[11.07.06] CCM's Kim Kwangsoo, "T-ara in Japan will have a wide range of strategic attacks"
T-ara has began their advancement in Japan.
On July 5th, at the Shibuya AX Hall in Tokyo, T-ara held their first showcase in Japan. Because this showcase is free of charge, the chosen applicants of 1,500 were given the opportunity to watch the showcase. Although T-ara have not officially started their promotions, surprisingly over 100,000 (101,186) people applied for this showcase to get the tickets. The Japan media was shocked and called them the "Big Rookies" because of the attention they gained in Japan so fast.
In 2009,T-ara debuted with "Lies", and then followed up with other singles such as "TTL", "Bo Peep Bo Peep", "I Go Crazy Because Of You", which had all become popular songs. The popularity of T-ara in Japan has also increased rapidly.
Behind their beautiful success, nurturing Jo Sungmo, SG Wannabe, Davichi, Seeya, etc, is Core Contents Media's CEO Kim Kwangsoo. From T-ara's debut, until entering the Japan music industry, clothes, choreography, all of it, had been hand picked by him.
After the showcase was over the reporters met and interviewed him.
-- Previously, T-ara were invited to debut in Japan. What's the reason for debuting only this late?
▶ Indeed, I heard lots of proposals for their debut. Nothing compared to not giving a thought and debuting straight in Japan. I feel that choosing the right time is more appropriate. Although I was very impatient, we still have to choose the right timing carefully.
-- For the activities in Japan, T-ara unique advantage is?
▶ The biggest advantage is the members can not only just sing and dance, but they can be acting, MCing, and doing other activities in a variety of fields. In South Korea, they were persistent to star in TV shows, movies, etc. The challenge of acting as a pop singer has already reduced the stress, and their acting strength has also been recognized. Various activities are in T-ara advantage.
-- Places to improve on?
▶ After the showcase today, we got to hear from the related persons that, "Even though they're still not very skilled, they did their best to use Japanese to communicate with the fans which was very impressive. They looked really good." When activities start, if there isn't any improvement, they will be deemed as not working hard enough. So what we need to do now is to raise the member's knowledge of Japanese.
-- Girls' Generation, Kara and many other girl groups are also having their activities in Japan. T-ara is considered the later ones. To be different from them, what is the strategy that belongs only to T-ara about their advancement to japan?
▶ Unleashing the members' talent in many areas. Right now in Japan, they are still not able to become singers that are able to act and MC. to be as unique as SMAP. Similarly, other groups are also revealing their songs and choreography as the main point. Other than songs, T-ara will be touching on acting and MC-ing, and be appearing in many aspects. I think that this point can better show the difference.
-- Have you considered using the strategies from the locals?
▶ No. Similar to Korea, we will also focus the most during the promotion period in Japan, and will showcase colors and charms that only belong to T-ara
-- What are T-ara's future plans?
▶ Firstly, we plan to focus on promoting "Roly-Poly" in Korea. After that, in September, we will release the Japanese version of "Bo Peep Bo Peep" and begin our promotions in Japan. It is planned to promote all the way until December and the schedules will be mainly on things such as tours and what a normal singer's schedule will be. Also, we are also discussing with J-ROCK regarding the members appearance in TV dramas
***
Source: T-araChina
Credits: mojojo / Typhoon @ Diadem