Brave Girls

Brave Girls (; also known as B. Girls or BG) is a South Korean girl group formed by producer Brave Brothers in 2011 and managed by Brave Entertainment. After making their debut with the single album ''The Difference'' on April 7, 2011, the group has since released six extended plays, including ''Back to da Future'' (2011), ''Re-Issue'' (2012), ''High Heels'' (2016), '' Rollin''' (2017), '' Summer Queen'' (2021), and ''Thank You'' (2022). Initially a five-member group, Brave Girls has undergone multiple lineup changes and currently consists of Minyoung, Yujeong, Eunji, and Yuna, with no original members remaining. In 2021, the group gained a huge spike in popularity after their song " Rollin'" unexpectedly went viral.

History

Pre-debut

On September 21, 2010, Brave Brothers revealed he is launching a new 4-member hip-hop girl group called Brave Girls.On March 14, 2011, Eunyoung was revealed as the leader of Brave Girls. She is the niece of Shin Ha-kyun, an actor known for his roles in ''Welcome to Dongmakgol'' and ''Sympathy for Lady Vengeance''. Hyeran was then revealed on March 17 and gained attention due to her resemblance to singer Son Dambi and old dance rehearsal videos that led to her name being featured on video sites like Mgoon. Yejin also gained attention due to the fact that she was 'Miss Seattle' at the Miss Korea 2008 competition, and because she bears a resemblance to actress Kim Sa-rang. Seo-a also gained attention for her previous career as a model for various magazines and commercials.

2011–2015: Debut, ''Back to da Future'', ''Re-Issue'' and hiatus

On March 31, 2011, Brave Brothers released two teaser images of the group, revealing the two concepts that the group would perform with. On April 7, they released their debut single album ''The Difference'', along with a music video for title track "Do You Know". They then had their debut performance on KBS's ''Music Bank'' with promotional tracks "So Sexy" and "Do You Know". A music video for "So Sexy" was released on July 10.

On July 28, Brave Girls released the lead single from their debut mini-album ''Back to da Future'' titled "Easily", which features Korean reggae artist Skull, and its music video. Brave Brothers stated that the song was homage to Kim Gun-mo's "Excuse". The full EP was released on July 29 and peaked at number 14 on the Gaon Album Chart, selling 1,606 copies. At the 19th Korea Culture Entertainment Awards which was held on December 15, the group received the "Rookie of the Year" award.

On February 22, 2012, Brave Girls released their second mini-album ''Re-Issue'' and held a promotional showcase for the album that included a guest performance from Teen Top. The EP peaked at #14 on the Gaon Album Chart. The title song "Nowadays" charted highly on charts and became one of the most searched topics on Korean websites. On August 31, 2013, Brave Girls released a single titled "For You". In February 2014, Brave Brothers reported that he was going to be working on a full-length album for the group, but the album was put on hold indefinitely due to his working with AOA. Brave Girls remained inactive for the following two years.

2016–2020: Lineup changes, ''High Heels'' and ''Rollin

After a -year hiatus, it was announced that Brave Girls would be making a comeback as a seven-member group, with two original members (Yoojin and Hyeran) and five new members (Minyoung, Yujeong, Eunji, Yuna, and Hayun). The group released a digital single titled " Deepened" on February 16. On June 19, Brave Girls released their third mini-album ''High Heels'' and the music video for its title track "High Heels". On September 1, the group released a digital single titled "Yoo-hoo".

On January 13, 2017, it was announced that members Yoojin and Hyeran, the two remaining original members, would stop promotions with the group. Member Yoojin decided to quit the group after she got her Degree in Theater from Chung-Ang University. Meanwhile, member Hyeran would take a hiatus due to health concerns. It was noted that no new members would be added, and Brave Girls would continue promotions as a five-member group with members Minyoung, Yujeong, Eunji, Yuna and Hayun for a possible return in February or March with a new release. The group released their fourth mini album '' Rollin''' and the lead single of the same name on March 7. In October 2017, members Yujeong, Eunji, and Yuna participated in the idol rebooting show ''The Unit'' which premiered on October 28. Yujeong and Eunji passed the audition. Eunji was eliminated in 45th place during the first elimination round while Yujeong was eliminated in 37th place during the second elimination round.

On August 11, 2018, the group released "Rollin' (New Version)", a rearranged version of the single of the same name released in 2017, as a gift to fans for their passionate support for the song in the prior year and a half. It was also announced that the group will promote as a 4-member piece for the time being, since member Hayun will take a break due to health reasons.

On August 14, 2020, Brave Girls returned after almost three years with a four-member lineup, including Minyoung, Yujeong, Eunji and Yuna, by releasing a digital single titled "We Ride". Later in 2020, the group was featured in a webtoon series produced by Toontori and supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of South Korea. They were one of eight groups selected as part of the 2020 Hallyu Linked Support Project hosted by the Korea International Cultural Exchange Promotion Agency in association with Korea's Webtoon Industry Association.

2021–present: Mainstream breakthrough, ''Summer Queen'', ''After 'We Ride and ''Thank You''

In February 2021, a compilation video of Brave Girls performing " Rollin'" became viral on YouTube. As a result, the song gained a surge in popularity and rose to the top of real-time music charts. In response, the group resumed promotional activities for the song. Member Yujeong revealed that prior to the song becoming viral, the group was near disbandment as she and fellow member Yuna had already moved out of their dorm. On March 12, "Rollin'" achieved its first perfect all-kill (PAK) after topping both the daily and real-time components of the South Korean music ranking aggregator iChart.

On March 14, Brave Girls received their first music show win on ''Inkigayo'' with "Rollin'" 1,854 days after the group's debut date, which at the time was the longest time period between debut and first win for any girl group, a record later surpassed by Dreamcatcher, who received their first win 1,923 days after debut. Brave Girls received their second win a few days later on ''The Show''. Brave Girls' newfound popularity also drew attention to "We Ride", which returned to the Gaon Digital Chart at number 115, eventually peaking at number four.

On April 29, Brave Girls released a special version of "High Heels" in collaboration with shoe brand Elcanto. On May 5, they released a promotional single titled "Red Sun" as an advertisement for Lotte Department Store. On June 17, the group released their fifth extended play '' Summer Queen'' and its lead single "Chi Mat Ba Ram". The album peaked at number 3 on the Gaon Album Chart and the song peaked at the same position on the Gaon Digital Chart.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

On August 23, Brave Girls released the repackaged version of their fifth extended play ''After 'We Ride and its lead single of the same name.

On January 14, 2022, it was announced that Minyoung would be suspending her activities temporarily due to poor health conditions.

On March 14, Brave Girls made their comeback with their sixth extended play ''Thank You'' and its lead single of the same name.

In May, it was announced that Brave Girls will hold a concert in the United States in July 2022. On May 17, Brave Entertainment announced that Brave Girls will release a new single that reinterprets Brown Eyed Girls 2008 hit "How Come". It is scheduled for release on the music streaming platform on May 23.

Members

Current

* Minyoung (민영)
* Yujeong (유정)
* Eunji (은지)
* Yuna (유나)

Former

* Eunyoung (은영)
* Seo-a (서아)
* Yejin (예진)
* Yoojin (유진)
* Hyeran (혜란)
* Hayun (하윤)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:600 height:220
PlotArea = width:500 height:185 left:75 bottom:20
Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/2011 till:12/31/2022
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy

Colors =
id:a value:rgb(1,0,0) legend:FirstGeneration
id:b value:rgb(1,0.5,0) legend:SecondGeneration
id:c value:rgb(1,1,0) legend:ThirdGeneration
id:d value:rgb(0,1,0) legend:FourthGeneration
id:e value:rgb(0,0,1) legend:FifthGeneration
id:f value:rgb(0.4,0,1) legend:SixthGeneration
id:g value:rgb(1,0.23,0.82) legend:SeventhGeneration
id:album value:black legend:Studio_album
Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:2011 gridcolor:black
PlotData=
color:red width:7 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from
bar:Eunyoung from:04/11/2011 till:08/31/2013 color:a
bar:Seo-a from:04/11/2011 till:08/31/2013 color:a
bar:Yejin from:04/11/2011 till:08/31/2013 color:a
bar:Yoojin from:04/11/2011 till:01/13/2017 color:a
bar:Hyeran from:04/11/2011 till:01/13/2017 color:a
bar:Hyeran from:01/13/2017 till:03/01/2019 color:black
bar:Hayun from:02/16/2016 till:08/11/2018 color:b
bar:Hayun from:08/11/2018 till:03/01/2019 color:black
bar:Minyoung from:02/16/2016 till:end color:b
bar:Yujeong from:02/16/2016 till:end color:b
bar:Eunji from:02/16/2016 till:end color:b
bar:Yuna from:02/16/2016 till:end color:b
LineData =
at:04/11/2011 color:blue width:0.5 layer:back
at:07/29/2011 color:blue width:0.5 layer:back
at:02/22/2012 color:blue width:0.5 layer:back
at:08/31/2013 color:blue width:0.5 layer:back
at:02/16/2016 color:blue width:0.5 layer:back
at:06/27/2016 color:blue width:0.5 layer:back
at:09/01/2016 color:blue width:0.5 layer:back
at:03/07/2017 color:blue width:0.5 layer:back
at:08/14/2020 color:blue width:0.5 layer:back
at:06/17/2021 color:blue width:0.5 layer:back
at:07/09/2021 color:blue width:0.5 layer:back
at:03/14/2022 color:blue width:0.5 layer:back
at:05/23/2022 color:blue width:0.5 layer:back
* Blue (vertical) = album release
* Red (horizontal) = 1st generation
* Orange (horizontal) = 2nd generation
* Black (horizontal) = inactive

Discography

Extended plays
* ''Back to da Future'' (2011)
* ''Re-Issue'' (2012)
* ''High Heels'' (2016)
* '' Rollin''' (2017)
* '' Summer Queen'' (2021)
* ''Thank You'' (2022)

Filmography

Television shows

Web shows

Awards and nominations

Ambassadorship

References

External links

Official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brave Girls
Musical groups established in 2011
K-pop music groups
South Korean dance music groups
South Korean girl groups
South Korean hip hop groups
Brave Entertainment artists
2011 establishments in South Korea