Super Girl (Kara album)

Super Girl (スーパーガール, Sūpā Gāru) is the second Japanese full-length album by South Korean girl group Kara. It was released digitally on November 16, 2011[1] and physically on November 23, 2011.[2] A special Tour Edition of the album was released on April 11, 2012.[3]

Super Girl
Regular edition cover
Studio album by
Kara
ReleasedNovember 23, 2011
Recorded2010–2011
GenrePop, dance-pop
Length40:53
LanguageJapanese
LabelUniversal Sigma
Kara chronology
Step
(2011)		 Super Girl
(2011)		 Hits! Hits!
(2012)
Singles from Super Girl
  1. "Jet Coaster Love"
    Released: April 6, 2011
  2. "Go Go Summer!"
    Released: June 22, 2011
  3. "Winter Magic"
    Released: October 19, 2011

Background and recording

On October 24, DSP Media announced on the group's official website that their second Japanese full-length album is slated for release on November 23. In addition, the album will include all of the group's past three singles that were released on the same year along with their B-sides. The following day, album covers and track list were unveiled on the group's official homepage by Universal Music Japan.[2][4] The album was nominated on 2012 MTV Video Music Awards Japan on the category Album of the Year.

Composition

The album includes the songs from the group's last three singles: "Jet Coaster Love", "Go Go Summer!", and "Winter Magic". It also includes their corresponding B-side songs from these singles which are "Ima, Okuritai 「Arigatou」", "Girls Be Ambitious", and "Whisper".[4] Other tracks are brand new songs such as "Dreamin' Girl" and "Do It! Do It!".

The album was released in three limited editions: a CD+DVD, CD+Photobook (36-pages) and a CD-Only First Press, all coming with three bonus tracks and a regular edition: CD-Only Normal Press coming with no bonus tracks. All editions come with a 20-page lyrics booklet.

Singles

Three singles were released before the album. The first single, "Jet Coaster Love", was released on April 6, 2011. The song is described as an R&B track with an upbeat tune that urges the listener to "fall in love". Promotions for the single were hindered due to the 2011 Great Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan so instead the group decided to donate all proceeds from the sales of the single, both physical and digital, to relief efforts. Despite the lack of promotion, the single received commercial success as it topped the Oricon Daily and Weekly charts making it the group's first number one single in Japan.[5]

The second single, "Go Go Summer!", was released on June 22, 2011. The single was also used as a commercial song for LG's new phone "Optimus Bright" where the group also served as models. The single performed well digitally as it has topped the Recochoku's monthly chart of July, as well as topping 4 other charts in 'Ringtone', 'Full Version Ringtones', 'Video Clip', and 'Callback Tone' earning the group a Recochoku Award. It was also nominated for the Best Song Award at the 53rd annual Japanese Record Awards making it the group's first song to be receive a nomination and was their most successful one of the year.[6]

"Winter Magic", served as the last single to be released before the album. It was released on October 19, 2011.

Commercial performance

The album drew 360,000 pre-order sales the day before its release.[7] The album went on to debut at number one on the Oricon Daily album chart, selling 73,076 copies on its first day.[8] The album continued its consistent sales throughout its first week and was certified platinum on the sixth day of its release with 259,602 copies sold. It eventually placed at number one on the Oricon Weekly album chart by selling over 275,000 copies on its first week.[9][10]

According to Oricon, this is the group's second time on the top of the charts, as their third single, "Jet Coaster Love" reached number one in the single chart back in April 2011. With this achievement, the girls has become the newest foreign female group to dominate both the single and album rankings in over a year. The record was previously set over 30 years ago by The Nolans with their single, "I'm in the Mood for Dancing", and the LP, "Gotta Pull Myself Together". Additionally, the girls have set a new record for their first week sales, and has become the top selling foreign female group of 2011. Their sales have surpassed fellow South Korean group SNSD's debut album Girls' Generation which sold 232,000 copies on its first week.[11] The album rose to top position once again during its fourth week on the chart.[12]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Jet Coaster Love (ジェットコースターラブ)"Natsumi Watanabe, Yu ShimojiHwang Seong-je3:40
2."Winter Magic (ウィンターマジック)"Simon IsogaiArmySlick, M.I.4:52
3."Go Go Summer! (GO GO サマー!)"Yu ShimojiHan Sang-won, Lee Sang-ho & Kimzart3:20
4."Dreamin' Girl (ドリーミンガール)"LitzRyu Hyun-sang3:15
5."Ima, Okuritai 'Arigatō' (今、贈りたい「ありがとう」)" ("Now I Say 'Thank You'")Simon IsogaiSimon Isogai5:51
6."Only For You (オンリーフォーユー)"EMI K.LynnRyonosuke Hirama3:41
7."Whisper (ウィスパー)"Nice73GEN3:37
8."Missing (ミッシング)"Kenn Kato, Jam9Jam9, ArmySlick5:04
9."Do It! Do It!"Mohombi Moupondo, Victoria Sandstrom, Joachim Alte, Tom Roger Rogstad, Litz, EMYLIM. Moupondo, V. Sandstrom, J. Alte, T.R. Rogstad3:57
10."Girls Be Ambitious (ガールズビーアンビシャス!)"PA-NONHwang S.J.3:36
Total length:40:53

All lyrics are written by Song Soo Yun; all music is composed by Han Jae-Ho and Kim Seung Soo.

Limited editions bonus tracks
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
11."Mister (ミスター)"Song Soo Yun, Han Jae-Ho, Kim Seung Soo, Natsumi Watanabe, PA-NONHan Jae-Ho, Kim Seung Soo3:13
12."Jumping (ジャンピン)"Song Soo Yun, Han Jae-Ho, Kim Seung Soo, Natsumi WatanabeHan Jae-Ho, Kim Seung Soo2:58
13."Step"Song Soo YunHan Jae-Ho, Kim Seung Soo3:24
Total length:50:59
DVD (type A)
No.TitleLength
1."Go Go Summer!" (music video – director's cut) 
2."Jet Coaster Love" (live performance (CJ Media Japan (Mnet) 「JJ's M Studio」)) 
3."Winter Magic" (music video – close-up version) 
4."Step" (music video) 
5."Super Girl album jacket shooting footage" (offshoot movie) 
6."Winter Magic jacket shooting footage" (offshoot movie) 
Japan Tour Special Edition bonus track[3]
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
14."We're with You"Han Jae-Ho, Kim Seung SooHan Jae-Ho, Kim Seung Soo3:23
Total length:53:49
Japan Tour Special Edition – DVD[3]
No.TitleLength
1."KARA Japan History" 
2."We're With You" (music video) 
3."We're With You" (art movie) 
4."We're With You" (Gyuri off-shot version) 
5."We're With You" (Hara off-shot version) 
6."We're With You" (SeungYeon off-shot version) 
7."We're With You" (Nicole off-shot version) 
8."We're With You" (JiYoung off-shot version) 

Charts

Oricon
Oricon Chart Peak Debut Sales Sales Total Chart Run
Daily Albums Chart[13] 1 73,076 777,957+[14] 46 weeks
Weekly Albums Chart[10] 1 275,206
Monthly Albums Chart 1
Yearly Albums Chart (2011) 7 450,595
Half-Year Chart (2012)[15] 7 282,657
Yearly Albums Chart (2012)[15] 18 295,651

Other charts
Chart Peak
position
Billboard Japan Top Albums[16] 1
Billboard Japan Yearly Top Albums (2012)[17] 4

Singles and other songs charted
Song Peak
position
Oricon RIAJ
"Jet Coaster Love" 1 1
"Go Go Summer!" 2 1
"Winter Magic" 3 2
"Ima, Okuritai 「Arigatou」"[18] – 16
"We're With You"[19] – 24
"Dreamin' Girl"[20] – 28
"Girls Be Ambitious!"[21] – 42
"Do It! Do It!"[22] – 67
"Missing"[19] – 98

Sales and certifications
Chart Amount
RIAJ physical shipping certification[23] 3× Platinum (750,000+)

Awards

MTV Video Music Awards Japan
Year Award Result
2012 Album of the Year Nominated

Japan Gold Disc Awards
Year Award Result
2013 Album of the Year Won[24]
Best 3 Albums Won[25]

Release history
CountryDateFormatLabel
Japan November 16, 2011[1] Digital download Universal Sigma
November 23, 2011 CD
April 11, 2012[3] CD + DVD (Tour Special Edition)
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References
  1. "iTunes – ミュージック – KARA「スーパーガール」" (in Japanese). iTunes. November 16, 2011. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
  2. 11/23、ニューアルバム 「スーパーガール」 リリース決定！　購入者特典有！ (in Japanese). Universal Music Group. October 25, 2011. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
  3. "KARA / スーパーガール JAPAN TOUR Special Edition【CD】【+DVD】【2012年4月11日発売】" (in Japanese). Universal Music Group. March 25, 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  4. (in Japanese) 2ndオリジナルNEWアルバム「スーパーガール」リリース決定！ DSP Media. October 25, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2011
  5. . "Kara to donate all income to Japanese earthquake relief. Retrieved March 29, 2011
  6. 카라, 일본서 보아 넘었다 (in Korean). 2011-08-03. Retrieved 2011-08-17.
  7. http://osen.mt.co.kr/article/G1109322092
  8. http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ja/d/2011-11-22/
  9. http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ja/d/2011-11-27/
  10. "KARA、2ndアルバムが初日首位" (in Japanese). Oricon. November 24, 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  11. http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/rankmusic/2004149/full/?cat_id=tw
  12. 2011年12月12日～2011年12月18日のCDアルバム週間ランキング (Oricon Weekly chart for December 26th)
  13. "KARA、2ndアルバムが初日首位" (in Japanese). Oricon. November 24, 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  14. "KARA 'Super Girl' Soundscan sales in Japan" (in Japanese). December 5, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  15. "上半期ランキング特集『AKB48とMr.Childrenが1、2位独占！上半期の音楽シーンを振り返る』-ORICON STYLE ミュージック (2012 Half-Year albums chart)" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
  16. "Top Albums / JAPAN Charts / Billboard JAPAN" (in Japanese). Billboard. Archived from the original on 2012-05-23. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
  17. "Yearly Albums / JAPAN Charts / Billboard JAPAN" (in Japanese). Billboard. Retrieved 2012-12-07.
  18. "RIAJ Digital Track Chart: Chart issue March 29, 2011" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Archived from the original on March 26, 2012. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
  19. "RIAJ Digital Track Chart: Chart issue November 29, 2011" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Archived from the original on October 1, 2014. Retrieved 2011-12-02.
  20. "RIAJ Digital Track Chart: Chart issue November 15, 2011" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Archived from the original on May 7, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
  21. "RIAJ Digital Track Chart: Chart issue July 5, 2011" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Archived from the original on March 26, 2012. Retrieved 2011-07-08.
  22. "RIAJ Digital Track Chart: Chart issue November 22, 2011" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Archived from the original on May 7, 2012. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
  23. ゴールド等認定作品一覧　2011年11月 [Works Receiving Certifications List (Gold, etc) (November 2011)]. Recording Industry Association of Japan (in Japanese). December 11, 2011. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
  24. "The Gold Disc Awards 2013 - Winners" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  25. "The Gold Disc Awards 2013 - Winners" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
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