KARA brings late Goo Hara back for new song

Goo Hara has been certainly missed by many K-pop fans since her tragic passing on November 24, 2019. However, those who’ve missed her can hear her voice again in KARA’s latest song, ‘Hello’.

Image: RBW

KARA is considered one of South Korea’s most iconic girl groups. They used to be a six-member girl group but are currently down to five, with the passing of Goo Hara in 2019.

Image: DSP Media

Aside from Goo Hara, KARA's members are Gyuri, Seungyeon, Nicole, Jiyoung, and Youngji. Since its start, the girl group has undergone various restructurings.

Image: DSP Media

Initially, KARA started off as a quartet with only Gyuri, Seungyeon, Nicole, and Kim Seung-hee in the lineup.

Image: DSP Media

However, MyDaily reports that Seung-hee had decided to leave the group and retire from the entertainment industry in 2008, which led to the recruitment of two new members, Jiyoung and Hara. The new KARA released ‘Rock U’ in that same year.

Image: DSP Media

Other than their debut as a five-member group with ‘Rock U’, KARA is known for the hits ‘Honey’, ‘Pretty Girl’, ‘Lupin’, and ‘Mister’ among many other hit tracks.

Image: DSP Media

Despite being already one of K-pop’s biggest girl groups then, KARA soared to greater heights when they went viral for their ‘butt dance’ which was part of the choreography for their song ‘Mister’, reports MWave.

Image: DSP Media

In 2014, SBS reported that Nicole and Jiyoung had decided to not renew their contracts with DSP Media, which manages KARA, and left the girl group. It was then that a reality TV competition was formed, ‘Kara Project’, to select the newest member of KARA. Heo Young-ji won the competition and joined KARA as its latest member.

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KARA had initially disbanded back in 2016, reports Daum, when the contracts of three members, Gyuri, Seungyeon, and Hara had expired. Many thought that this was the end of the girl group, especially in 2019, when Goo Hara took her own life that year.

Image: DSP Media

When Goo Hara took her own life on November 24, 2019, many fans mourned her and also feared that it would be the end of KARA, given the loss of an important member of the group. However, the group had reunited years later in 2022, reports another Daum article.

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‘Hello’ is KARA’s latest pre-release track from their upcoming EP, ‘I Do I Do’. ‘I Do I Do’ is set to be KARA’s latest musical release as a six-member girl group, with Goo Hara included in the album posthumously, reports Allkpop.

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DSP Media disclosed that the single 'Hello' was originally intended for release in 2013, when Goo Hara was still alive and a member of KARA. The company and the rest of the KARA members felt that it would be a fitting tribute to the late star to include the song on their future album, with the rest of them adding their voices to Goo Hara's pre-recorded vocals.

Image: RBW