Wednesday, June 17, 2015

[News] Nicole Talks About Pressures of Performing Solo




Singer Nicole recently sat down to talk to a Japanese news site about her feelings about re-debuting as a solo artist after having been a member of KARA for so long.

Nicole left KARA in January 2014, and debuted as a solo artist in Korea with the song “MAMA” last November. She is slated to be making her solo debut in Japan on June 24 with the track “Something Special.”

“I’m so excited and happy,” she says. “To be honest, before I announced my plans for my debut at ‘KCON 2015 Japan‘ in April, I was really anxious. It was my first time in Japan in a while, so I worried that I might have been forgotten.”

Regarding her debut as a solo artist in Korea last year, she comments, “At my first performance as a solo artist, I was at ease and felt courage thanks to those who were calling out my name.”

“The biggest pressure when I was on stage alone was the fact that the stage felt empty,” she says. “Since I’d been performing as part of a group, taking charge of all the singing and dancing on my own was a lot of pressure.”

Nicole debuted as a member of KARA back in 2007, which means 2015 is her 9th year in the Korean entertainment industry. She says, “Since I’m performing for the first time in a while, I have a lot more hoobaes now. I debuted in Korea when I was 17 years old, so I was always the youngest. But it’s not like that anymore. I feel a sense of responsibility now, and at some point I started feeling like a grown-up.”

As part of her preparation for her debut in Japan, Nicole held a special event last month where she met over 1,400 of her Japanese fans.



another article translated by Koreaboo :



5 comments:

  1. I wish interviews would focus more in her future career and not in her past as KARA member. I don't see many interviews where people ask KARA for Nicole and JiYoung, but when it comes to Nicole, it's always about the same. I wish she could talk about her planing new albums, new concepts, how it is her friendship with her new company friends (B2M), what does she needs to improve, if she wants to go on tour outside Korea or Asia. How she spend days. But it's always about the pressure of being solo. That bothers me a bit.

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    1. This her first solo effort in Japan since leaving KARA and for the fans or people who haven't followed her since, these type of questions are necessary.

      There's still a second part to the tsite interview & the original Oricon interview* where she talks more about album, hope for the future, and even what she wants to do for summer.

      *The translations posted here are from the Korean news which translated the Oricon Style version. Oricon Style posted up a shorten version of the original article by Oricon. I hope to get the original version translated ^^

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    2. I agree, these Kara questions are pretty much a given for all her interviews, especially now since she is still in her debut stages and easing in to her solo career. By her next comeback there will be more questions focused on her development as a solo artist, her career, and herself. It's just a matter of time. But I do notice that Kara doesn't seem to get questioned about either Nicole or JiYoung, mainly could be DSP forbidding these type of questions. B2M seems to be more free about whatever Nicole talks about, it's really up to her on what she chooses to answer or talk about.

      I really want to hear about her next Korean comeback. I'm excited to see her next growth and development. Something upbeat and/or dance track infused.

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  2. I wish Brave Brothers would produce a nice R&B song for her. They have good beats and I think that would boost her popularity in all countries. It seems like she is their money maker in her current company. I don't see them promoting any of their artists besides her and Eric Nam (which I think is kinda sad).

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    1. What I think with B2M is, they are quite smart on who they take. Basically majority of their roster are individuals who have already been through the trainee process, therefore they have that background and experience, so it's easier for the company to just invest in debuting them and not so much in training them. Less money spent. Whatever profit is taken in then they divide it as so, be it a lot or not, they're still getting soemthing. So that pretty much gives the artist free range on how they want their career to play out. B2M pretty much is just a housing label for them, what each artist choose to do is really up to them. Which I think is both positive and negative. Negative side is basically can be seen as mismanagement and disorganization amongst the numerous teams in regards to who gets priority or who will come back when and such. But I still prefer B2M over DSP, at least they nurture their talents and allow freedom of choice and expression.

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