Sugar (South Korean band)

Sugar
Genres K-pop, J-pop
Years active 2001–2006
Labels Starworld
Bertelsmann Music Group
S.M. Entertainment
Toy's Factory (Japan)
Past members Ayumi Lee
Lee Ha Rin
Hye Seung
Hwang Jung-eum
Park Soo-jin

Sugar (슈가) was a South Korean girl group active from 2001 to 2005. The group saw moderate success in the Korean music market, and released multiple songs in Japan. Sugar's Japanese singles "Take It Shake It" and "Real Identity" were notably the theme songs for Kaleido Star, a popular anime. After group's contract with SM Entertainment expired in December 2006, it was announced that Sugar had officially disbanded.[1] All members of the group have since branched into acting and musical efforts.

History

Sugar debuted at the end of 2001 with their first song "Sweet Love", which did not see much popularity. The group's second song "Tell Me Why" was received more attention. Sugar was most compared by fans to the female groups M.I.L.K. and Shinvi for their similar musical styles and images. Many girl groups during this time only released a debut album before leaving the music market. However, Sugar returned in 2003 with the release of their second album, entitled "Shine". Member Sae Byul changed her name to Hye Seung, her real first name, for the promotion of their comeback.

After releasing their second Korean album, Sugar entered the Japanese music market. The group debuted with two songs that were used as the soundtrack of the anime Kaleido Star. Sugar released a single entitled Secret in South Korea in 2004, and then returned to the Japanese market. They went on to release three Japanese singles, and their first album entitled "Double Rainbow". The singles and album all charted and were met with moderate success. After the release of Sugar's third Japanese single, member Jung Eum decided to leave the group,[2] and pursue a solo career in the entertainment industry. Soon after Jung Eum's departure, new member Lee Harin to the Sugar as her replacement.[3] With the new line-up, Sugar released their fourth Japanese single, a ballad entitled "Heartful". Six months later Sugar released "Himawari", their fifth Japanese single. It was able to reach #29 on the Oricon, and remained on the charts for 7 weeks.

Park Soo-jin

Sugar released another Korean album in 2006, returning after their year-long hiatus in the Korean music industry. Two months later they released their second Japanese album, entitled COLORS 4 WISHES. Member Soo Jin then announced that she would be leaving Sugar to pursue an acting career, and left the group after album promotions ended. Following her departure, Sugar released a DVD entitled "7 STARS", which contained all of their Japanese music videos. In July 2006, member Ayumi Lee debuted as a soloist but remained with the group. In the months that followed, Sugar remained in hiatus, with the media speculating about a new member that who would take in Soo Jin's place. By November there were still no announcements, and Ayumi continued to concentrate on her solo career.

On December 20, 2006, the expiration date of their contract with SM Entertainment, KBS World Radio announced that Sugar had disbanded. They stated each of the current members wanted to embark on solo careers, and the company decided not to renew their contract with the members. Star World, the group's other music label, revealed the future plans of the members once the group disbanded. Ayumi Lee continued to pursue a solo career, signing a contract with Star World once again. Hye Seung planned to become an actress, while Harin aimed to begin a music career in Japan. The former members achieved varying degrees of success following the disbandment of Sugar, with Jung Eum and Soo Jin remaining active as film and drama actresses.

Members

Discography

Korean Albums

Korean Singles

Japanese Albums

Japanese Singles

OSTs

DVDs

Awards

Year Awards
2002 SBS Music Awards: Choice Award
2004 SBS Music Awards: Best Dance Award
Mnet Asian Music Awards: Best Female Video[5]

Korean Music Videos

Year Song Length
2001 "Sweet Love"[6] 4:20
2002 "Tell Me Why"[7] 3:58
"Fade Away"[8] 3:55
2003 "Shine"[9] 3:52
2004 "Secret"[10] 3:52
2005 "Wise Farewell"[11] 3:42

Japanese Music Videos

Year Song Length
2004 "All My Loving"[12] 4:40
"Go The Distance"[13] 5:21
"Faraway"[14] 3:06
"Wind And Bouquet"[15] 4:49
2005 "Heartful"[16] 5:16
"Sunflower"[17] 3:54

References

  1. ↑ "KPOP News: Sugar disbands officially". KBS World Radio. 2006-12-20. Archived from the original on 2007-01-13. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
  2. ↑ "Hwang Jung Eum reveals why she left Sugar". Allkpop. 2012-01-07. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  3. ↑ "SUGAR's Lee Harin releases a new song". StarN via Yahoo!. 2012-05-26. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  4. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20040809215621/http://www.riak.or.kr/stat/kpop_200309.htm
  5. ↑ "2004 M.net Korean Music Festival Winners list". MAMA. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
  6. ↑ "슈가 - 스위트 러브 (MV) (2001)". YouTube. 2014-01-17. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  7. ↑ "Sugar- Tell Me Why MV". YouTube. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  8. ↑ "슈가(Sugar) - Fade Away (Official)". YouTube. 2013-11-18. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  9. ↑ "슈가(Sugar) - 샤인 (MV)". YouTube. 2013-08-10. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  10. ↑ "Sugar (슈가) - Secret [HD]". YouTube. 2011-01-10. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  11. ↑ "슈가 - 현명한 이별 (MV) (2005)". YouTube. 2014-01-17. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  12. ↑ "Sugar - All My Loving [HD]". YouTube. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  13. ↑ "Sugar - Go The Distance [HD]". YouTube. 2011-01-11. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  14. ↑ "Sugar - 遥 (Haruka) [HD]". YouTube. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  15. ↑ "Sugar - 風と花束 (Kaze to Hanataba) [HD]". YouTube. 2011-01-10. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  16. ↑ "Sugar - Heartful [HD]". YouTube. 2011-01-11. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  17. ↑ "Sugar - ひまわり (Himawari) [HD]". YouTube. 2011-01-10. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
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