As the saying goes “to unite is to survive, to split is to die,” but the saying does not apply to T-ara. In fact, it should be the exact opposite: to unite is to die. After the July 2012 incident with Hwayoung, although two years have already passed, the public still view T-ara coldly and at a distance.

Have T-ara had their peak? They were the stars of the retro concept comebacks. Roly-Poly was the most popular song of 2011. However, after Hwayoung left the group, T-ara became a word synonymous with “anti.” T-ara’s retro style was no longer accepted by the public. Although they returned afterwards with Number Nine and Do You Know Me?, all they received was only the public ignoring them.

Will T-ara just fall like that? At this time, there is skepticism as their unexpected “counter-attack” begins. At the center of this is the group’s maknae, Jiyeon. She is not standing on stage as her original identity of T-ara Jiyeon but as “solo artist Jiyeon”. This is the start and notice to the beginning of the second start for T-ara.

Will T-ara’s “season two” succeed? At the very least, Jiyeon is experiencing a better reaction that thought.

“To unite is to die, to split is to survive”

Looking through “tainted glasses” is very scary. Misunderstanding and their explanations and apologies are all blocked. One will only see the color that they want to see when looking through “tainted glasses” and believe that the colo0r that they see is then the truth. For T-ara, that is what the tainted glasses did. No matter what the misunderstanding was, the public does not want to hear or accept T-ara’s apologies or explanations.

Therefore, for T-ara to unite (stay together) is to die. The public disregards their music and closes their eyes to their popular dance choreography. They don’t even give them a chance to showcase their charms. Under such circumstances, T-ara’s agency Core Contents Media chose to disperse them. That is, to have the members go solo. And the first protagonist is Jiyeon.

A source from Core Contents Media said that “T-ara still wants to show a lot of their talents.” Unfortunately, people already have a prejudice against T-ara. They continued by saying, “Jiyeon has a wide variety of images that has not yet been seen in T-ara. She wants to use her charms as a singer to show everyone.”

The result is a completely different image of Jiyeon when she is standing on the stage. She abandoned her image in T-ara. Instead, what she showed off is a perfect showcase of her personal charm.  Through her solo song “1MIN 1SEC”, she challenged the concept of “innocent sexy.” The song is a sad song and the choreography is tough.

The head of choreography responsible for the dance said that “Jiyeon really was biting the bullet in enduring throughout her practice. She had two months of continuous preparation for the solo stage debut.” They also said, “The “singer Jiyeon” has a lot of things that she wants to show still. She purely wants to show her charisma as a singer; to attempt the things she has not done in T-ara.”

Viewing without prejudice.. will it work?

Now that T-ara is scattered, the results are appearing gradually. Although only partially, the “tainted glasses” that are always used to view T-ara are starting to come off. The first result was seen when Jiyeon’s “1MIN 1SEC ” occupied Cyworld music charts in the first position on the 20th. It was also listed in the Top 10 on other music charts.

The music video has also been popular. The “1MIN 1SEC music video” keyword has been repeatedly entered into the portal real-time search charts. Teasers, spoiler videos and the music video have all received a large amount of views.  Even the dance choreography’s name of “pelvic dance” and “bat-dance” became top searched keywords.

The reaction from the public also has seen a shift from being “accusations ” to becoming “critical.”  It is no longer a case of just “blindly hating” on T-ara. Comments such as “because it was like this, I don’t like it,” “this is not bad” have begun showing. This is different from the reactions from when T-ara had made comebacks. In fact, this was a never before seen reaction for them.

What would the public’s reaction be if T-ara sang “1MIN 1SEC”? The public would shut their ears and eyes and blindly hate. In contrast, they have opened their eyes and ears for Jiyeon’s “1MIN 1SEC”. Of course, there is always going to be a mixture of good and bad reactions. There were both the “sexy is the most desperate option” sarcasm and also the praises like “she actually has such talents like that?”

There is hope for Jiyeon. In an interview she made before making her solo debut, she said that “she understands” that people have negative feelings towards T-ara. But Jiyeon pleaded, “nevertheless, I hope you can be forgiving and view us without prejudice, even if it’s only for once.” Her plea is not for people to forget the past situations.. It is just her hope that as a singer, she can be judged by her performance this time.

T-ara’s 2nd beginning: not a crisis but a chance

At the time of her interview, Jiyeon was already had a lot of determination for this second beginning. She said, “My solo activity is not meant to increase my personal popularity. Although it is a solo song for me, I still want to stand on stage together with T-ara unnies again.”

Jiyeon’s solo challenge is also key in T-ara’s second season. It shows the individual member’s hidden charisma and looks to obtain a similar effect that T-ara’s group activities would achieve. Jiyeon has successfully taken the first step, and soon after, the other members will follow in her foot-steps.

Firstly, Hyomin will will take the baton for solo song promotions. She is set to debut next month. Hyomin has the best fashion sense in the group and she will use what suits her best for a showdown to determine the winner.  The song has already been completed with Brave Brothers.  She is currently “arming” her image with her modern and trendy fashionista outfits.

Other members will also begin solo activities in their respective fields. Former child star Eunjung will simultaneously take parts in movies and TV activities. In fact, Eunjung has recently received a movie proposal for “The Boss, The Beginning” to star as the female lead, but it is still being considered. Soyeon, Qri, and Boram also have the possibility of starting individual activities.

T-ara’s second season has begun. The strategy now is “to unite is to die, to split is to survive.”  This is the inevitable consequence of the public choosing to ignore T-ara. But thinking from another way, this is also a chance for them. This is the last chance for each member to display their individual charisma.

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Source: Dispatch
Translated by: Beckhie @ Diadem