KARA member Heo Young Ji has announced plans for an official solo debut.
News that the South Korean star would be launching her career as a solo artist arrived earlier today (August 11), in an update from DSP Media.
In the announcement, the record label, talent agency, and music production company revealed that the singer is already underway with a new project, and teased fans that new music may be arriving as early as next month.
“Heo Young Ji is currently preparing for her solo debut, with the goal of a release in September,” it said (via Soompi). “We will announce the concrete details at a later time.”
Heo Young Ji is most famous for her time in veteran girl group KARA – joining the line-up back in 2014, however, this isn’t the first time that she has steered into solo territory. Back in 2017, the artist released a solo song titled ‘Memory Clock’, but she was never officially promoted as a solo artist until now. Check out the track below.
As for KARA, it was announced at the 2022 MAMA Awards last November that the second-generation K-pop group would be reuniting on stage for the first time in over seven years for a performance during the ceremony.
The event took place across two days (November 29 and 30) at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan, and their performance coincided with the release of their 15th-anniversary comeback album ‘Move Again’.
Prior to the reunification, KARA last performed live with four members of KARA’s Third Generation line-up (Seungyeon, Gyuri, Heo Young-ji and the late Goo Hara) during their July 2015 tour of Japan.
‘Move Again’ also marked KARA’s first music together in seven years, following May 2015’s ‘In Love’.
Upon its release, the album received a three-star review from NME, who described it as feeling like “a warm, nostalgic hug”.
“KARA’s 15th anniversary special album, doesn’t feel like the start of a new chapter. Tinged with joy, nostalgia and sadness, this four-track EP feels more like a group of friends finally reuniting for the road-trip they always promised each other,” it read. “They might not have crossed paths in years, nor do they know where they will go, but in this moment, they choose to celebrate their special bonds.”