Chakra (Korean샤크라) was a South Korean girl group that debuted in 2000 with four members: Hwangbo, Eun, Ryeowon, and Eani.[1] Following the release of their first album, the group won Best New Artist at several major South Korean music awards.[2]

Chakra
Left to the right: Hwangbo, Eun, and Bona
Left to the right: Hwangbo, Eun, and Bona
Background information
OriginSouth Korea
Genres
Years active2000–2006
Labels
  • Cream Records
  • Zam
  • Kiss
Past members

After Eani left the group in 2001, the group introduced new member Bona in 2002. Chakra ultimately released three more albums and disbanded in 2006.[1]

History

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2000: Debut and popularity gain

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Chakra officially debuted on February 26, 2000, at Music Camp with their first single Han, immediately calling attention, due to its Indian music concept. In March of the year the group released their first solo album titled "Come A Come" with singles titled Come A Come, Hey You and Sign of Love. The album was a success and sold +162,251 copies that led them to win many rookie awards in South Korea, including the SBS Music Awards, the Golden Disk Awards and the Mnet Asian Music Awards. That same year, Chakra released their special Christmas album entitled "Ringing Jingle Bells" with the main ballad single "Lonely Christmas".

2001–2003: Peak, increase in popularity and line-up changes

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In 2001, the group reached its peak when they released their second album "Chakra'Ca", along with the main single "End". It became their first #1 album in South Korea. The main theme focused on African music as the main concept of the album. The album sold +86,635 copies and won in the category of Best Singer dressed at the SBS Music Awards. The other success of this album was "Oh My Boy". At the time it was already very difficult to finance the group, due to a scam that happened to a new company called "Kiss Entertainment". In this process, Eani decided to leave the group at the end of 2001. They introduced a new member, Bona, in 2002.

In 2002 they released their third album "Chakra" with the lead single "Come Back".

In 2003, they released their last album, "Tomato" along with the first single From Me To You, which was a success. The album sold 23,450 copies and at the end of the year, Chakra won again in the Best Dance category at the SBS Music Awards, from this album there are other famous songs like "True Love In This World Is A Live" and the ballad "Why Im The Only One".

2004–2006: Line-up changes and disbandment

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After the end of the promotions of the last album in 2004, Ryeo-won left Chakra to continue her career as an actress.

In 2005, it was planned to release a new album and do new activities, but the album could not be released due to the company's financial difficulties. Chakra members also suffered a lot of difficulties at this time, and the audience was almost indifferent to the actions of this Chakra trio; this caused Eun to leave the group. At the time, only HwangBo and Bona remained as members of Chakra.

In 2006, Chakra was officially disbanded.

Former Members

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  • Hwangbo: Leader, Main Rapper, Main Vocalist, Face of the Group (1999–2006)
  • Bona: Main Vocalist (2001–2006)
  • Ryeowon: Main Dancer, Vocalist, Center (2000–2004)
  • Eun: Maknae, Lead Rapper, Vocalist (2000–2005)
  • Eani: Leader, Lead Dancer, Lead Rapper, Vocalist, Visual (1999–2001)

Discography

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Studio albums

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Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
KOR
[3]
Come A Come
  • Released: March 2, 2000
  • Label: A&B Production, Cream Records
  • Format: CD, cassette
6
  • KOR: 162,251+[4]
Chakra'ca
  • Released: March 8, 2001
  • Label: Jam Entertainment, Cream Records
  • Format: CD, cassette
10
  • KOR: 85,351+[5]
Chakra
  • Released: October 10, 2002
  • Label: Jam Entertainment, Universal
  • Format: CD, cassette
14
  • KOR: 31,894+[6]
Tomato
  • Released: August 21, 2003
  • Label: Sony Music
  • Format: CD, cassette
13
  • KOR: 23,450+[7]

Awards

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Year Awards
2000 SBS Music Awards: Best Female Rookie
Golden Disk Awards: Best Female Rookie
Mnet Asian Music Awards: Best New Group[8]
2001 SBS Music Awards: Popular Dressed Singer Award
2002 SBS Music Awards: Best Dance Award
2003 SBS Music Awards: Best Dance Award

References

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  1. ^ a b "이은 샤크라 시절, 재벌 2세 남편 만날 당시 보니…". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 2014-01-14. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  2. ^ "샤크라 출신 이은 이혼설 '결혼 9년 만에 마침표'". Sports Q (in Korean). 2017-09-12. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  3. ^ "K-pop Album Sales Volume" (in Korean). Recording Industry Association of Korea. Archived from the original on 2009-02-19. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  4. ^ "2000 K-pop Album Sales Volume" (in Korean). Recording Industry Association of Korea. Archived from the original on 2009-02-28. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  5. ^ "First Half of 2001 K-pop Album Sales Volume" (in Korean). Recording Industry Association of Korea. Archived from the original on 2007-07-17. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  6. ^ "October 2002 K-pop Album Sales Volume" (in Korean). Recording Industry Association of Korea. Archived from the original on 2008-12-05. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  7. ^ "August 2003 K-pop Album Sales Volume" (in Korean). Recording Industry Association of Korea. Archived from the original on 2004-08-09. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  8. ^ "2000 M.net Korean Music Festival Winners list" Archived 2014-08-03 at the Wayback Machine. MAMA. Retrieved 2014-06-12.