Girl group trio Orange Caramel has once again taken the industry by storm with their 4th single, “Shanghai Romance“. Sitting down for an interview with Yonhap news, they had much to say about their work, personal lives, and future plans.
The girls began by confessing that their unique concepts were a burden at first when they started promotions as a sub-unit of After School. “During our ‘Magic Girl‘ promotions, I felt anxious because I never wore those kinds of outfits before,” Nana revealed. “Since the costumes are so cute, I had to have a cute expression to match, but it was hard since I couldn’t adapt at first.”
“When I first heard the name ‘Orange Caramel’, I thought they were joking,” Lizzy said. The name, which combines a “tangy” orange with a “sweet” caramel, was brainstormed by the Pledis Entertainment CEO himself.
“I thought we would either succeed spectacularly, or go down in flames,” Raina confessed. “It’s very fortunate that the audience received us so well.”
Orange Caramel has built up quite a respectable fanbase and public recognition with all four singles so far, thanks to their unique concepts which carries their distinct ‘eclectic-cute’ quality.
“Every time there’s a new album, I get more and more used to [the idea of a] unique concept and find it more fun than before,” said Nana. “Now, I feel curious whenever costumes are revealed, and sometimes throw around concept ideas first.”
Raina agreed, saying, “Perhaps it’s because I’ve adapted, I now want even more. I worry about how we can sell ourselves better to the public.”
One of the biggest benefits in performing as a sub-unit is the strengthened individual recognition it brings. “It’s definitely something to be thankful of,” Raina said. “I really think we were very lucky that we got the chance to work together as Orange Caramel.”
“Since we were the youngest in the group, we didn’t have as much popularity, compared to the others,”she said. “Because of Orange Caramel, we gained strong individual personalities. This time around, we want to make an impact by working hard. We’d like to show our own colors.”
“Shanghai Romance” is the second project from Orange Caramel’s “One Asia Project”, which began earlier this year with “Bangkok City“.
When asked to describe the “One Asia Project”, Lizzy replied half-jokingly, “It’s a master plan to take over the Asian market.” “When I’m on Twitter and YouTube, it seems like we get a lot of attention from overseas. Every time I read their tweets about wanting to see us, I’m amazed and make myself work even harder,” she said.
Questions also popped up regarding everyone’s favorite topic, dating.
“Since it’s autumn, I feel lonely whenever I see couples holding hands, walking down the street,” Raina said. “But it’s okay since I always have my members to share food with,” she added.
Lizzy took it somewhat more personally, saying, “I get annoyed when I’m in the car and see couples being cute on the crosswalk,” she said. “When we’re working so hard…” she trailed off.
Moving away from the controversial topic, Nana expressed her love for other pursuits. “If I get the chance, I want to try acting, and walk the runway on a fashion show,” she said. Meanwhile, Lizzy (who’s already has racked up acting experience on MBC‘s daily sitcome “All My Love“) being an MC and a composer are her next targets, she said.
As for Raina, who is a main vocal, she said she’d like to release her own solo album. This brought back her controversial comment on KBS‘s ‘Immortal Song 2′, where she expressed her annoyance at rarely receiving the spotlight. “I wasn’t thinking properly at the time, and never thought that it would become such an issue,” she revealed. “I bit my tongue after I read the articles that came out about it. Maybe I had some disappointment within me that I wasn’t aware of. I must’ve had some unknown scars at never getting camera time despite doing much of the singing, so I said it subconsciously.”
As for her actual ‘Immortal Song 2′ stage, Raina expressed her regret over her performance. “I didn’t do as well as the rehearsal because I was pressuring myself to do it cleanly in one take. If there’s a chance next time, I’d like to go out and create a stage that I would be proud of,” she said.
Orange Caramel is slated for month-long promotions with “Shanghai Romance”, after which they will re-join their fellow After School groupmates for further adventures in Japan.
Source: Yonhap via Naver
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