[Weekly Idol] Brown Eyed Girls

Brown Eyed Girls (often referred to as B.E.G) are a 4 member girl group that debuted in 2006. The members are: JeA, Narsha, Miryo and Ga-In.

The group have experimented with many different music styles throughout their career, ranging from R&B and ballads to more electronic-sounding dance tracks. To date, they have released 5 albums.

The girls first started releasing tracks as a ‘faceless group’, choosing not to appear on music shows and not being shown in their debut music video for ‘Come Closer’. The group enjoyed quite a lot of success, but were seemingly always beaten by fierce competition from other female groups like the Wonder Girls. Following releases such as ‘L.O.V.E’ and ‘How Come’ also suffered a similar fate, as they were popular, but still did not hit as hard as some of their later singles.

When ‘Abracadabra’ came along, however, the group’s trajectory began pointing drastically upwards. The girls had a change of image – now showing a fierce and modern femininity in their style and the song became an instant hit, cementing their position of the K-Pop scene. The signature ‘Arrogant dance’ choreography (later used in PSY’s ‘Gentleman’) gained huge popularity, despite the erotic imagery the group showed kicking up an awful lot of controversy. The song also was subjected to numerous parodies.

This new found popularity opened many doors for the Brown Eyed Girls. Many of the members began solo activities and various variety show appearances. The girls also extended their promotions to Japan.

In particular, member Ga In has done particularly well on her own and her solo career would not be done justice unless it was given a separate article in itself. However, her relationship with 2AM member Jo Kwon on ‘We Got Married’ undoubtedly exposed the group to legions of new fans. The two close friends are affectionately dubbed ‘The Adam Couple’ by fans, and delighted many viewers with their bickering and silly behaviour on the show. Narsha has also had great success as a soloist, and has taken part in the show ‘Invincible Youth’, often as the butt of the other cast members’ jokes due to her older age.

The group members have also been involved in various drama soundtracks including for ‘The Vineyard Man’ (2006), ‘My Fair Lady’ (2009) and ‘The Slave Hunters’ (2010). JeA had even worked on a few before the group’s debut. Narsha has also acted in a few drama series, including taking on the role of a goddess in the 2012 drama ‘Ooh La La Couple’.

The Brown Eyed Girls have continued to release music as a group and separately, including the dramatic ‘Sixth Sense’ and ‘KILL BILL’ (inspired by the Quentin Tarantino film of the same name) in 2013. This has even been followed by a greatest hits album entitled ‘Special Moments’.

The Brown Eyed Girls have always been unafraid of embracing controversial subjects in their work. All the ladies are in their late 20s and early 30s, so it could be argued that the fact that they are older than average girl groups has given them the opportunity to tackle sexier and more taboo topics. Their 2012 concert tour ‘Tonight 37.2°C’ was rated 19+ for its exploration of the themes of seduction, desire, betrayal and revenge.

Another factor that sets this group apart from the others is their great sense of humour. The members have always been able to make fun of themselves and embrace who they are no matter what. This is extremely refreshing given the fact that many other girl groups are often too frightened of compromising their images to let loose and have fun.

In the past month or so, the group left their agency Nega Network upon reaching the end of their contracts, and have since all signed with Mystic Entertainment. The girls have also been rumoured to be preparing for a comeback in the near future!

Are you a B.E.G fan (A.K.A an Everlasting)?
Below is a selection of their MVs for your enjoyment!

Come Closer