130423 Can T-ARA Sub-Units Save The Group’s Image?

Can T-ARA Sub-Units Save The Group's Image?

Large idol groups breaking down into sub-units is a common trend these days – the TVXQ-JYJ split, SISTAR19, and Super Junior KRY, M, T and H just to name a few.

Sometimes the creation of the sub-units is the result of the members’ busy schedules not allowing all of them to participate in projects together and sometimes the smaller groups are meant to serve a specific niche market, such as the Chinese-language Super Junior M.

Other times, however, the split comes as the result of scandal – as was the case with the SM Entertainment lawsuit surrounding the three TVXQ members who eventually went off to form the group JYJ under C-JeS Entertainment.The JYJ members Jaejoong, Yoochun and Junsu said recently in an interview with Yonhap News that they still consider themselves a part of TVXQ, giving fans hope that maybe one day the original five members will reunite to perform together.

But the recent news that the ladies of T-ARA are splitting into two sub-units has many wondering what their management, Core Contents Media, has planned.

It has been a while since a series of bullying scandals among group members broke, and the controversy surrounding Hwayoung’s contract termination has pretty much died down.However, it seems many T-ARA fans are still unsure about their feelings toward the ladies.

T-ARA as a whole have been working on promotions overseas, mostly in Japan, for the past several months, having released their first original Japanese single last month.The song was released in ten different versions: seven regular editions each of which contained a solo song by the individual members, and three special editions that contained an additional song by a sub-unit.

Seems like T-ARA’s agency was doing some market research trying to determine which groupings would yield the best results.

Earlier this month it was announced that a sub-unit named T-ARA N4 (T-ARA Brand New 4) would be debuting in by the beginning of May.The smaller group is meant to show the transformation of the members Eunjung, Hyomin, Jiyeon and Areum.

On April 22, it was also revealed that the remaining three members, Soyeon, Boram and Qri, would be forming their own sub-unit and that their efforts will focus on a Japanese audience.

The girls have also stated that the sub-units are no indication of a permanent split, and insist they will continue working on songs as a seven-member group as well.

After taking a major hit to their fan following and endorsements in the wake of scandal, Core Contents Media seems eager to revitalize the girls’ image in the public eye with these new sub-units.Whether or not the effort will work is yet to be seen, but for the time being it is certainly creating a lot of intrigue.