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Artist Spotlight: THE ARK

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the ark kpop bio profile

By Sana Parvayz

If you’re sick of cute/sexy girl concept and those girly dance moves, which every other K-pop girl group does, then you need to dig out THE ARK. They are a rookie girl group under the management of Music K Entertainment who debuted on April 2015 with their single “The Light.” The concept and innovative logo of the group are inspired by the famous French heroine Joan Of Arc, who was a warrior and a military leader. Another term for an arc is a bow, so, ‘The ARK’ means the bow which would set a new direction in K-pop and would overcome hardships with ease.

THE ARK is a multicolor group which consists of five members and focuses on portraying various images of society.They are trying to depict what it is like to be a new icon which is not only independent, strong, and active, but also have a hidden delicate side to them. The group consists of Jeon Minju, Kim Yuna, Jung Yujin, Lee Halla, and Jane (Cheon Jaein). Before the formation of THE ARK, Minju was on “KpopStar season 2” and Yuna was on “Superstar K season 3.” Jane also auditioned for “The Voice Kids.” Later on, the entertainment company recruited them.

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Their debut single “The Light” is a contemporary R&B song with lyrical guitar riff that adds a groovy rhythm and hip-hop feel and was composed by Kim Tae Sung, who also composed “The Boys” by Girls’ Generation. This song expresses the strength for the loved ones and supports them in their difficult times. “The Light” shows the uniqueness of THE ARK as a group and their strong rapping, vocal, and performance abilities. Being a rookie group, they rapidly gained the attention of the audience. Their music video gained nearly two million views by the end of 2015.

During their pre-debut years, THE ARK covered the songs and dance choreography by various international and K-pop artists. One of the covers includes “Love The Way You Lie” by Rihanna and Eminem. This cover further proves their great singing abilities, as Yuna and Jane are good in English. So, they amazingly covered this song.

They have done various dance covers of EXO and BTS songs. Being five members, it is pretty hard to choreograph and cover those boy groups with fewer members. But they have done a great job and their dance covers were on pointe. Even, BTS complimented them on their dance cover of “Boy in Love.” This is one of their famous dance covers and got 1.7 million views on Youtube.

However, it was hard for the group to cover boy group dances and they often got ill during practice. But, they are really happy to show their charismatic side to the audience. Can you hear those fanchants?

Imagine a girl group with swag. Oh, there is no need to imagine it because The ARK has already got that and they are confidently portraying themselves as a different girl group. The powerful “INTRO” by the group really amazed the viewers and the elegant choreography for their song “The Light” perfectly shows the promising future for THE ARK.

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I love the concept and the whole persona of THE ARK. Hence, I am a huge fan and I wish them success for the future. I am definitely rooting for their upcoming projects. Ending this post on a happy note, here’s a wonderful live performance by The ARK.

So, what are your views about this new rookie group? Did you like the concept and the whole attire of the group? Do you think girl groups should stick with the cute/sexy concept only? Or they should do something out of the box.
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Playlist Sunday: Favorite Girl Group Debuts

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kpop playlist girl group debut

If you had to choose your favorite girl group debut of all time, which group would it be? With an increasing number of girl groups debuting left and right, it’s hard to keep track, isn’t it? At KultScene, we’ve compiled a list of our favorite debuts, new and old.

miss A made its debut in 2010 with “Bad Girl, Good Girl,” during a time when the music industry was pumping out male groups excessively. These ladies brought a whole lot of personality, sass, and charisma for their debut song. Since they’re a multicultural group (two of the members are Korean, Min and Suzy, and two are Chinese, Fei and Jia), each member is able to attribute different distinctive characteristics to the team. Aside from being talented (and silly) young women, it’s admirable seeing the unique bond communicational skills that the members have with one another, especially with Fei and Jia, considering how they’ve had to adapt to the Korean lifestyle. In an imaginary world, if I could be apart of a Korean girl group, I’d want to join miss A!

–Tam

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f(x) is another notable multicultural girl group with members from China (Victoria) and the United States (Amber), and they made a formidable debut in 2009 with the song “La Cha Ta.” 2009 was a year that marked the debuts of several other girl groups such as 2NE1 and T-ara, but f(x) stood out with this release because of its catchy melody and strong choreography. This debut song also showcased the various talents of the five members well, paving the way for their future releases and growth as a group.

–Anna

Oh My Girl debuted in April with “Cupid,” joining the 2015 rookie debuts. Rather than getting lost in the lineup with something trying to gain attention for being too sweet or too sexy, Oh My Girl did exactly what was expected of B1A4’s little sister group. They took a cute, slightly offbeat concept, showed off excellent vocals and dancing skills, and debuted with a funky song that would get stuck in the head’s of listeners. “Cupid” has a drumline that offers a nice change of pace and keeps the sweetness of the member’s vocals from becoming too cloying. WM Entertainment appears to have put a lot into making the video cute without being cloying, and the styling and talent of Oh My Girl put this group on top of my best debuts of 2015 list.

–Tamar

Debut songs tend to be not so great, but rather establish precedent for a better song later on. However, this wasn’t the case for Purfles, who debuted last year with “1,2,3,” an electro banger and a sexy concept. Not only were the girls gorgeous and vocally talented, but the choreography was on point and the song, well, incredibly catchy — exactly what makes a great K-pop girl group. Unfortunately, Purfles flew under the radar with their debut song and have yet to release new material. Hopefully they’ll stick around and dish out just as awesome songs in the near future. While K-pop is not in need of more sexy girl groups, it is, however, in the need for girl groups who can do it all and do it well.

— Alexis

Listening to ‘’Bad Girl’’ these days brings a sadness to me that I never thought I could feel while listening to K-pop. That’s the reality of listening to Ladies’ Code now. When it first dropped, though, I was stunned and obsessed. I think it was one of the first times I ever really loved a debut single from a girl group. Even the biggest groups that some time to come into their but Ladies’ Code smashed it from the start. They announced themselves as Wonder Girls’ replacements with an orchestral led sound and across the board great vocals. The level of musical arrangement and vocal ability is what set them apart from all other rookies. Each voice was distinct and they played off each other so well. Especially the contrasting lead vocals of the husky So Jung and serene Ashley. It’s poignantly sad that a group who started off so well, ended so early.

–Joe

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2NE1 debuted on May 6, 2009 with “Fire,” and watching their debut performance gives me a lot of joy. It’s amazing to see how powerful their stage presence was since the get go. The girls have kept their fierce persona throughout their successful career and have remained true to their brand. With “Fire,” 2NE1 showed us a new side for girl groups. The girls were influenced by Hip-Hop and Reggae that created their signature style. 2NE1 still remains one of the most loved and influential K-pop girl groups out there and we just can’t wait to see what’s next for them.

–Alejandro

What’s your favorite girl group debut song? Tell us what you think about this band in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.

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