After School (Hangul: ?????) is a South Korean girl group formed by Pledis Entertainment with an admissions and graduation concept.
After School officially debuted in January 2009 with "AH!". They then released "Diva" and "Because of You" later in the year, which were instant hits and became a commercial and critical success for the group. Follow-up singles "Bang!", "Shampoo" and "Flashback" further consolidated their domestic and international popularity. Their latest release is the maxi-single First Love, with its pole-dancing routine garnering praise from Billboard, complementing the group as the "top performers in K-Pop".
The group debuted in Japan in 2011 under Avex Trax with a remake of their Korean hits "Bang!", "Diva", "Shampoo" and "Because of You". Their Japanese debut was successful, with the group entering the Oricon Weekly Chart at number seven. The group also released an original Japanese song, "Rambling Girls", in January 2012. The group's debut Japanese album, Playgirlz, debuted at number eight on the Oricon Weekly Album Chart. The group is ranked number five in Billboard's list of the "Top 10 K-Pop Girl Groups Of The Past Decade".
The group currently consists of five members: Raina, Nana, Lizzy, E-Young, and Kaeun.
Video After School (band)
History
Pre-debut
After School was first formed following Kahi's departure from Korean-American girl group S-Blush, as Kahi began planning to produce a new group together with the current CEO of Pledis Entertainment. The first member other than Kahi was Bekah, who was a trainee while Kahi was in S-Blush. With Kahi's recommendation, Bekah was brought from Hawaii to South Korea. They were then introduced to Jungah, followed by Soyoung and Jooyeon, forming a five-member group.
After School as a group first made an unofficial appearance on 29 December 2008 at the SBS Song Festival. Kahi and Jungah performed "Play Girlz" alongside Son Dam Bi whilst the remaining members, Soyoung, Jooyeon and Bekah served as backup dancers for Son Dam Bi's performance at the event.
2009: New Schoolgirl, "Diva" and "Because of You"
In the beginning of 2009, a few days before After School's debut, Pledis Entertainment announced that the group's music concept was heavily influenced by the Pussycat Dolls. On 15 January 2009, the group released their debut single album, New Schoolgirl. The album had three songs: the lead single "Ah!", "Play Girlz" and "Bad Guy" (???). On 17 January, After School made their live debut on MBC's, Music Core. Following promotional activities for "AH!", After School planned to continue to promote New Schoolgirl with "Bad Guy". However, the track was deemed unsuitable and was banned from broadcast because of a single word of profanity was in the lyrics.
During the month of April, the group announced that a new member, Uee, was joining the group. The group then released their second single, "Diva" on 9 April 2009. They first performed the song on 9 April 2009 on M! Countdown. After School went on to win the "Rookie of the Month" award for the month of April 2009 at the Cyworld Digital Music Awards with the single.
On 21 May, the group released a cover of Morning Musume's "Love Machine", entitled "Dream Girl". In July, it was announced that the group would collaborate with popular artist, Son Dam Bi for digital single, "Amoled". It was released on 16 July, as part of a promotion deal with Samsung. After School also became the opening act for The Pussycat Dolls's Doll Domination Tour along with label-mate Son Dam-bi for the Asian dates of the tour.
On 29 October 2009, Soyoung officially graduated from the group to pursue an acting career. Two new members were then added to the group, Raina and Nana, and After School made a comeback on 25 November 2009 with the single "Because of You". The song marked a change for the group to a more mature and sophisticated concept, and became extremely popular, winning three Mutizen awards for the group on SBS' Inkigayo.
2010: "Bang!" and Orange Caramel
At the start of 2010, the group won the Best Rookie Award at both the Billboard Japan Music Awards and Seoul Music Awards.
On 25 March, After School released their third single album Bang! with new member Lizzy where the group took on a marching band concept. Kahi revealed that she was inspired after watching the American film Drumline, and had always wanted to do a marching band concept ever since she took to the stage as an After School member. The group practiced playing the drums for five months with a trainer for the single. The title track entered the Gaon Weekly Chart at number 2 and reached number 29 on the 2010 Gaon year-end digital chart with 2,374,731 digital downloads sold.
In June 2010, Raina, Nana, and Lizzy formed a sub-unit, revealed to be named Orange Caramel, and released their first mini-album. Orange Caramel's concept was revealed to be more lighthearted and sweet unlike many girl groups that have taken on darker, sexier concepts. Orange Caramel debuted on June 16, with the title track "Magic Girl". Their debut mini-album, The First Mini Album, was released on June 21, 2010. The album was a commercial success, peaking at No. 2 on the Gaon Chart with the lead single "Magic Girl" peaking at No. 18.
On 6 December 2010, Pledis Entertainment released Happy Pledis 1st Album that consisted of four tracks: the title song "Love Love Love", "Someone Is You", and instrumentals versions of the two songs. The album was a surprise gift for the fans, and included After School, Son Dam-bi and Orange Caramel. A portion of the profits from the album were donated to the "Save the Children" organization. Bekah did not take part nor participate in the promotions for this album due to her two-month break in Hawaii visiting her parents.
2011: Virgin, line-up changes, Japanese debut and A.S. Red & Blue
On 27 January, Pledis Entertainment announced that they had signed a contract with Japanese record label AVEX TRAX for After School to begin activities in Japan by the end of March. After School started their Japanese activities by collaborating with Japanese R&B superstar Namie Amuro; featuring in the song "Make It Happen" for her collaboration album. This was the first release to include new member E-Young, who was previously revealed to the public during the group's performance of "Bang!" at SBS' Gayo Daejun on December 31, 2010. In March 2012, the song won Best Collaboration at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2012.
After School's first studio album, Virgin, was released on 29 April with new member E-Young. The title track, "Shampoo", was composed by Japanese producer Daishi Dance, and the music video was released later that day. The music video for "Let's Step Up", the intro track on the album, featured After School performing a tap-dance routine, which was praised internationally by tap dancers such as Joseph Wiggan. After School began promotions for the "Shampoo" starting with KBS's Music Bank. Virgin was released in the Philippines on 23 July 2011, along with Bang! and Happy Pledis 1st Album, and it debuted at number one on the Philippines AstroChart, while Bang! debuted at number two and Happy Pledis 1st Album at number three.
In June 2011, After School made a cameo as a female idol group, Pure, in the Korean horror film White: The Melody of the Curse. They performed segments of their hit song, "Bang!". On 17 June 2011, Pledis Entertainment announced that original member Bekah was to 'graduate' from After School after concluding promotions for Virgin. Bekah released her 'graduation' song "Take Me to the Place" on 11 July. In July, Pledis Entertainment announced that After School would separate into two sub-units, A.S. Red & Blue as part of the group's second comeback project for the year, with the units releasing "In the Night Sky" and "Wonder Boy" respectively. On 9 July, After School held their second official Korean fan meeting at Sookmyung Women's University. 'Graduate' Bekah joined the fan meeting.
Prior to their official debut in Japan, After School held a showcase in Japan at Akasaka BLITZ in Tokyo on 17 July 2011, selling out tickets within one minute. After School officially debuted in Japan on 17 August with the release of their first Japanese single, "Bang!", which peaked at number seven on the Oricon Weekly Chart. After School also participated in the prestigious 'a-nation' concert tour as part of their Japanese promotions. After School's second Japanese single, "Diva", was released on 23 November. The single was accompanied with a new Japanese song called "Ready to Love".
Happy Pledis 2011 was released on 1 December and featured all Pledis artists, including Son Dam-bi and pre-debut NU'EST (then called Pledis Boys). A portion of the "Happy Pledis" earnings were donated to UNICEF, and the album was also a gift to the fans. The group also partnered with Shibuya 109 for a Christmas advertising campaign. After School ended the year by headlining the MTV EXIT live concert along with American band The Click Five on 17 December 2011 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
2012: Playgirlz, "Lady Luck/Dilly Dally", line-up changes and "Flashback"
After School's third Japanese single was a double A-side single consisting of two songs, "Rambling Girls" and a Japanese remake of their 2009 hit "Because of You". The single was released on 25 January 2012, and debuted at number six on the Oricon Daily Singles Chart. The single then debuted at number seven on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart with sales of 12,110. Since then, the single has sold over 17,000 copies in Japan.
On 29 February 2012, After School released a promotional digital single, "Just in Time", to promote the new album which was released the following month. "Just in Time" is also used in a Samantha Thavasa commercial featuring After School, who are models for the fashion company.
After School's first Japanese album, Playgirlz, was released on 14 March 2012. The album contains all their Japanese singles plus a Japanese version of their latest Korean single, "Shampoo", and six original Japanese songs. The regular edition of the album also included a Japanese version of Orange Caramel's "Shanghai Romance" as a bonus track. The album debuted at number six on the Oricon Daily Album Chart, with estimated sales of around 11,000 on the first day. The album debuted at number eight on the Oricon Weekly Album Chart with sales of 16,000. On 23 April 2012, Avex Trax announced that After School would release their fourth Japanese single, "Lady Luck/Dilly Dally", on 13 June 2012. The single is a double A-side single and the regular edition also contains an additional track, "Slow Love", which is the song used on the Eyefull Home commercial. The single debuted at number 3 on Oricon's daily Singles Chart with sales of 7,648 and at number 6 on Oricon's weekly Singles Chart with sales of 13,424 respectively. As of the end of 2012, the single has sold over 17,000 copies in Japan.
After School started their promotion tour for Playgirlz in late April. With a total of four dates, the tour kicked off at Zepp Tokyo on 27 April, followed by Zepp Nagoya on 28 April and Namba, Osaka on 30 April. The tour's first stop at Zepp Tokyo on 27 April marked the admission and first performance of new member Kaeun, who joined the group on stage to perform "Let's Do It" and the Japanese version of "Bang!". Kaeun continued to make appearances for the other stops on the tour. On 5 June, Pledis Entertainment announced that Kahi would graduate from the group to pursue a solo career, as well as to study acting. After School's tour finished on 17 June at Tokyo Dome City Hall, which was also the last time Kahi performed with the group. She stayed with the group until September to help with promotion.
After School's fifth Korean single album, Flashback, and a music video for the title track were released on 20 June. This was the first release to include new member Kaeun, as well as being the first release to not include Kahi. Jungah, who was revealed to be the group's new leader after the departure of Kahi, said that the album's title refers to the group's desire to return to their original image and produce music for all ages.
2013-2015: "First Love", Dress to Kill, line-up changes
After School held a fan meeting in Thailand on 23 February 2013 and performed in front of over 3,000 fans. Due to the success of the fan meeting in Bangkok, After School held another fan meeting in Taiwan on 30 March. This meeting was also held as a charity event with the proceeds from the ticket sales going to children in need. A total of 1,000,000 Taiwan dollars was raised for charity.
The group released their first compilation album, The Best of AFTERSCHOOL, on 27 March 2013 along with their first live DVD of their Playgirlz Japanese concert. Their sixth Korean maxi-single, "First Love", was released on 13 June, and was produced by Brave Brothers. This single marked the first time the group had worked with the producer since "Because of You" in 2009. Their fifth Japanese single "Heaven", was released on 2 October. "Heaven" debuted at number 6 on the Oricon Daily Singles Chart with over 18,596 copies sold during its debut week. On 19 December, the music video for "Shh", the group's sixth Japanese single, was released on YouTube. On 20 February 2014, After School released a single titled "Week" in collaboration with Brave Brothers for his 10th anniversary project.
After School's second full-length Japanese album, Dress to Kill, was released on 19 March 2014. The album has twelve tracks including "Heaven", "Shh", and "Ms. Independent", the title track. The album was released in three versions: a CD + DVD version which includes music videos and a special fanmeeting video, a CD version with a bonus track of the Japanese version of "Flashback", and another CD version (Mu-mo special) with the bonus track "Lucky Girl".
At the beginning of 2014, After School began filming a beauty variety show for KBS titled After School's Beauty Bible. The show focused on the members becoming beauty editors and providing the viewers with information and tips about Korean beauty, with topics ranging from makeup to style and trends. The show became quite successful and aired in over 100 countries through KBS World's YouTube channel. The second season of the show began airing in September.
After School's second Japanese tour, "Dress to SHINE", began on 21 November 2014 in Tokyo and ended on 24 November in Osaka. On 31 December, Jooyeon's contract with Pledis Entertainment expired, and she announced her graduation from After School that same day. Jooyeon continued to promote as a member of After School in Japan, as her contract with AVEX TRAX had not yet expired. After School released their music video for "Shine" on 9 February 2015 to promote their Japanese compilation album BEST which was released on 18 March. Jooyeon officially graduated from the group on March 20, at a fan-club event at Negishi Tokyo Cinema in Tokyo, held to promote the album, where she received her graduation diploma.
2016-2017: Line-up changes and solo endeavors
On January 28, 2016, Pledis announced that Jungah had graduated from the group after seven years of activity due to the expiration of her contract.
With the lack of group promotions, members Uee and Nana have taken a more active role as actresses. MBC's Marriage Contract, starring Uee, began airing on March 5. In the drama, she played the character of Kang Hye-soo, a single mother with a terminal illness who enters into a contract marriage. In November, Uee starred in the MBC drama Night Light, alongside Jin Goo and Lee Yo-won. She played the character of a poor woman who is able to turn her life around with an opportunity. Nana made her acting debut in a support role in TvN's The Good Wife, a Korean remake of the American drama of the same name, with the show debuting on July 8. On June 17, Raina's second duet with San E, titled "Sugar and Me", was released, peaking at No. 5 on the Gaon chart. Lizzy joined the hosting lineup for FashionN's Please Take Care of My Vanity 2. Kaeun has been focusing on her DJ gigs, and has confirmed an acting debut in pre-produced drama The Idolmaster KR, which premiered in early 2017. E-Young opened a music academy on September 19, featuring piano, vocal, bass and electric guitar lessons as well as dance and singing classes for those wishing to become idols.
On May 31, 2017, Pledis announced that Uee had graduated from the group after eight years of activity due to the expiration of her contract. After School will continue as five members for the first time in 8 years since the group debuted.
Maps After School (band)
Members
After School has an admission-graduation system, where members are added or withdrawn in a "natural" manner.
Timeline
Sub-units
Orange Caramel
Orange Caramel is the first After School unit group, consisting of Raina, Nana and Lizzy. They debuted in June 2010.
A.S. Red & Blue
A.S. Red & Blue were special unit groups decided by fan voting. The line-ups were finalized on 11 July 2011. A.S. Red consisted of Kahi, Jungah, Uee and Nana, while A.S. Blue consisted of Jooyeon, Raina, Lizzy, and E-Young. Two single albums were released on 20 July 2011. The Red single album had two songs, "In The Night Sky" (? ??? Bam Haneure) and "Hollywood", and the Blue single album also had two songs, "Wonder Boy" and "Lady". NU'EST and Seventeen's S.Coups served as back-up dancers for the "Wonder Boy" music video and during live performances on stage.
Endorsements
In 2009, After School were the endorsement models for brands such as Samsung and Adidas, collaborating with label-mate Son Dam-bi for Samsung's Amoled.
On 29 June 2011, After School became the models for The Saem Cosmetics alongside popular star Lee Seung Gi. In September 2011, they became endorsement models for Landrover Shoes with members Kahi, Juyeon, Uee and Nana releasing a commercial film for the brand.
In August 2011, After School collaborated with Hello Kitty for the release of their Japanese debut single "Bang!", and again in 2012 for their first Japanese album, Playgirlz. They were also models for Shibuya109, starring in a Christmas campaign commercial where large banners featuring festive-themed photos of After School measuring 21 meters by 9 meters were plastered onto and inside the Shibuya 109 building.
In January 2012, After School was chosen as the endorsement models for Samantha Thavasa. In April 2012, the group also became models for deodorant brand Rexena. They were also chosen as representatives for the Japanese food company Hanryuen and fashion brand CECIL McBEE.
In February 2013, After School and label-mate Son Dam-bi became the new faces of the women's SPA (Specialty Private Apparel) brand Mixxo, and continued their collaboration with the brand in 2014. They were the endorsement models for Mixxo in the Korean, Chinese, and Japanese markets.
Discography
Korean albums
- Virgin (2011)
Japanese albums
- Playgirlz (2012)
- Dress to Kill (2014)
Filmography
Reality shows
- 2009: MTV Diary of After School
- 2010: Playgirlz School
- 2013-2014: After School's Beauty Bible
- 2014-2015: After School's Beauty Bible 2014 F/W
Dramas
- 2009: You're Beautiful
- 2016: "The Good Wife"
Movies
- 2011: White: The Melody of the Curse
DVD
- 2013: Afterschool First Japan Tour 2012 -Playgirlz- DVD
Radio
- 2012-present: Afterschool Playgirlz Radio ~ 1st Japan Radio Show
Tours
Headlining
- 2012: After School 1st Japan Tour "PlayGirlz"
- 2014: After School 2nd Japan Tour "Dress to Shine"
Supporting
- 2009: Doll Domination Tour
Awards and nominations
References
External links
- Official website (in Korean)
- Official website (in Japanese)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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