K-Pop Invasion in Japan This March

K-POP will raid Japan again this March. Stars who are big in Japan including DBSK, Kara, Girls’ Generation have been getting ready for tours in January and February. So they weren’t able to release new albums in Japan. However, they will comeback in March with newly released songs.

▶ New Challenge: IU – Lee Seung Gi

IU and Lee Seung Gi will make their debuts in Japan this March. What’s interesting about this is that each of them has different strategies.

Lee Seung Gi signed with Japan Universal Music and will focus on showing his versatility as an entertainer. After his drama schedule is all finished, he will hold concerts and act in Japan at the same time.

On the other hand, IU is about to release Japanese version of “Good Day” on March 21 and she is planning to focus on her singing skills. On January 24, she held a showcase in Tokyo and appealed her music with the collaboration of orchestra and guitar. She will stay in Japan when it gets closer to the date of her album release to do interviews and appear on TV shows.

▶ Girl Groups Still Popular: Kara-2NE1–After School–Rainbow

“Girl group boom” will continue in Japan as Kara, 2NE1, After School, and Rainbow come back. Rainbow is coming back with a new song, “Gonna Gonna Go!” They previously flaunted their cuteness and sexiness with belly dance, but this time, they plan to appeal their mature and girlish sides.

After School will also comeback with new first Japanese album “Play Girls” on March 14. Nana was a main model at Tokyo Girls Festival, and this helped Rainbow build awareness. They will have their first tour concert starting in April.

Kara and 2NE1 going head to head is also something interesting to look at. Kara just had their first successful concert in Japan last month and is releasing their fifth single “Girls Power/Speed Up” on March 21. Starting from “Mister” to “Winter Magic,” Kara has appealed as a cute and lovely girl group, but this time, Kara will transform their image and appeal sexiness. When the teaser video with Goo Hara wearing a tight black jumpsuit was first shown, she got a title of “Asian Beyonce.”

On the other hand on March 28, 2NE1 is releasing an album “Collection” that is comprised of “Go Away,” “Fire,” “I Don’t Care,” and the other songs. This album has all the songs that were huge hits in Korea as well.

▶ See You at the Top: BIGBANG-DBSK 

BIGBANG and DBSK are also releasing new albums in Japan this March. As of BIGBANG, they released their fifth mini album “Alive” in February. This album, which is the first one being released after G-Dragon’s drug incident and Daesung’s car accident, is drawing a lot of attention already.

DBSK is betting on emotional ballade songs in their new album “Still,” instead of the powerful performances they used to bet on. One of the songs in the album, “One More Thing,” is an OST of famous Bee TV “Let M-The Reason I Love You, Another Story.”