By JONATHAN M. HICAP
Manila Bulletin
Manila Bulletin
MANILA, Philippines – Five-member girl group KARA is the most popular K-pop group in Japan, according to a survey by Japan’s biggest mobile music download website.
Japanese website Recochoku recently asked 4,471 Japanese users to name their favorite K-pop artist to celebrate K-pop anniversary campaign. KARA garnered the most votes with users choosing KARA for their sexy and catchy choreography.
“The five members have their own personality and cuteness,” one user said. In addition, the girls were praised for their fluent Japanese.
Coming in second is Girls Generation (known as Shoujo Jidai in Japan). Users chose Girls Generation for their beautiful and shapely legs in addition to having good voices.
In third place is boy band FT Island, praised for having excellent singing skills and for their good looks.
Boy bands Big Bang and BEAST came at fourth and fifth places, respectively.
KARA has been sweeping Japan since the group released their debut Japanese single “Mister” in August last year.
Last Aug. 6, KARA held their third fan meeting titled “Japan Comeback 2011” that gathered 10,000 fans at Yokohama Arena.
Recently, “KARA Best Clips” DVD got certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for selling 250,000 copies in Japan. The group’s song “Jumping” earlier got a double platinum status for selling 500,000 copies.
In Recochoku’s rankings covering the first half of the year, KARA’s songs and videos ranked in the top 5.
The group’s “Mister” and “Jet Coaster Love” ranked third and fifth overall in the video clips category. “Mister” and “Go Go Summer” ranked third and fifth in the movie category.
In the overall album downloads, Lady Gaga’s “The Fame Monster” ranked first followed by KARA’s “Girls Talk” and “Mister”. KARA also placed fourth overall on the artists’ rankings.
KARA earned an estimated 2.15 billion yen (about $28 million or P1.19 billion) for the first half of the year alone in Japan and placed sixth overall in the highest earning singers in Japan.
KARA, which debuted in Korea in 2007, is composed of Gyuri, Seung-yeon, Hara, Nicole and Jiyoung.
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