had a successful debut in Japan earlier this year when their single "Bo Peep Bo Peep" became the first single EVER by a Korean artist to debut at number 1 on the Oricon. That's quite an achievement.
- Lady Looks Like A Dude: The group posed as men for posters to help promote the Hallyu Dream Concert. They were convincing, to say the least. Bond, I presume?
- Let's Duet: Their breakout single "TTL (Time To Love) was a collaboration with hip-hop group Supernova.
- They collaborated with the same group for "TTL 2 (Listen)."
- Lighter and Softer: They go back and forth between this and Darker and Edgier all the time.
- Mood Whiplash: The majority of Black Eyes is decidedly darker in tone than their previous albums and minis...then you hear "O My God," a Christmas tune that sounds like it should be on a Girls Generation album, and the mood is lost.
- Motor Mouth: Hyomin, Eunjung, and Hwayoung, the designated rappers of the group.
- New Sound Album: Black Eyes.
- Nostalgia Filter: A lot of people missed the "old" T-ara from their debut after Temptastic and John Travolta Wanna Be were released.
- Obsession Song: "I Go Crazy Because Of You" and, arguably, "Roly-Poly."
- Old Shame: Possibly one for Jiyeon, who was involved in a scandal in which she allegedly stripped for a guy on webcam. She was only 13 when this reportedly happened. Needless to say the future of the group was called into question, but the whole mess just kind of faded away and not a word has been spoken about it since.
- Pistol Pose: Jiyeon in the promotional poster for the "Cry Cry" video.
- It looks like Qri and Jiyeon are about to shoot each other in promotional photos for their upcoming single "Lovey Dovey."
- Considered to be foreshadowing for the MV, in which Jiyeon's character gets plastic surgery to become Qri.
- Playing to the Fetishes: They rock the schoolgirl look in the video to "I Go Crazy Because Of You."
- Record Producer: Shinsadong Tiger is a frequent contributor to their albums, having produced two of the girl's biggest hits: "Bo Peep Bo Peep" and "Roly-Poly." Looks like he'll be producing their upcoming title track "Lovey Dovey" as well.
- The Rival: They are constantly compared to girl groups KARA and Girls Generation, especially since they recently made their Japanese debut (both of the aforementioned girl groups also made successful debuts in Japan recently).
- Rule of Seven: When Hwayoung was added to the group.
- Scully Box: The girls stand on brightly lit pillars when they perform the ballad version of "Cry Cry." Boram's◊ is noticeably taller than any of the other girls.
- Signature Song: "Bo Peep Bo Peep" and "Roly-Poly."
- Stage Names: Hyomin's real name is Sunyoung; Qri's real name is Jihyun.
- Surreal Music Video: A few examples.
- Both the Korean and Japanese versions of the "Bo Peep Bo Peep" music videos are quite strange.
- "I Go Crazy Because Of You."
- Teen Idol: Well this IS Korea we're talking about here.
- Translated Cover Version: The group did this with "Bo Peep Bo Peep" and "Yayaya" when they released them as singles in Japan. It will undoubtedly happen again when they release their third single (and eventually their first Japanese album).
- Taiwanese singer Lotus Wang did a notably horrible remake of "Bo Peep Bo Peep" that went viral and was even featured on CNN. T-ara fans weren't happy about this as no mention was made of the group who helped make the song famous in the first place.
- Unsung Hero: Soyeon. She is one of the more undervalued members of the group, which is a pity considering that she not only is one of the better vocalists in the T-ara (if not THE best), she is also usually the member who often speaks on behalf of the group during appearances. If T-ara were a more conventional group that elected one of the elder members as a leader then it would probably be Soyeon.
- YMMV, as Eunjung is arguably more well-rounded, being an actress as well as singer/dancer/rapper.
- Who Wears Short Shorts?: T-ara during promotions for "Roly-Poly."
- Zettai Ryouiki: Most notably during the video for "I Go Crazy Because Of You." They were in schoolgirl outfits, after all...
0 reviews 