This is Orange Caramel week, an entire week dedicated to discussing one of the more fascinating girl groups to ever exist in K-Pop. (And, incidentally, one of my favorites.)
This trio of Nana, Lizzy and Raina was an offshoot of After School, a girl group under Pledis Entertainment who were known for their powerful, no-fucks-given attitude. (Check out their debut stage for a good primer on the kind of niche they were targeting.)
Given that, it took everyone as a bit of a surprise when they suddenly announced Orange Caramel’s formation. The whole concept of the group was as far removed from After School as you could get; in fact, one could argue that it had more in common with J-Pop than its Korean brethren.
Naturally, the group encountered heavy skepticism, considering their background (and not a small amount of anti-Japanese sentiment, which still exists today). Their 2010 debut track, Magic Girl, played right into those expectations; it’s about as poppy and saccharine as you could expect.
But while Orange Caramel may have started out heavily influenced by J-Pop, they soon blazed their own way in the upcoming years—which we’ll find out, on the next episode of Dragon Ball Z!