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I first saw KARA in October 2010, the girls all quirky and cute, but my impression was quite negative.
At that time, I was not the updated fan who keeps up with the fandom happenings nor downloads by myself. I thankfully had fangirl friends who did the job for me. One day in October 2010 a friend showed me a short clip from an episode of Music Station featuring NEWS and other artists (we didn't care who the others were xD); the highlight of the clip was Tegoshi dancing to a certain girl group's song. *click here if you want to check Tegoshi's fail (orz) butt dance out*
I got curious enough to research what girl group it was (of course I soon learned it was KARA) and watch the original version of the dance. I saw MR. (ミスター) PV, and I seriously disliked it from the first few seconds--I immediately closed the tab. I was disgusted. Pardon my impression, but I thought "Why are their voices like that? They sound unnatural!" and "Why do they dance like that? They look like sluts." I'm not saying they were wholly sluts though, it's just the video and the dance that made them look like that. And pardon my biased nature but Tegoshi dancing to the song was slutty but in a way that I like. And his voice (singing la la la~) erased much of my thoughts on the slutty dance, not to mention his was better than those girls' voices. So much for exalting my bias and criticizing another group!
Little did I know, with just a little effort, my impression would completely turn around.
After a brief period of time, when I became hooked on KPop (specifically Super Junior and SNSD), a guy classmate who was a fan of KARA tried to reel me in his fandom, knowing that I had knowledge of his favorite group. He did use a bait: Tegoshi! He said that if my bias tried to mimic KARA then at least I must know something them. The next thing I remember, we were watching KARA's variety show on his PSP. I can say that I was somehow forced into exploring this fandom but I had no complaints anyway.
We watched the MVs. STEP was the latest that time, so it was in this MV where he made me chose which member I like. I pointed at who he said was Jiyoung the maknae; I have yet to clarify this at the latter part of the post.* He also gave me some catchy KARA songs to listen to, and because I'm more of a JPop lover he gave the Japanese ones. I think my appreciation for the group ultimately started here. Because I loved Girls' Power so freaking much. It sounds the typical JPop, yes, but I loved how a KPop group sang the song like they were born in Japan.
I rooted for more KARA stuff, and although I still won't watch MR. I came to like the song. My guy classmate, by the way, studies Music Technology so he knows a lot about a lot of genres. (Yeah, lots of 'lots' :p) He told me another thing that made the interest ignite in me: KARA's musicianship. They're technically the worst singing idol group in KPop, but if you just look at the songs you'll see the huge difference between theirs and the other groups. The fact that their music has JPop influence... Did I mention I find that fact awesome?
July 24, 2012, was the day I proclaimed myself a Kamilia. (which is coincidentally Seungyeon's birthday!) From October 2010's bad impression, to 2011's sparking interest, I finally knew that I love this group enough to place them in the 2nd place of my main fandoms.
I was one of the anticipating people when Pandora was released. I was sincerely moved by the members' solos in KARA Collection. Oh, this incredible album made me determine my member-ranking, from fave to least: Seungyeon, Jiyoung, Nicole, Gyuri, Hara. Although, in all honesty, I love the girls equally! And then 2013 came, KARA's Tokyo Dome concert. The one that me, along with the girls, have been waiting the most. KARA's Japan fame paved the way for them to be the first group to perform on this venerated venue, a feat that I have already wished way back when I first knew how they were famous in the land. Upon achieving our dream, I got emotional and cried. The first time I cried because of KARA. The time when I realize they're not just my 2nd main fandom, they're my other family too.
Now, I'm a full-fledged Kamilia. Looking at all my social networking and journal entries and blog posts, I proudly say that the group I was close to hating before is now one of the groups I'm obsessing about. STEP is my all-time most played song; Speed Up is one of my favorite PVs ever; Ima Okuritai Arigatou is my tearjerker; Jet Coaster Love is one of my dedicated songs to Tegoshi *I have to include this because Tegoshi is my universal favorite and having a KARA song dedicated to him is indeed dokidoki~*; and MR., which I almost loathed before, is now thanked forever for leading me to KARA. ♪
About what I feel for Nicole leaving the group, I wrote my feels here. Withdrawal of members is not a new thing to me, but it hurts every time. Yet I'm trying to make it heal. Life goes on~~
At any rate, I love KARA and I'll support them as much as I can! ♥
* - clarification: in STEP MV, it was Seungyeon (not Jiyoung) that I chose because I remembered pointing to the red-haired girl. I think my classmate had mistaken it for Jiyoung ^_^
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