History
Debut: Vol. 1 Your Story and Vol. 2 Leave Ms. Kim
Their leader, Jea went around and searched for the other members of BEG. The first member Jea picked out was Miryo, who was known as a great female rapper from the hip-hop community. Miryo previously worked with other fellow rappers, such as Gil Seong-joon from Leessang, and the main female rapper in well-known hip-hop group Honey Family. Narsha was chosen when Jea remembered her as "talented singer" from her high school days. Ga-in was selected by the three members after she was eliminated from "Battle Shin Hwa". According to Ga-in, she was crying in the bathroom after failing the audition, was found by composer Ahn Jung Hoon, and then was chosen through the audition in Brown Eyed Girls' company. The four members held several small size concerts, and was actually known as "Crescendo" before officially debuting as "Brown Eyed Girls".
After more than 3 years of training in singing and holding several small size concerts, the Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea in February 2006, with the ballad track, "Come Closer" as their single. Debuting as a ‘faceless group’ they did not appear on any visual media and choosing to not even show up in their own music video. The album was well-received critically but did not do as well as expected commercially. The album was later re-released to include "Hold The Line" (which samples "Push The Button" by British girl band Sugababes and "Technologic" by Daft Punk). This song became a hit, further boosting the band's popularity. "Hold the Line" was disclosed across the world because it was included in the list of songs from the game Pump it Up.
After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (떠나라 미스김), which included their R&B title track "You Got Me Fooled" (너에게 속았다). Subsequent singles were "Oasis" (오아시스) featuring Lee Jae Hoon and "It's Mine" (내꺼야), a collaboration with fellow group SeeYa.
During the break between their debut and second albums, the Brown Eyed Girls released their first digital single entitled "I Am a Summer" (내가 여름이다), which was later included in their second LP.
The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads which had been very popular in the K-pop scene. However, the commercial success was relatively higher in two singles between the first and second albums. Moreover, the second album containing "You Got Me Fooled" (너에게 속았다) was released at nearly the same time as Wonder Girls' "Tell Me" which received a nationwide success in Korea. Therefore, their second album was once again a commercial disappointment. At the same time, the general K-pop scene was changing from R&B ballads to dance music.
]2008: With Love and My Style mini albums
In January 2008, Brown Eyed Girls came back with their first mini-album "With L.O.V.E". Their single "L.O.V.E", was a departure from the B.E.G. sound that people had come to know but it 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. "Love Action" was the second single taken from the mini album.With Love also marked the group's second digital album (after "I Am a Summer"), though it was released in conventional CD format as well. After the release of their first mini-album, they could achieve the commercial success. "Love" was composed by Saint-Binary and Min-Soo Lee.
Looking to strengthen their success, Brown Eyed Girls returned again in September and released their 2nd mini-album "My Style". Title song "How Come" is a retro-style dance song that has become a popular trend. Despite facing strong competition from other top groups, "How Come" 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.]
2009–2010: Sound G, Japan Debut and Solo Activities
On July 20, 2009, Brown Eyed Girls released their third full-length album, the double-disc Sound G. Even though "Candy Man" was the first song unveiled from the album, the first heavily promoted single was "Abracadabra", which was composed by Ji-nu and Min-Soo Lee. He composed the first part of "Abracadabra", and tried to compose the refrain part. However, he could not think of a good idea to make the refrain part. Therefore, Min-Soo Lee, who worked with BEG previously, helped and composed the refrain part of "Abracadabra".
The release of this album also saw a shift in the image of the group, as the members redefined themselves as independent and mature city girls. Their music video for their title track sparked controversies. As the group is sporting a substantially more provocative visual style, criticism has arisen for the suggestive and erotic themes that the video presents.They later released a "stage version" of the video, which focuses only on the choreography. Nevertheless, even with all the controversies they took the Kpop world by storm, snagging awards at music shows and year end music awards. The sexy hip dance became a national dance with a lot of fellow celebrities doing a parody of it.
Later on, the group revealed a repackaged version of the album titled Sign that included a new single, "Sign", along with "Drunk On Sleep" and a remix of their previous hit "Abracadabra". The repackaged album was released along with the music video for "Sign". The music video caused controversy because of its content, it featured scenes of violence and death, including Ga-In drowning in a tank of water. "Sign" has reached certain success, but it has not matched the success of the band's previous single "Abracadabra".
The quartet has been readying for their Japan debut since signing with major record label Sony Music Japan International. In August 2010, the group re-released Sound G in Japanese to promote them in the country, which indeed marks the beginning of their Japanese promotions.
After the success of the album, the members concentrated more on their individual activities juggling it with their overseas schedules. In June, Narsha released her single 'I'm In Love' and own album 'NARSHA',In August, JeA collaborated with Rattpoom , a Thai singer, in his song 'Face to Face'. Later in October, Gain also started her solo activities through her album Step 2/4 with tango music, 'Irreversible' as the title track. On October 31, she clutched her win (Mutizen song) in Inkigayo. In December, JeA worked on her ballad single 'Because You Sting' featuring G.O. of MBLAQ.
Aside from that they also became part of popular variety shows and sitcom. Ga-in has appeared on We Got Married with 2AM's Jo Kwon since September 2009. The couple is very popular in Korea and is one of the most recognized virtual couples in the country. Regrettably, their virtual marriage came to an end after 15 months in January, 2011. She made her acting debut in MBC daily sitcom 'All My Love'. She was the female lead 'Gaumji'. She acted alongside her virtual husband Jo Kwon, who played the role as her younger twin brother 'Okyeop'. However, owing to schedule conflict, her filming in sitcom ended in May, 2011. Narsha has appeared on Invincible Youth (also known as G7) since October 2009. She is known on the show as "Sung In Dol" (Adult idol) due to her age difference with other members and her funny, but naughty reactions on the show. She was also one of the fixed cast member in SBS's variety show 'Heroes'. In April 2010, She DJed on "Pump up the Volume" on KBS Cool FM. Due to Brown Eyed Girls' overseas promotions Narsha decided to leave the show, with her last broadcast on Dec. 28, 2010.
]2011: Japanese promotions and Return to Korea with 'Sixth Sens
On January 17, the Japanese music video for "Sign" was released.Its content is completely different from the original Korean version of the song, since the new version focuses on choreography while the original version did not feature any. The group started their promotions in Japan in early 2011.
The girls originally planned to held a concert in Japan in April but due to the Tōhoku Earthquake in March, the concert has been postponed to September instead. On September 12, they finally had their first Japanese concert at C.C Lemon Hall in Shibuya. There, they revealed one of their songs in their fourth album “An Inconvenient Truth“, which was composed by JeA and KZ.
On September 6, NegaNetwork released an official comeback date, remarking the end of their two year hiatus. It is confirmed that the group will release a single on the 16th titled, "Hot Shot", followed by their fourth full length album and music video "Sixth Sense" on the 23rd. Brown Eyed Girls' agency also stated with that their music this time is a music which no other girl groups can imitate.
The concept for this album is “Resistance for freedom of expression through music via sixth sense.” Representatives of their agency, NegaNetwork explained, “This album focuses not only on their singing and performance. The members hope to convey their thoughts to the public through music. Their title track is an expression of the limitations of experiencing music with only five senses, and it asks people to feel it instead with their sixth sense. The song itself is very free in style.” [Inspired by Shostakovich‘s Leningrad symphony, the song features strong cello performances, a classical arrangement, and soulful vocals, all coming to a climax at the end.
Prior to their first stage, they achieved an all-kill with "Sixth Sense" in all major charts in Korea. They kicked off their promotional cycle officially with a double stage performance of "Hot Shot" and "Sixth Sense" on September 24 on Music Core. and grabbed the top spot on M! Countdown and Inkigayo. They've impressed audiences with their concept, choreography, and sound from their “Sixth Sense” comeback. In particular, their three-part high note near the end of the song estimated to be over five and a half levels has been earning explosive attention, leaving many fans impressed. They also broke the jinx of going down a slump after a “big hit” as they won over their famed song Abracadabra, receiving higher digital sales for Sixth Sense. They concluded their "Sixth Sense" promotions after a month but it was immediately followed by the release of a repackage of their fourth studio album.
On November 4, their repackage album was released. They followed up promotions with their ballad song 'Cleansing Cream'. In contrast of the Sixth Sense's dark and fierce concept, Brown Eyed Girls were back giving off their innocent and feminine side. They officially concluded their promotional activities on November 18 with a final performance on KBS‘s ‘Music Bank'.
Other musical efforts
The girls have also been featured on several South Korean Drama soundtracks. Including The Vineyard Man (Loving You), Queen of Games (독한 사랑), Dae Jo Yeong (대조영), The Kingdom of The Winds (다애), My Fair Lady (I Love You), and Chuno (Me-Ah).
JeA also participated in OST songs even before Brown Eyed Girls' debut.
Also, Miryo and JeA collaborated for the single "Love Is..." which was released in May 2010.
Ga-in also participated "4Tomorrow Project" with Kara's Han Seung Yeon, After School's Uee, and 4minute's Hyuna.
She also released digital single "We Fell in Love" (우리 사랑하게 됐어요), composed by Jea, with then We Got Married partner 2AM Jo Kwon. The song was voted #1 in several music programs in January, 2010
Brown Eyed Girls (BEG) Profile
Member Profile
Name: Cho Mihye
Stage Name: Miryo
Birthday: November 2, 1981
Position: Rapper
Name: Park Hyojin
Stage Name: Narsha
Birthday: December 28, 1981
Position: Main Vocalist
Name: Kim Hyojin
Stage Name: Jea
Birthday: September 18, 1981
Position: Leader, Lead Vocalist
Name: Son Ga-in
Birthday: September 20, 1987
Position: Vocalist
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