"Step" is a song by South Korean girl group

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 ...

from their fourth Korean-language studio album of the same name. It was released as the lead single from the album on September 6, 2011, via

DSP Media DSP Media (Hangul: DSP 미디어) is a South Korean entertainment company established in 1991 by Lee Ho-yeon. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and concert production company, and ...

. The song was both written and produced by Han Jae-ho and Kim Seung-soo of

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 had worked on many of the group's previous records. In Japan, the song was made available to digital platforms on February 22, 2012, although no physical single was released for the song. Commercially, "Step" peaked at number two on both Gaon and the

K-pop Hot 100 The K-pop Hot 100 is a music singles chart in South Korea, launched by ''Billboard'' in conjunction with ''Billboard'' Korea () on August 25, 2011. It is the second Asian ''Billboard'' chart after the Japan Hot 100. The chart used the same multime ...

, garnering over 2,780,000 downloads throughout 2011. In Japan, it also peaked at number two on the RIAJ digital chart and number 38 on the

Japan Hot 100 The ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 is a record chart in Japan for songs. It has been compiled by ''Billboard Japan'' and '' Hanshin Contents Link'' since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at Billboard-japan.com ( JST) and every Thur ...

. The song has been positively received by critics—it was ranked at number 14 on ''

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''s list of 21 Greatest K-pop Songs of All Time and number 17 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''s list of Top 100 K-pop Songs of the 2010s. An arranged version of "Step" was featured in the international arcade

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s ''

DJ Max Technika 3 ''DJMax Technika 3'' (Korean: 디제이맥스 테크니카3) is a music arcade game published and developed by Pentavision in South Korea, and is a sequel to the earlier ''DJMax Technika 2'' arcade game in the ''DJMax'' game series. Announcement T ...

'' and '' Pump It Up Fiesta 2''.

Background and artwork

On August 22, "Step" was announced by DSP Media as the lead single for the group's third full-length album, titled "Step", slated for release on September 6. The song was also included onto the limited edition of the group's second Japanese studio album, '' Super Girl''. The Japanese version of the song was released on February 29, 2012, and is also included as a bonus track on the group's sixth Japanese single, "

Speed Up / Girl's Power is the sixth Japanese single by South Korean girl group Kara. It was released on March 21, 2012, and was the group's first double A-side single. Background Information about the single first emerged after someone on Twitter tweeted a picture ...

Reception

Jen Erenza from '' Ryan Seacrest Blog'' described the video as "colorful" with "out-of-this-world scenes" and asserted, "With their super cute styles and head-bopping music, there is no doubt their popularity will rise stupendously!". In ''

''s 2019 ranking of best K-pop songs of the decade, the publication wrote "In an industry defined by genre-blending and experimentalism, 'Step' holds nothing back while surging forward in confidence that it is one of the purest pop confections out of K-pop this decade."

Music video

The full music video officially premiered on September 6. The video features the group dancing in front of

microphones A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and public ...

while dressed in

deep blue Deep Blue may refer to: Film * ''Deep Blues: A Musical Pilgrimage to the Crossroads'', a 1992 documentary film about Mississippi Delta blues music * Deep Blue (2001 film), ''Deep Blue'' (2001 film), a film by Dwight H. Little * Deep Blue (2003 ...

clothes with colorful patterns. In the background, there are bright lighting signs that show the names of the group's past hit songs. In other scenes, the group can be seen individually in a bright room with colored walling dressed in colored neon clothing while jumping up. During the bridge of the song, the girls are seen dressed in glittering dresses and holding onto microphone stands in a plain white room.

Live performances

The group began performing the song on TV music programs starting in September 15, on

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'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 ...

''. They also performed "Date (My Boy)" and "With My Heart (Dear Kamilia)" as a part of the group's performance. Due to the group's commitments with their schedule in Japan, they only performed the song on a few music shows for a total of three weeks.

Background and artwork

Reception

Music video

Live performances

Accolades

Charts

Weekly charts

Yearly charts

Release history

References