The ladies of T-ARA N4 are back in Korea after a trip to the US to meet with various musicians and producers.
In a press conference on May 20, the group discussed their experience and upcoming plans for US promotional activities.
It has been decided they will return to the US on May 25 to perform as the opening act at Chris Brown's solo concert in Las Vegas.
Jiyeon elaborated by saying, “We are very nervous but we want to show our good side in our first performance in the US.”
It was further revealed that T-ARA N4 signed with Empire Records to release “Jeon Won Diary” in the United States. “The remake of 'Jeon Won Diary' will be released in five versions,” said Lee Jintaek, Core Contents Media's head of overseas marketing. “It will include rapping from Snoop Dogg, T-Pain, Ray J, and Chris Brown.”
While the ladies are still planning on singing their parts in Korean, the rap verses by the famed American hip-hop artists will be entirely in English. The song is scheduled to be released in June.
The plan is also that T-ARA will attend the BET (Black Entertainment Television) Music Awards at the end of June.
The love calls received by T-ARA come in the wake of many other K-Pop artists getting recognition in America. Most notably, YG Entertainment's popular girl group, 2NE1, recently collaborated with Will.i.am and performed on stage with Snoop Dogg at his concert in Seoul earlier this month.
While 2NE1 are an obvious choice for a hip-hop collaboration, they have that hard edge and already incorporate a lot of hip-hop elements in their music, there remain a few doubts that T-ARA can pull it off.
“Jeon Won Diary” will be a good test to see if T-ARA N4 really has the ability to break into the US market, and it will definitely be interesting to see how the song is adapted to the styles of each hip-hop artist expected to collaborate with them.
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The singles released by the idol group as a whole (not just the N4 sub-unit) are certainly catchy, easy to dance to, with good solid beats – making it plausible that they could switch gears to a add in more rap elements.
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“Sexy Love” brings up another advantage T-ARA has – they are sexy. Sexy dancing ladies have always been a mainstay in American hip-hop. Usually they are confined to the background (with the exception of a handful of attractive female rappers), the new opportunity to work in the States may give T-ARA the chance to expand the idea of popular hip-hop in America, to break entirely new ground.
However, it is songs like “Bo Peep Bo Peep” and the Japanese single “Bunny Style” fuel doubts from critics, who claim the group's image is "too cute."
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But, one should also keep in mind that the intended audience for these songs is entirely different than the market T-ARA N4 is aiming to enter with the re-release of “Jeon Won Diary.”
What it all ultimately comes down to is image. If the appearance is right, the music will easily be adaptable to any styling or tweaking. And especially if you consider T-ARA's “Lovey-Dovey” video – a dance club hit that proves these girls definitely have the ability to show off their their naughty sides.
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Good luck, T-ARA N4!
M/s : kenvilthomas@kpopupdates.com
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