This summer is a little sad!? Our everyday growth. ♥
KARA’s album arrives in the midst of the sale of the perfect summer single “Thank You Summer Love”. We were able to feel their growth from the contents. How do these girls feel now? The girls talked about things like music and about the group.
O: “Thank You Summer Love” was released last month. Speaking of summer, this is a catchy love song, along with KARA’s accelerated image.
Hara: It’s a song perfect for summer. It’s lively from the intro onwards.
Nicole: As it gives off a great mood, I’d recommend this when you go to the beach.
Gyuri: The melody is bright and lively but as compared to the lyrics of “GO GO SUMMER!” (on sale in June 2011), it has a more adult feel to it.
Seungyeon: Yes, they’re both summer songs but the feeling that the lyrics give off is totally different.
Jiyoung: Painful emotions are added into the lyrics. When we were shooting the music video, we had to express subtle emotions rather than just smiling brightly the entire time.
Seungyeon: There is a strong link between the music and the way summer was spent. I hope “Thank You Summer Love” will enhance your memories of summer. Also, listening to this song may bring back clear memories.
O: Do you have a favorite phrase?
Seungyeon: If you’re referring to the lyrics, I like the part where I sing, “It was not in vain but an experience”. I agree with this.
Hara: I like the cupid dance. The actions are cute and interesting.
Jiyoung: I like the lyrics of the chorus. “I won’t forget the dazzling season when I fell deeply in love.”. After listening to that, I will think back to myself, “What did I do last year?”. (laughs)
Nicole: I understand that feeling! Even though the lyrics and tune to “I fell deeply in love” are short, it still thugs at your heart. Just by thinking of the expression “deeply”, your chest will tighten.
Gyuri: It brings out the feeling that summer does not just revolve around happiness. We’ll let you think of your memories of summer from a different angle. We have kind of matured. (laughs)
O: KARA’s songs are very popular in karaoke. How can we sing “Thank You Summer Love” well?
Seungyeon: This time, other than anything else, the cupid dance! I hope you will study the music video and imitate it.
Nicole: The cupid dance only involves the movement of the fingers and arms. The point of dancing well is the steps! You must not do the steps wrongly. There is a part where you lift your legs up and down. If you do it well, you will be able to show a cute popping movement.
It’s not only cute!? It’s full of KARA’s charm.
O: The album “FANTASTIC GIRLS”, with the song “Thank You Summer Love” inside will go on sale on the 28th. You have challenged various styles of music that you haven’t tried in the past. Not only just pop but rock, electro and R&B, you managed to sing them well. KARA’s charm is jam-packed into 1 CD.
Hara: For singles that we have released in Japan, we portrayed a lively KARA by wearing cute costumes. But, for example, just by listening to the song, we wish to show you the soft side of KARA through the acoustics.
Seungyeon: I don’t want to do something similar to others. Even amongst ourselves, rather than sing the song in a similar fashion, we want to incorporate different styles. In this album, there are a variety of songs because the 5 of us carry the feeling of wanting to challenge new things. Even if we are unable to write songs, we will give positive opinions if we think it’s good.
Nicole: This time, we expressed ourselves fully through music. I would like to try a little in producing the songs next time.
O: It has been 3 years since you started your activities in Japan. In what ways do you think the members have changed in maturity?
Hara: We have all grown to be adults but conversely, Gyuri unnie has become younger. (laughs) She has slimmed down and become prettier. It feels appropriate for her age. This balance is good.
Gyuri: Hara has changed too. When I first met Hara, she gave me the impression of a thin and frail girl. But lately she gives off the “lady” feel.
Jiyoung: Seungyeon unnie has been very busy lately. I don’t know whether this is related but she has somehow become more feminine.
Seungyeon: I probably give off the feeling of being a little tired and haggard. (laughs)
Nicole: Jiyoung has recently come to understand the meaning of being sexy. For example, during the song “Lupin”, she would raise her chin and give an intense look. But now, even by tilting her head a little, she’ll give off an amazing aura.
Jiyoung: Really? I’m glad! The hard worker in Nicole unnie hasn’t changed a bit but she feels more feminine and delicate now.
Saved by the members!? The strength of the group!
O: After experiencing solo activities, have you felt thankful for the times where the 5 of you are together?
Seungyeon: During my solo activity, for example filming for 10 hours in a day, I need to keep my anxiety from showing on face. But with the group, I can afford to relax and take a break during the members’ turns.
O: I see. In this album, there is a song called “Rescue Me”. Tell us about a time when you were rescued by the members.
Seungyeon: My fingers don’t have strength and I can’t grip well so the members always help me open pet bottles or canned drinks. That really helps a lot. (laughs)
Hara: I’m very indecisive when it comes to food. But when I’m with the members, it’s easy because they will decide for me.
Gyuri: I have a bad memory so I always ask the members for help in remembering important things. And I tend to leave my things behind. The members will tell me, “You left this,” and hand them to me.
Nicole: I can’t dress myself properly. I can’t tie a ribbon properly, button my clothes wrongly or my bangs would be in a mess. At those times, Jiyoung will definitely correct me by saying, “Nicole unnie, that looks weird.”.
Jiyoung: During interviews, the unnies will help me in their own way when I’m unable to answer correctly.
O: This year, you held your Tokyo Dome concert for the first time and had many live activities. What comes to mind?
Hara: During the fanmeeting in Yokohama, the fans gave us a surprise. I was so touched that I cried.
Gyuri: Me too!
Nicole: I can never forget the time where I used all my strength to throw a signed ball to fans who were far away but ended up hitting a fan who was nearby. (laughs)
Seungyeon: I’m slow with my feet so I had to keep up by running instead of walking in venues like Tokyo Dome. I used all my strength so there was a time when I felt light-headed when I had to sing. (bitter smile) After that, I lost my sense of direction. I had a hard time navigating the complex layout of the area below the stage…… I got seriously lost.
Jiyoung: During “Jet Coaster Love”, the fans sang (Jiyoung sings) “There’s only you”~♪…
All: Woah!
Jiyoung: (laughs) Yes, I was touched when they did that.
O: Do you have any goals for your future activities in Japan?
Hara: I want to sing many songs. I want to do a tour around Japan and hold a Tokyo Dome concert again. For the sake of that, I will continue to work hard to be loved by everyone.
Gyuri: The K-POP fever has calmed down as compared to past in Japan now. But rather than riding on the K-POP boom, I feel that it’s important for us to be loved purely as KARA.
Hara: We receive a lot of energy from the Japanese fans. For example, during a fanmeeting or fansign, there are many people who will come dressed like us. It’s nice to see that they’re enjoying themselves.
Gyuri: I try to read as many messages on SNS and letters as possible. From those sentences, I can feel the amount of love you have for us.
Nicole: After receiving all these, the only thing we can do in return is to put up a great performance for you. Creating memories will not be possible without the help from everyone. So at the very least, allow us to enhance the memories of those who listened to this album!
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