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Sugar (Korean group)

Revision as of 16:11, 30 May 2010 by Plisskin (talk | contribs) (→‎Japanese Discography)
Sugar promoting "Himawari / LOVEACCELE"; Left to Right: Soo Jin, Haleen, Ah Yoo Mee, Hye Seung (2005)

Sugar (슈가, シュガー) was a Korean pop girl group created by Starworld. In 2002 they released their debut album "Tell Me Why" and met mediocre success in South Korea. They crossed over to the Japanese market in 2003 where they debuted with their songs "real identity" and "TAKE IT SHAKE IT", which were used as the opening and ending theme songs for the anime Kaleido Star. They signed with Toys Factory in Japan and again met mediocre success. Sugar's contract ended with Starworld in 2006 and the group decided not to renew it; henceforth they disbanded. They are best known for their 2004 song "Secret".

Members

  • Ah Yoo Mee (Leader, Lead Vocals) (2002 - 2006)
  • Hye Seung (Rapper, Sub Vocals) (2002 - 2006)
  • Haleen (Main Vocals) (2004 - 2006)

Former Members

  • Soo Jin (Rapper, Sub Vocals) (2002 - 2006)
  • Jung Eum (Sub Vocals) (2002 - 2004)


Information

Debut

Sugar first debuted at the end of 2001 with their first song "Sweet Love". "Sweet Love" failed to make any waves but their second song "Tell Me Why" was received with much more warmth. Though new, the group was not afraid to tackle live performances, something that many female pop groups at the time were notoriously bad at. In addition, despite (or perhaps because of) her poor Korean language skills Japan raised member Ahyoomee, garnered the attention of fans with her cute personality on talk shows and variety shows. Sugar was most often compared by fans to the groups M.I.L.K. and Shinvi for their similar styles and cute images. During a time when many girl groups released only one album and then disappeared, some wondered which amongst the three groups would actually succeed. Because the other two groups were promoted by the famous SM Entertainment, many thought of Sugar as the underdogs. However, in the summer of 2003 Sugar made a comeback with their second album, a feat which the other two groups never achieved. For their second album member Sae Byul changed her name to Hye Seung, her real first name.

Japan

Sugar promoting "GO THE DISTANCE" (2004)

With Korean stars gaining fame in Japan such as BoA with the "Korean Wave", Sugar began to try and tap into the Japanese music industry as well. After releasing their 2nd Album "Shine" Sugar released 2 songs for the anime "Kaleido Star" soundtrack. They went on to release a mini-album titled Secret in South Korea and the rest of that year in 2004 Sugar concentrated solely on the Japanese market releasing 3 singles that lead up to their first album entitled Double Rainbow. Double Rainbow like their career in South Korea was met with moderate success reaching #84 on the Oricon Charts and charting for 2 weeks only. The singles released for "Double Rainbow" were moderate successes as well with "GO THE DISTANCE" reaching #96 on the charts and charting for 2 weeks, "All my loving" reaching #40 on the charts, and Kaze to Hanataba reaching #32 on the charts.

Jung Eum Withdraws & Haleen Joins

After the release of Sugar's mini album Secret and 3rd Japanese single, Jung Eum decided to leave the group and pursue a solo career in the entertainment industry. Jung Eum left Sugar as a trio and not a quartet as the group originally started out as. So soon after Jung Eum's departure Sugar welcomed her replacement Haleen, a singer of Japanese ancestry unlike the rest of the groups Korean ancestry. But regardless of the sudden change of the line-up Haleen fit in with the rest of the group and Sugar continued without their former member.

COLORS 4 WISHES

With the new line-up in place, Sugar released their 4th Japanese single Heartful. But the ballad didn't fare so well on the charts reaching the #97 position and charting for only 1 week. It took 6 more months for Sugar to release their 5th single entitled Himawari/LOVEACCELLE. The single did much better than the "Heartful" ballad reaching the #29 position and charting for 7 weeks. After their 5th single Sugar decided to release another Korean album after their year long hiatus in the Korean music industry. Sweet Lips was released and 2 months later they released their 2nd Japanese album called COLORS 4 WISHES. Their 2nd album didn't fare as well as their first not even cracking into the top 100. The album peaked at #138 and stayed on the charts for 2 weeks.

Soo Jin Withdraws

After the release of Sugar's 3rd album and 2nd Japanese album Soo Jin announced that she would be leaving the group in 2006. Soo Jin stated that she wanted to pursue a career in acting once her contract ended with SM Entertainment and Toys Factory. So Sugar again was without a 4th member and were left as a trio. After the promotions for the latest albums were done Soo Jin bid farewell to Sugar.

Disband

After the release of "COLORS 4 WISHES", Sugar released a DVD called "7 STARS"; a DVD with all of their music videos released in Japan. Soon afterwards Ahyoomee embarked on a solo career in South Korea in July 2006. During the months that followed Sugar remained in undefinable hiatus with fans and the media speculating about the new member that would fill in Soo Jin's place. As November rolled by and Sugars condition was still not announced rumors of the groups disbanding began to circulate among fans and the entertainment industry with Ahyoomee now concentrating solely on her solo career. Then on December 20, the expiration date of their contract with SM Entertainment, KBS World Radio announced that Sugar had disbanded. They stated each of the current members wanted to embark on solo careers and the company decided not to renew their contract with the members.

" Sugar came to the point of disbanding after 5 years since their debut. The group's contract will end at the end of December and aside from Ayumi, who has already pursued a solo career, other Sugar members, Yook Hye-seung and Lee Ha Rin decide to take on solo careers. The contract of Sugar, who debuted in December 2001, will expire soon. Because other members chose to go on solo careers, the management decided for the group to disband", Star World, the group's label, revealed on December 20. Ayumi will sign again a contract in Star World. Yook Hye-seung plans to be an actress while Lee Ha Rin, who is presently living in Japan, wants to start a music career in the said country. " [1]

Korean Discography

Albums

Single

Japanese Discography

Albums

Singles

Soundtrack

DVD

External Links

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