Full Bloom (Kara album)

Full Bloom is the eighth studio album and fourth Korean album release of the South Korean girl group Kara. It was released on September 2, 2013 with the song "Damaged Lady" used as the lead single.[1] The song "Runaway" was released two weeks earlier, on August 21, as a preview for it. It is also the last Korean album to feature members Nicole Jung and Kang Ji-young who departed the group in 2014.[2] The album was released one week later after the group's fourth Japanese studio album, Fantastic Girls.

Full Bloom
The digital cover. Clockwise from 1 o'clock : Gyuri, Nicole, Jiyoung, Hara and Seungyeon.
Studio album by
Kara
ReleasedSeptember 2, 2013 (2013-09-02)
Recorded2013
Genre
Length29:27
LanguageKorean
LabelDSP Media
Kara chronology
Fantastic Girls
(2013)		 Full Bloom
(2013)		 Best Girls
(2013)
Singles from Full Bloom
  1. "Damaged Lady"
    Released: September 2, 2013

Background

The initial hints of the group's new release in South Korea started appearing in July 2013, when an article of their contract with DSP Media was released. As stated by the label about the contract rumors, ″We're looking optimistically at renewing our contract with Kara. We're keeping various directions in mind, but we're trying to adjust everything optimistically.″ It was also stated that the group would release new material in late August.[3]

On August 11, the label revealed, via Kara's social media accounts, the group's release was scheduled for September.[4] On August 14, it was announced the album's showcase would be held on September 2, at UNIQLO-AX.[5] On August 16, it was revealed the promotional track of the album would be titled "숙녀가 못 돼 ("Damaged Lady", literally, "Can't Be a Lady" in Korean).[6] The title of the song gained attention for being their first promotional track with a Korean title since "맘에 들면 (If U Wanna)", in 2007.[7] They also revealed that "둘 중에 하나 (Runaway) ("Runaway"; literally "One of the Two" in Korean), would be released on August 21 as a preview of the album. On August 22, the title of the album, Full Bloom was released, which makes reference back to the group's debut album, The First Blooming.[8][9] A preview of the album was revealed on August 29, containing 10–to-15-second previews to all tracks, except the instrumentals.

Composition and release

The album consists of seven tracks and two instrumentals. The promo single, "Runaway", is an acoustic ballad.[10] The lead single, "Damaged Lady", is an uptempo song that features influences from pop-rock and R&B.[11] Full Bloom reached number 1 on the Gaon Album Chart.[12]

"Runaway" was released as a promotional single on August 21, 2013. It was written and composed by Kim Hee-young and Shim Eun-ji, known for working with artists from JYP Entertainment and SM Entertainment.[13] It was included as the first track of the album while the instrumental version of the song was also included as the eight track. The music video for the song was released on August 21, at the same time as the digital release of the song. The music video features some scenes from the Korean TV drama Secret Love,[14] which aired on June 13, 2014. It is two minutes long and plays a shortened version of the song.[15] The group made their first live performance of the song on the game show Quiz on Korea on August 31, 2013.[16] "Runaway" reached number 9 on the Gaon Weekly Singles Chart for digital releases.[17]

The promotional track "Damaged Lady", was written by Song Soo-yun and composed by musical duo Sweetune, composed of Han Jae-ho and Kim Seung-soo. The duo has composed many singles for the group since "Rock U". Group member Nicole stated that it was about a girl who isn't mature enough to handle a break-up in a relationship and that many women can relate to the song. The song was released on September 2, 2013.[18] The song reached number 4 on the Gaon Weekly Singles Chart,[19] and number 9 on Billboard's Korea K-Pop Hot 100.[20]

Promotion

The group held an album showcase on September 2 at UNIQLO-AX Hall to celebrate its release, which was live streamed on Naver.

The TV promotions for the album started on September 5, 2013, on Mnet's music show M! Countdown and at the 2013 Seoul Drama Awards. The group performed "One of the Two (Runaway)" with "Damaged Lady" as part of the group's special first-week promotions.[21]

Former members Nicole Jung and Kang Jiyoung performed "Damaged Lady" with the group for the final time at the 2013 MBC Gayo Daejejeon on December 31, 2013. The group also performed a medley of their past hit singles.[22]

Critical reception

Jeff Benjamin of Billboard K-Town gave the album a mixed review, noting that the rock-edge theme demonstrated by its promotional track "doesn't continue throughout the rest of the album" but complimented the quality of the album's tracks such as "Smoothie", which he felt was the "standout" in the album. He concluded that "there's still room for experimentation in their native South Korea".[23] He complimented the fusion of synth and rock-pop on "Damaged Lady", stating that the group "carves a sonic lane all their own". He also wrote that the music video's concept was "an appropriate visual for a track detailing an unexpectedly break-up and the accompanying frustration."[23]

Cha Yo-rim of The Korea Herald gave the album a negative review, writing that the group was "shedding its cutesy concept for an edgier look" but felt that despite the image change it was a "standard pop affair". She went on to criticize "Damaged Lady", writing that "the voice of each member is difficult to discern" and felt that it was "due to the copious amount of auto-tuning" used not only on the song but also on the entire album. Cha however noted that tracks like "Runaway" and "Follow Me" were the "rare gems" of the album.[24]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Runaway" (둘 중에 하나; "One of the Two")3:22
2."Damaged Lady" (숙녀가 못 돼; "Can't Be A Lady")3:06
3."1+1"3:36
4."In the Game"3:13
5."Follow Me"3:10
6."Smoothie"3:31
7."2Night"3:06
8."Runaway (둘 중에 하나)" (Instrumental)3:21
9."Damaged Lady (숙녀가 못 돼)" (Instrumental)3:06
Total length:29:27

Chart performance
Chart Peak
position
South Korea Gaon weekly album chart[12] 1
South Korea Gaon monthly album chart[25] 4
South Korea Gaon yearly album chart[26] 40
Japan Oricon weekly album chart[27] 25

Sales and certifications
Chart Amount
Gaon physical sales[26] 46,830
Oricon physical sales 12,809

Release history
CountryDateFormatLabel
South Korea September 2, 2013 CD,[1] Digital download DSP Media
LOEN Entertainment
Worldwide Digital download
Japan October 23, 2013 CD Universal Sigma

References
  1. "HOTTRACKS – 생활 속 감성충전소". hottracks.co.kr (in Korean).
  2. "iTunes – Music – 둘 중에 하나 (Runaway) – Single by 카라(KARA)". iTunes Store. 2013-08-21.
  3. "카라 재계약 여부, 9월말께부터 윤곽 보일 듯". via Daum. 2013-07-17.
  4. "Twitter / KARA_DSP: 2013.09 KARA Coming Back Soon". Twitter. 2013-08-11.
  5. 카라, 컴백 쇼케이스 '카라의 남장놀이' 개최…매니시 매력 폭발. Enews24 (in Korean). 2013-08-14.
  6. '컴백' 카라, '첫 시도' 3가지는?. AsiaE (in Korean). 2013-08-16.
  7. 카라, 한글제목 '숙녀가 못 돼'로 컴백 시동. Nate (in Korean). 2013-08-16.
  8. 카라, 4집 '풀 블룸' 2차 재킷 사진 공개. Nate (in Korean). 2013-08-22.
  9. "KARA "PRINCESS" – Facebook". Kara's official Facebook account. 2013-08-22.
  10. Peterson, Jacques. "KARA Previews K-pop Comeback With Buzz Ballad, "Runaway"". 21 July 2013. Pop Dust. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  11. Tam, Lee Zhao. "KARA to pre-release 'Runaway' and promote with a Korean titled track for the first time". 16 August 2013. Korea Star Daily. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  12. "2013년 37주차 Album Chart". Gaon (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on March 4, 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  13. "카라 둘 중에 하나, JYP작곡가와 손잡고 '블루스' 장르 도전". Nate (in Korean). 2013-08-22.
  14. 카라, '둘 중에 하나' 뮤비 공개. News1 (in Korean). 2013-08-19.
  15. "카라, '둘 중에 하나' 뮤비 공개". News1 (in Korean). 2013-08-19.
  16. 욘바인첼. "130831 카라(Kara) 둘 중에 하나(Runaway) 퀴즈온코리아(Quiz On Korea) 축하공연 직캠". 31 August 2013. 욘바인첼's YouTube Channel. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  17. "2013년 35주차 Digital Chart". Gaon (in Korean). Korean Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on March 4, 2015.
  18. "CSI: KARA(카라) _ Damaged Lady(숙녀가 못 돼)". 29 August 2013. LOENENT's YouTube channel. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  19. "2013년 37주차 Digital Chart". Gaon (in Korean). Korean Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on March 4, 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  20. "Korea K-Pop Hot 100 Music Chart for September 21 / Billboard.com". Billboard. 2013-09-14. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
  21. Er Lan, Tian. "KARA to make comeback on 'M Countdown' and '2013 Seoul Drama Awards' in a day". 4 September 2013. Korea Star Daily. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  22. Han. "[K-POP Behind] Kara's Last Performance?". Get It K. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  23. Benjamin, Jeff. "Kara Showcase a 'Full Bloom' on New LP and Rock-Inspired 'Damaged Lady' Single". 3 September 2013. Billboard K-Town. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  24. Cha, Yo-rim. "Eyelike: Kara fails to impress on 'Full Bloom'". 6 September 2013. The Korea Herald. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  25. "2013년 09월 Album Chart". Gaon (in Korean). Korean Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on 4 February 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  26. "2013년 Album Chart". Gaon (in Korean). Korean Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on 20 February 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  27. "FULL BLOOM". Oricon (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 4, 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
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