[13.05.20] T-ara N4 Announces Plans to Enter the US Market

[kkyc222]

[13.05.20] T-ara N4 announces plans to enter the US market

On the afternoon of May 20th, T-ara N4 held a press conference about its plans to enter the US market at Seoul Imperial Palace Hotel. Members Eunjung, Hyomin, Jiyeon and Areum attended the press conference and expressed their aspirations for their future in the US.

On the afternoon of May 20th, T-ara N4 held a press conference about its plans to enter the US market at Seoul Imperial Palace Hotel. Members Eunjung, Hyomin, Jiyeon and Areum attended the press conference and expressed their aspirations for their future in the US.

On May 12th, on invitation from well-known American artist Chris Brown, T-ara N4 traveled to the US for 5 days 4 nights. Member Eunjung expressed, "Although we received an invitation from Chris Brown, we still wondered whether we would really meet him. We were very excited. He was very welcoming and treated us well, we are thankful for that. We also discussed music and production plans. There were many good things that we had never even imagined before."

Eunjung added that the following day, T-ara N4 received any invitation from Youtube channel network company “Freestyle,” and the members visited the company about the possibility of a T-ara Channel. Footwear brand “Vlado”, famous among hiphop dancers, also extended an invitation to T-ara N4. “More fans that we had expected came and so we held a fansign for a few hours. Vlado also proposed to make custom shoes with the T-ara N4 logo. Singer Ray J spoke about us on twitter and so we had the chance to meet and discuss music with famous producer team "1500 or Nothin."

The members said "We had a successful meeting through a good opportunity and was able to discuss our plans to enter the US market. After meeting with Chris Brown, we also met with a lot of good opportunities. We are very lucky. We feel a lot of pressure on our shoulders and will work even harder in the future. About our trip to the US, the other members asked us when we will return to Korea and said we still haven't watched Iron Man 3 together."

Hyomin revealed that a remake of "Jeonwon Diary" will be released in 5 versions and the rap parts currently done by SPEED’s Taewoon will be done by Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, T-Pain, Ray J and Chris Brown. The song is scheduled to be released in June in the US and also worldwide at the same. Eunjung added, "We will sing our parts in Korean, and the rap parts by the other artists will be in English."

Jiyeon also revealed, "We will be leaving for the US on the 25th to perform the opening stage for Chris Brown's solo concert in Las Vegas. We are very nervous but we want to show our good side in our first performance in the US."

Areum added that they are planning to attend the BET Awards with Chris Brown on June 30th. "Although it still feels surreal, we are very happy."

Asked about the backstory to the meeting with Chris Brown, Eunjung said, “There really is no special backstory. T-ara trainee Dani attended Chris Brown's concert, and told him about T-ara and “Jeonwon Diary.” After watching our MV, Chris Brown really liked the song and asked whether he can see us directly. We suddenly went to the US in the midst of our promotions.”

Hyomin, “Many parts actually happened spontaneously. We visitied Chris Brown’s MV set, and we suddenly received an invitation to cameo in his MV. But because our hair and makeup etc had not been prepared, we regretfully couldn’t appear in his MV. Just like this, many things actually happened without plan, and we are also looking forward to see what will happen when we visit Las Vegas this time.”

Eunjung: "Before our debut, we felt that we would already be lucky if we could gain popularity domestically." "Because of the popularity of K-pop, we naturally started our Japan activities like other K-Pop singers. Our US activities also happened like this and started really suddenly. From now on, we will prepare accordingly regarding music and language.”

The Director of CCM's overseas marketing team Lee Jintaek revealed that T-ara N4 has signed a contract with Empire Records (a subsidiary of Universal Recrods) for the re-release of “Jeonwon Diary”.

He said of the good results from T-ara N4's US trip, "T-ara N4 received a lot of attention and love in the US. In particular, they met with Chris Brown and many other producers and received good appraisals from them."

The reporters asked whether this focus on the overseas activities was to avoid the negative response from the public after the Hwayoung controversy last year. About this, Eunjung said "We felt that an opportunity like this is rar, other than our sudden plans to go to the US, our other schedules will still proceed according to plan. Other than T-ara N4, the rest of the members will also be continuing their Japan sub-unit activities. They will be filming for their MV next week in Japan."

Eunjung added that, "We think that what we will demonstrate and show to everyone in the future is the most important. Whether on stage or somewhere else, we will demonstrate our genuine, honest, prudent and good appearance, so please anticipate our future activities and give us a lot of support. K-pop has received a lot of attention, not only from the US but also from other countries, so we feel a sense of responsibility to work hard and carefully in the future.”

Source: http://news.nate.com/view/20130521n17113

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Translated by: kkyc222 @ tiaradiadem, mostly based translations by TCN.

[glazella]

go ladies! knetz will hate on this again LOL anuways still looking forward to QBS in Japan and the whole group comeback

[nagemay]

I assume QBS unit is working on their single now, and N4 unit is promoting their already released single atm. QBS will be ready for debut on June 26th, N4 will be going back to US on June 25th. And a week later (3rd of July) all 7 members will debut with T-ara's new single "Target" in Japan. My questions is, how will they find time to prepare for it???

[danohio]

Eunjung nailed it, the girl really knows how to respond. For us Aqeens this is just a dream coming true, T-ara will be coming here more and more often!

I'm just worried if they can survive this tsunami of duties, and still learn new language. The plan sounds too ambitious and hopefully they make it through.

[jungri93]

ugh no US promotions please

I just want Korean and Japanese albums, If two versions of Countryside Diary didn't succeed in Korea what makes them think FIVE versions of it will break them through in the US market.

I love t-ara but please stay away from America.

[Regius]

It seems nice that T-ara gets exposed in the US/world stage, but I hope it is not at the expense of their Asian activities. I could say, the US/Western market can be much more fickle, and promoting away from their usual support bases may alienate T-ara from their 'core' support.

But in any event, wish them the best. A door has been opened, so why not take the opportunity. As for those with doubts/skepticism, let's see how the whole thing unfolds. No use in spending the energy on negativity -- even if T-ara does fail, they ain't the first group to do so. And if they succeed, a bit more here and there (nothing long term for different reasons) -- my only fear for success is other groups are likely to capitalize and bandwagon on them...

PS: F-I-V-E (5) English versions? Those artists must really found something they can relate to with CSD And should we expect a much less restraint in terms of lyrics?

[bmt92513]

ah ok dont know much about US environment but you got us by your side. Do and try your best

But the first thing you girl must do now is learning English, cuz i find your Engrish so funny haha

[jknlet]

Eunjung has so much talent not only to sing, act, dance, MC... and the way she interacts with media is so amazing. Whenever she speaks in an interview she catches your attention, even T-ara members attention, she knows how to handle situations and what she sais today “We think that what we will demonstrate and show to everyone in the future is the most important. Whether on stage or somewhere else, we will demonstrate our genuine, honest, prudent and good appearance, so please anticipate our future activities and give us a lot of support.” is prove of that.

i´m so proud of Ham Eunjung and of course proud if T-ara, T-ara N4 and soon QBS.

[jmae]

I really wish them luck for this...God bless girls we were always here to support you

[Jimmy6]

well that's interesting... it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

T-ara N4 breaking into the US with the more or less Hip Hop approach, whereas Wonder Girls used 'disney pop', and SNSD just did I guess 'pop'. either way I'm sure somewhere someone will Psy helped open the gate for this.

it will be interesting to see how it goes, I remember WG going to New York to meet producers and like Russell Simmons of Def Jam Records, and that was before 'nobody' i think. It's different a bit of course, you can't compare other groups ventures with another. JYP put years and money into getting Wonder Girls for the US/western market (his success/failure there is not the issue, and debatable) so they have members who can communicate very well in English and worked on getting english songs out.

SNSD, git Jess and Fany who can communicate very well in the US, and just really Sooyoung for Japanese, and SNSD still isn't fluent in japanese but they stay primarily as korean artist and haven't yet really taken the DBSK/BoA route to be a long time japanese artist as well. T-ara hopped into the japanese market with the other girl groups and found success as well. and they build their japanese skills, but like with Japan, it seemed okay for them to have a translator present. In the US market, I don't think that will work really well. I don't think T-ara's english is ready for Live with Kelly or Ellen, etc. And I'm not sure you want someone else speaking for them; especially if they go onto a show with Snoop, T-Pain or Chris Brown, no offense to them. But I want T-ara to talk not those guys, we don't need N4 being the new harajuku girls for them (though I know that's not what's gonna happen lol).

I'm just worried N4 is being used more for the imagine with who they collab with. Psy, Se7en, SNSD, WG, etc all got to stand alone on their foray. Of course we're all viewing it as win-win for both parties, but somehow I just feel like CCM/T-ara isn't the bigger winner in the end.

Anyways good luck to the girls. Whether they launch well or not into the US market, it's okay. BoA was deemed a 'failure' in the US markets but her career is anything but a failure. i'll sit by and wait and see what happens!

[migger]

Going the SNSD, 2en1 route...korea, why are you so mental about the US.

[clearwater]

I'm so happy for them. This is really exciting for them and for all the fans.

So many things to look forward to in the coming days and months!

I'm excited to listen to the English versions of Countryside Diaries and their performances with the American artists.

While I am worried about their English communication skills, I remain optimistic that somehow, despite the language barrier, they will find success and fame in the US. While other K-Pop artists did not really achieve as much as they hoped in the US music scene, I am hopeful that after Psy's amazing breakthrough, other Korean artists, like T-ara N4, and T-ara as a whole, will be given more recognition this time. So I guess, it's not just the ability to speak English which gives the "license" to enter the US market, but also proper connections in the US music industry, and of course, it will also have to do with music taste and musical connection... plus lots of luck.

Through this US route, I am hoping that they gain more recognition and support worldwide.

Whatever happens in their US venture, I'm sure all their fans will still support them everywhere else.

It's really time to move on from last year's controversy and I'm happy with their progress so far.

I just really hope and pray that they play their cards right this time.

Fighting!!!

[aoikage]

It seems nice that T-ara gets exposed in the US/world stage, but I hope it is not at the expense of their Asian activities. I could say, the US/Western market can be much more fickle, and promoting away from their usual support bases may alienate T-ara from their 'core' support.

well that's interesting... it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

T-ara N4 breaking into the US with the more or less Hip Hop approach, whereas Wonder Girls used 'disney pop', and SNSD just did I guess 'pop'. either way I'm sure somewhere someone will Psy helped open the gate for this.

Going the SNSD, 2en1 route...korea, why are you so mental about the US.

I just basically want to respond to all of your comments

Jimmy noticed the difference in N4's venture, that is the image/sound they'll embrace in. So, we shouldn't be worried that N4 will go down the drain too easily like WG and SNSD,as long as N4 take totally different route. Musically, I bet it won't be another *Disney pop WG* or *plain strange pop SNSD*.

However, few statements from the article made me worried. I was fully expecting N4 would come up with a totally new song, having met with all those big name producers. That way, N4 would have the proper GPS to navigate thru the US music market. With their current plan of releasing different versions of the same Countryside Diary song, acceptance could be a challenge. The original song/arrangement is very Kpop, but who knows if those big name rappers would be able to lift the new versions to US Top 40.

Getting into US market doesn't always have to take WG's, SNSD's, and 2NE1's route. One thing in common with WG and SNSD was that they went into American TVs. I'm really hoping N4 won't take this route. Americans at large do not simply accept newcomer thru TV shows appearance/introduction.

Main difference with WG and SNSD is (imo):

WG's bet on Disney Channel definitely messed their audience target.

SNSD's The Boys is simply a weak song.

2NE1's collab with Will.I.Am isn't really a debut I think, but only a promotion song for Intel, so this simply doesn't get into radio playlist.

I'm now 50-50 on N4's US debut. *50 up* for the collab partners (and the hope for no American TV shows appearances), and *50 down* for the remake/English versions.

[Regius]

@aoi I'd assume they'll do remixes of the song to suit each rapper's style. Just doing straight out translation seem a waste. Plus those rappers likely want to put their stamp on the song. I just find it strange at first that 5 different rappers would do a collaboration; but then again that's the purpose of collaborations -- perceived/expected mutual benefit. In this case, T-ara to make a footprint in the US market (at least with Asian-Americans/hiphop fans) and the CB and company to make headway with Kpop audiences.

But just as discussions we have on Shoutbox, best they avoid the paths used by other Kpop artists; instead use radio airplay and similar approach to reach into the American psyche. Long term success is still doubtful, but T-ara doing better than those before them would really be great.

[mindori]

Chance to open up why can't go ??

Good luck my girls..good or bad i will support you forever. You can do it !!!

""We think that what we will demonstrate and show to everyone in the future is the most important. Whether on stage or somewhere else, we will demonstrate our genuine, honest, prudent and good appearance, so please anticipate our future activities and give us a lot of support."

love you Eunjung

[aoikage]

Btw, I expect lots of eff words

Now that's the real Countryside Diary!

[Regius]

and I second that. lol, imagine the rappers handing out effs while T-ara singing non-chalant.

PS: Good thing T-ara will do their parts in Korean (sad to say, them singing a word or phrase in English is cringe-worthy enough, much less full stanzas or an entire song).

[Ahnu]

Hmmm... Yay...? Lol, idk. I'm not sure i like 5 different versions of Csd... With snoop, whiz, etc. I hope they promote the original too. Well, ill be looking forward to the new choreo, although I still love the present choreo. I just hope that they don't change their colors or have to change to suit the u.s. market. Gotta stay hopeful!

[Tallasian4]

I really really hope that these hip-hop and R &B artists respect the culture in Korea. And not refer to them as B's and H's and such. This is a huge risk to the precious girls of T ara's image domestically in Korea. If there are any references to weed or other drugs in these new remixes thats a set back to their activities in Korea. Korean entertainment and law enforcement are very strict in these matters. Also, the American hip-hop and R &B industry is really blatant in objectifying women and treating women terribly. How do I know? I have friends that were both once in the industry or still in the industry. I wonder if both sides, CCM and the American hip hop/R&B side really know what they are getting into. I will really pray for these girls to be safe.

[sleepystudent]

First thought when seeing the title before reading the article: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

After reading it: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooo.... eh?

Isn't "Jeonwon Diary will be released in 5 versions" a bit over the top? From what I understand, they're having 5 different American rap artist do the rapping part in English.. I don't know.. it just seems.. weird..

Regardless, I'm quite happy about them coming to the US.

It seems that they'll be in Las Vegas on the 25th of this month? dang... If I had known sooner, it would've been my graduation trip/present to myself :< Partying in Vegas and meeting T-ara.,. two birds with one stone!

[subtle_yuki]

I was a bit apprehensive about them debuting in the American market cause let's face it, they have a long way to work on their English skills

But now that I've read that they're going to sing their parts in Korean and the american artists in English, it doesn't sound like such a bad idea. But really 5 versions feel a bit over the top...

Neways all the best no matter what.

T-ara n4 fighting!

[ZZuRRa]

First thought when seeing the title before reading the article: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

After reading it: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooo.... eh?

Isn't "Jeonwon Diary will be released in 5 versions" a bit over the top? From what I understand, they're having 5 different American rap artist do the rapping part in English.. I don't know.. it just seems.. weird..

Regardless, I'm quite happy about them coming to the US.

It seems that they'll be in Las Vegas on the 25th of this month? dang... If I had known sooner, it would've been my graduation trip/present to myself :< Partying in Vegas and meeting T-ara.,. two birds with one stone!

Don't get me wrong guys.I love them.I really do.However,I do feel little a doubt about this.I mean,with the language barrier and so on,will they succeed in the U.S?I don't know but I think it's too early to enter the U.S Market.As much as I love them,it's better to stick to Korean and Japanese Market.If you guys noticed,all of Korean Idols who had tried to break into the U.S market can speak English well,quite popular and etc but they still failed to achieve it.

And the 5 versions of Jeon Won Diary is just way too much.Oh gosh....I can't even..And,only T-ara N4 will enter the U.S market right?Once again,the 3 least popular members were left behind.I know Dani can speak English but she's in T-ara (well,will be) NOT T-ara N4.KKS,don't tell me you're gonna add her in the sub-unit just because of that.

Nevertheless,as a fan,I support the girls and hopefully,you can prove me wrong.

[jiyeonpls]

I'm feeling optimistic about this and I'm excited to see what the new five versions will bring

[nagemay]

And,only T-ara N4 will enter the U.S market right?Once again,the 3 least popular members were left behind.

and I'm glad for that lol. I don't want my Qri to spend even a minute with those hiphoppers/rappers :/. So unless CCM can find some proper artists in the US, I would rather see those 3 not involved in this.

[ZZuRRa]

and I'm glad for that lol. I don't want my Qri to spend even a minute with those hiphoppers/rappers :/. So unless CCM can find some proper artists in the US, I would rather see those 3 not involved in this.

If it were someone else who has at least a better reputation than Chris Brown,I'd not be this upset but combining them together is just no.And another thing that bothers me why they need to have 5 different rappers to sing the rap part?As if one isn't enough. Wouldn't it be better if they omit the rap part and change it into "singing normally"?