Sugar
Genres
Years active2001–2006
LabelsStarworld (South Korea)
Toy's Factory (Japan)
Past members

Sugar (Hangul: 슈가, Japanese: シュガー) was a South Korean girl group formed by Starworld in 2001. The group's final lineup was composed of Ahyoomee, Hye Seung and Lee Ha Rin.

During their career, the group saw moderate success in the Korean music market and released multiple songs in Japan. Sugar's Japanese singles "Take It Shake It" and "Real Identity" were notably the theme songs for Kaleido Star, a popular anime.

The group officially disbanded after their contract with Starworld expired in December 2006,[1] while only Ahyoomee maintained her career with Starworld until 2007 before transferring to the Starworld's affiliated label SM Entertainment.

History

The company that formed Sugar, Starworld was a company founded in 1997 by Lee Soo-Young, the member of the South Korean group "Runway" (활주로; Hwaljuro)[2] and father of the South Korean-American singer Sunny.[3] Sugar made their first public appearance on music show in December 2001 with the pre-debut single "Sweet Love". The group later released their debut album, Tell Me Why, with the single "Tell Me Why" on March 13, 2002. Sugar was most compared by fans to the female groups M.I.L.K. and Shinvi for their similar musical styles and images. Many girl groups during this time only released a debut album before leaving the music market. However, Sugar returned in 2003 with the release of their second album, Shine on June 18. Member Sae Byul changed her stage name to Hye Seung (her real name) ahead of their comeback.

Sugar made their official debut in Japan with the release of their first album titled Double Rainbow, with the first single "Go the Distance" on February 4, 2004. They released the single〈All my loving / Cherry Blossom Train (Sakura 列車)〉and〈Wind and Flowers (Wind and Flowers) / Present / Heart & Soul〉Subsequently, in March and July, they were used as the soundtrack of the anime Kaleido Star. The singles and album all charted and were met with moderate success.

Sugar released their 2.5th Korean album titled Secret on October 6, 2004. After the release, member Jung Eum decided to leave the group and pursue a solo career in December 2004.[4][5] Following Jung Eum's departure, new member Lee Harin was added to the group to replace Jung Eum's position in January 2005.[6] With the new line-up, Sugar released their fourth Japanese single, a ballad titled "Heartful" on February 16. Six months later, Sugar released their fifth Japanese single titled "Sunflower / LOVEACCELE". It was able to reach #29 on the Oricon and remained on the charts for 7 weeks.

Park Soo-jin

Sugar released their third Korean album, Sweet Lips in September 2005. In the same year, they released their second Japanese album, COLORS 4 WISHES on November 2. Member Soo Jin then announced her departure from Sugar to pursue an acting career in May 2006. Following her departure, Sugar released a DVD entitled "7 STARS", which contained all of their Japanese music videos. In July 2006, member Ahyoomee began her career as solo singer but remained with the group. Sugar remained in their hiatus and reported that they would add a new member to replace Soo Jin.

On December 20, 2006, their contract with Starworld expired and it was announced through KBS World Radio that the group had disbanded. It was stated that each of the current members wanted to embark on solo careers and that the company decided not to renew their contract with the members. Ahyoomee continued under Starworld to pursue a solo career before transferring to Starworld affiliated label SM Entertainment. Hye Seung planned to become an actress, while Harin aimed to begin a music career in Japan.

Members

  • Ahyoomee (December 2001–December 2006)
  • Hye Seung (December 2001–December 2006)
  • Lee Ha-rin (January 2005–December 2006)
  • Park Soo-jin (December 2001–May 2006)
  • Hwang Jung-eum (December 2001–December 2004)

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
KOR
[7]		 JPN
[8]
Korean
Tell Me Why
  • Released: March 13, 2002
  • Label: Starworld
  • Format: CD, cassette
 — — —
Shine
  • Released: June 16, 2003
  • Label: Starworld
  • Format: CD, cassette
 — — —
Sweet Lips
  • Released: September 22, 2005
  • Label: Starworld
  • Format: CD, cassette
 21 —
Japanese
Double Rainbow
  • Released: February 4, 2004
  • Label: Toy's Factory
  • Format: CD, cassette
 — — —
Colors 4 Wishes
  • Released: November 14, 2005
  • Label: Toy's Factory
  • Format: CD, cassette
 — 138 —
"—" denotes album did not chart or wasn't released in that region.

Single albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
KOR
[7]
Secret
  • Released: October 6, 2004
  • Label: Starworld
  • Format: CD
 25

Singles

Japanese

  • "Go The Distance" (2004)
  • "All My Loving/サクラ列車" (2004)
  • "風と花束/Present/Heart & Soul" (2004)
  • "Heartful" (2005)
  • "ひまわり/Loveaccele" (2005)

Awards

YearAwards
2002 SBS Music Awards: Choice Award
2004 SBS Music Awards: Best Dance Award
Mnet Asian Music Awards: Best Female Video[11]

Korean Music Videos

Year Song Length
2001 "Sweet Love"[12] 4:20
2002 "Tell Me Why"[13] 3:58
"Fade Away"[14] 3:55
2003 "Shine"[15] 3:52
2004 "Secret"[16] 3:52
2005 "Wise Farewell"[17] 3:42

Japanese Music Videos

Year Song Length
2004 "All My Loving"[18] 4:40
"Go The Distance"[19] 5:21
"Faraway"[20] 3:06
"Wind And Bouquet"[21] 4:49
2005 "Heartful"[22] 5:16
"Sunflower"[23] 3:54

References

  1. ↑ "KPOP News: Sugar disbands officially". KBS World Radio. 2006-12-20. Archived from the original on 2007-01-13. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
  2. ↑ "회 사 소 개". Archived from the original on 2002-06-04.
  3. ↑ "써니, 아버지와 한무대…대학밴드 활주로 50주년 공연". 3 November 2017.
  4. ↑ 황정음, '슈가' 탈퇴이유 밝혀 "사실은…". Review Star (in Korean). 9 January 2012. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  5. ↑ Ko, Hong-ju (13 January 2013). "Ayumi Denies Her Tweet Was Aimed at Hwang Jung Eum". enewsWorld. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
  6. ↑ "SUGAR's Lee Harin releases a new song". StarN via Yahoo!. 2012-05-26. Archived from the original on 2014-03-22. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  7. 1 2 "K-pop Album Sales Volume" (in Korean). Recording Industry Association of Korea. Archived from the original on 2009-02-19. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
  8. ↑ "Weekly Album Ranking". Oricon (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
  9. ↑ "September 2005 K-pop Album Sales Volume" (in Korean). Recording Industry Association of Korea. Archived from the original on 2009-05-18. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
  10. ↑ "October 2004 K-pop Album Sales Volume" (in Korean). Recording Industry Association of Korea. Archived from the original on 2009-02-05. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
  11. ↑ "2004 M.net Korean Music Festival Winners list" Archived 2015-07-01 at the Wayback Machine. MAMA. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
  12. ↑ "슈가 - 스위트 러브 (MV) (2001)". YouTube. 2014-01-17. Archived from the original on 2014-07-19. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  13. ↑ "Sugar- Tell Me Why MV". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2014-07-19. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  14. ↑ "슈가(Sugar) - Fade Away (Official)". YouTube. 2013-11-18. Archived from the original on 2014-07-19. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  15. ↑ "슈가(Sugar) - 샤인 (MV)". YouTube. 2013-08-10. Archived from the original on 2014-07-19. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  16. ↑ "Sugar (슈가) - Secret [HD]". YouTube. 2011-01-10. Archived from the original on 2014-07-19. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  17. ↑ "슈가 - 현명한 이별 (MV) (2005)". YouTube. 2014-01-17. Archived from the original on 2014-07-19. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  18. ↑ "Sugar - All My Loving [HD]". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2014-07-19. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  19. ↑ "Sugar - Go The Distance [HD]". YouTube. 2011-01-11. Archived from the original on 2014-07-19. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  20. ↑ "Sugar - 遥 (Haruka) [HD]". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2014-07-19. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  21. ↑ "Sugar - 風と花束 (Kaze to Hanataba) [HD]". YouTube. 2011-01-10. Archived from the original on 2014-07-19. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  22. ↑ "Sugar - Heartful [HD]". YouTube. 2011-01-11. Archived from the original on 2014-07-19. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  23. ↑ "Sugar - ひまわり (Himawari) [HD]". YouTube. 2011-01-10. Archived from the original on 2014-07-19. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
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