"A" is a song by the South Korean
girl group
A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...
Rainbow
A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...
. It was released on August 12, 2010, and was later included on their second
mini album
A mini-LP or mini-album is a short vinyl record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A ...
''
So Girls''.
Background
A teaser photo with the concept of the song was released on August 4. A teaser of the music video was released on August 10 and the full music video on August 12, along with the release of the single.
Composition
The song was produced by Han Jae Ho and Kim Seung Soo (also known as
Sweetune
Sweetune () is a South Korean music producer team, originally consisting of Han Jae-ho and Kim Seung-soo, and now including nine other members. They have produced many hit songs and albums for Korean idols and Japanese idols, including Kara, Rainbo ...
), who also produced the songs "
Rock U
''Rock U'' (also known as ''Kara 1st Mini Album'') is the first extended play by South Korean girl group Kara. It was released on July 25, 2008. ''Rock U'' was released as the lead single.
This was also the first album to feature the two new memb ...
", "
Pretty Girl", "
Honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
", "
Wanna", "
Mister
''Mister'', usually written in its contracted form ''Mr.'' or ''Mr'', is a commonly used English honorific for men without a higher honorific, or professional title, or any of various designations of office. The title 'Mr' derived from earlier ...
" and "
Lupin
''Lupinus'', commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet etc., is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species, with centers of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centers occur ...
" for their label-mate
KARA
Kara or KARA may refer to:
Geography Localities
* Kara, Chad, a sub-prefecture
* Kára, Hungary, a village
* Kara, Uttar Pradesh, India, a township
* Kara, Iran, a village in Lorestan Province
* Kara, Republic of Dagestan, a rural locality in Da ...
.
Promotions
The promotions of the song started on August 13 in the
KBS's ''
Music Bank
Music Bank may refer to:
* ''Music Bank'' (TV program), a South Korean music program by KBS
**''Music Bank World Tour
The ''Music Bank'' World Tour is a worldwide live concert tour of South Korean music show '' Music Bank'' by the Korean Broa ...
''. It was also promoted on
MBC's ''
Music Core
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect o ...
'',
SBS's ''
Inkigayo
''Inkigayo'' ( ko, 인기가요; English title: ''The Music Trend'', previously ''Popular Song'') is a South Korean music program broadcast by SBS. It airs live every Sunday. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who p ...
'' and
Mnet
M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...
's ''
M! Countdown
''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet. The show features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. It is broadcast from CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul.
Bro ...
''.
Track listing
Chart performance
In the first week, the song was at number 50 and climbed to the number 11 the following week. The peak position was 9, in the week of September 4. The song ranked number 80 in
Gaon's yearly chart with 337,665,388 points and with 1,617,074 digital copies sold.
Charts
Japanese version
The song was re-record in Japanese as the group's first single in Japan. It was released digitally on September 7, 2011,
and physically on September 14
in four different versions: three limited editions (CD+DVD, CD + 32-pages photobook and CD only with a bonus track) and a regular edition.
Composition
The Japanese version remains some lyrics written by Song Soo Yoon and was translated by Yu Shimoji and nice73. The B-side is a Japanese version of the song "Gossip Girl", previously recorded in Korean. The song is the lead single from their first EP ''
Gossip Girl
''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six sea ...
''.
Promotions
In Japan, Rainbow performed the song on the shows ''Happy Music'', ''Hey!Hey!Hey! Music Champ'' and ''Music Japan''. The group held their first event in the
Ikebukuro
is a commercial and entertainment district in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. Toshima ward offices, Ikebukuro station, and several shops, restaurants, and enormous department stores are located within city limits. It is considered the second largest ...
district of Tokyo with a crowd of 2,000 fans. They performed "A" and had a 15-minute talk session.
Track listing
Chart performance
The physical single began at number 3 in
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...
's daily chart and also number 3 in Oricon's weekly chart with 24,082 copies sold in the first week.
After hearing about their position in Japan, the girls said, "When we first heard that we were ranked in third, we were all surprised because we had no idea that they’d take such an interest in us. There were even some members who cried. There’s also a lot of pressure in that we have to work harder and do better. We’re still very grateful and thankful for our position on the charts. Since we’re already receiving so much love, we’re really not anticipating a rise in the weekly charts. For the remainder of our stay here, we’re just going to do our best."
Charts
Oricon
Other charts
Ab dance controversy
The "ab dance" in Rainbow's choreography was banned from broadcasting on September 8, 2010, because it was "too sexually suggestive". The dance move involves the group lifting their shirts up to the point where their
abdomen
The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...
or
stomach
The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital organ in the digestive system. The stomach i ...
can be seen before taking them down again which was deemed similar to a
strip tease
A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper" or an "exo ...
. The music video was also age restricted on YouTube, but DSP retired the restriction.
They started promoting the song without the "ab dance" on September 11.
However, when the group promoted the song in Japan they were allowed to perform the dance, and referred to it as the "belly dance".
Release history
References
External links
"A" (Japanese) music video teaser (DSP version)on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
"A" (Japanese) music video teaser (Universal Music Japan version)on YouTube
"A" (Korean) music videoon YouTube
"A" (Korean) music video teaseron YouTube
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2010 songs
2010 singles
2011 singles
Rainbow (girl group) songs
Korean-language songs
Japanese-language songs