Artist of the week - Brown Eyed Girls

Nov 16, 2008

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Members

Real Name: 김효진 (Kim Hyo Jin)
Stage Name: Je-A (제아)
Position: Leader
Birthday: September 18, 1983
Blood Type: O
Hobbies: Piano
Ideal Guy: Manly guy with comprehension
Favorite Musician: Eric Benet
Cyworld: http://www.cyworld.com/mynameisjea

Real Name: 박효진 (Park Hyo Jin)
Stage Name: Narcia (나르샤)
Position: Vocal
Birthday: December 28, 1983
Blood Type: A
Hobbies: Piano, Collecting CDs
Ideal Guy: Guy with sense
Favorite Musicians: Yoon Mirae (Tasha), Beyonce, In Soonee
Cyworld: http://www.cyworld.com/hjddabong

Real Name: 조미혜 (Jo Mi Hae)
Stage Name: Miryo (미료)
Position: Rapper
Birthday: November 2, 1983
Blood Type: A
Hobbies: Guitar, Listening to music
Ideal Guy: Guy who is refined and has a great sense of humor
Favorite Musicians: Seo Taiji and Kids, Michael Jackson
Cyworld: http://www.cyworld.com/m1ryo

Real Name: 손가인 (Son Ga In)
Stage Name: Ga-In (가인)
Position: Vocal
Birthday: September 20, 1987
Blood Type: B
Hobbies: Interior designing, Dance, Watching movies
Ideal Guy: Guy that attracts you with one look
Favorite Musician: D-Sound
Cyworld: http://www.cyworld.com/SUPERIOR_

Biography

Our featured artiste this week is 4-member female group Brown Eyed Girls, who are enjoying huge success this year after a disappointing sophomore album last year.

Originally an R&B ballad group, the making of the Brown Eyed Girls took about 3 years from the conception of a girl group, recruiting and training, to the production and release of their debut album (in 2006). The production of the album alone took about a year and half. Han Won-jong, the vocal coach of big K-pop stars like SG Wannabe, Jang Nara and Ok Joo-hyun, was in charge of training the members of the Brown Eyed Girls.

The female quartet personifies the genre of music called “hybrid soul” in which R&B is combined with hip-hop. They consist of 3 vocalists (Je-A, Narcia, Ga-In) and a rapper (Miryo), making it perfect for their type of music. Carrying the "Brown Eyes" brand name, expectations were sky-high for this group when they debuted.

However, success did not come overnight for Brown Eyed Girls. Before they debuted, Je-A and Narcia went through many auditions without being picked. Ga In first appeared on Battle Shinhwa, while Miryo was an unknown female rapper in Honey Family. Finally they were chosen to form a group together, as their record company was looking for talented musicians who had strong vocal skills rather than looks, and they were supposed to be the female version of Brown Eyes.

Their debut album in 2006 received very good reviews. Fans were blown away by their talent just listening and watching their performances on their debut song "Far Away". However, that did not translate to a lot of success. During that time, many talented new female R&B groups debuted and gained more TV exposure. As a result, Brown Eyed Girls were labeled as an underrated group at the time and remained relatively unknown to many mainstream fans.

The follow-up song "Hold The Line" featured rapper Cho-PD and had more success as a switch to an up-tempo song helped. Perhaps this song laid down the foundation of what Brown Eyed Girls had become now.

Later that year, Brown Eyed Girls members started to collaborate with other singers: Je-A jointed forces with See Ya’s Yeon Ji and released a single "Jung". Ga-In sang a duet with SG Wannabe’s Yong Joon for the Christmas hit "Must Have Love", while Narcia had a solo song in the OST of the KBS drama "Da Jo Young". Miryo was featured as rapper in other artistes’ hit songs.

Last summer, Brown Eyed Girls released a digital single "I Am Summer", with the hit "Oasis" featuring Cool member Lee Jae Hoon. This Cool style summer song got the girls even closer to the fans. It was well received by mainstream audiences and the song became a top-5 hit.

In September 2007, Brown Eyed Girls released their 2nd album. Going back to their familiar R&B ballad style, this album surprisingly flopped. The music was good but it just didn’t click with audiences. As a result, a change of concept was needed.

In early 2008, Brown Eyed Girls came back with a retro-style concept and released a mini-album "With L.O.V.E". After the disappointment of the 2nd album, expectations were not high forthis mini-album. Surprisingly, it did very well as their colorful stage outfits and a well-written dance hit song "L.O.V.E" became an instant success and Brown Eyed Girls scored their 1st No. 1 song and also one of the top hit songs in the first half of 2008. This is such a sharp contrast to the disappointment of their 2nd album just months ago.

Looking to strengthen their success this year, Brown Eyed Girls returned again in September and released their 2nd mini-album "My Style". Title song "How" is another retro-style hit that has become a popular trend this year. Despite facing strong competition from DBSG and Wonder Girls, "How" still managed to hit No. 1 on a lot of music charts, proving that Brown Eyed Girls have established themselves as one of the top female groups in Korea. Their follow-up song "My Style" will soon be another hit.

It has been an interesting transformation for the Brown Eyed Girls, from a hybrid soul group to a retro dance group. But so far, all their up-tempo songs have become hits, so they are expected to continue this style in the near future. While some groups have not fared well changing music styles, Brown Eyed Girls have managed to do so successfully as their members are so gifted and talented. No longer can we called them underrated!

Discography

BEG1

Vol. 1: Your Story
Release Date: March 2, 2006
01 세컨드 (Second)
02 다가와서
03 Far Away (Feat. MC 몽)
04 끈
05 Every Body (Feat. Big Tone)
06 잊어가잖아
07 오늘은 그대와 하늘 위로 (Feat. Bobby Kim)
08 넌 누굴 사랑하니?
09 1.2.3.4
10 혼잣말
11 네가 오는 날
12 Watch Out
13 묻지 못한 이야기
14 이제야 비로소 사랑을 말할 수 있다
15 Timing

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Vol. 1: Your Story Repackaged Album
Release Date: August 29, 2006
Disc 2
01 Hold the Line feat. Jo PD
02 Second (Rock Remix Version)
03 Second (Hip-Hop Version)
04 Hold the Line (Instrumental)
05 Second (Instrumental)

Oasis

I Am Summer
Release Date: June 21, 2007
01 Oasis feat. Lee Jae Hoon
02 Mine
03 Oasis Instrumental
04 Mine Instrumental

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Volume 2: Leave Ms. Kim
Release Date: September 6, 2007
01 There is No Man feat. Young Ji
02 I’m Laughing (Ga In)
03 Leave Ms. Kim
04 Tagger
05 I Got Fooled By You
06 Why of All Things
07 Oasis feat. Lee Jae Hoon
08 Dazzlingly Good Day
09 Triangle
10 Hypnosis
11 Mine
12 How Could I Love You
13 Tagger (Background Music)
14 Leave Ms. Kim (Background Music)

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With L.O.V.E Brown Eyed Girls 1st mini-album (January 08)
01 Love Action (Feat. Jo PD)
02 L.O.V.E
03 이별편지 (Farewell Letter)
04 Love Action (Rap by Miryo)
05 Love Action (inst)
06 L.O.V.E (inst)
07 이별편지 (Farewell Letter) (inst)

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