4Minute

4Minute (, often stylized in all caps) was a South Korean girl group formed by Cube Entertainment, consisting of members Jihyun, Gayoon, Jiyoon, Hyuna and Sohyun. The group was known for its edgy dance-pop style and " girl crush" image that attracted a large female fan base.

The group debuted in June 2009 with the single, "Hot Issue." They ultimately released one full-length Japanese album, ''Diamond'' (2010), one full-length Korean album, '' 4Minutes Left'' (2011), seven Korean extended plays, and multiple singles.

The group received several major awards, including the Rookie Award at the 2009 Golden Disc Awards, the K-pop New Artist Award at the 2010 Billboard Japan Music Awards, and the Bonsang Award at the 2011, 2012, and 2014 Seoul Music Awards. 4Minute disbanded in June 2016 after unsuccessful contract renewal negotiations between Cube Entertainment and the majority of the group members.

History

2009–2010: ''For Muzik'', ''Hit Your Heart'' and ''Diamond''

On May 14, Cube Entertainment announced the formation of a five-member girl group, called 4Minute, and revealed that its first member would be former Wonder Girls member Kim Hyuna. Prior to the official announcement, the group was unofficially called the "Hyuna group". The next member, Nam Ji-hyun, was revealed on May 22. The remaining members were announced the following day. 4Minute released its first single, " Hot Issue", on June 15, and had their first television performance on MNet Countdown on June 18. On June 21, the group's van was raided by fans, who stole clothing and other items. Cube Entertainment said, "It was very unfortunate that such an ordeal occurred." On August 20, the group released its first mini-album called '' For Muzik'' along with its second single, "Muzik". The song won an Inkigayo Mutizen award. On August 27, South Korean radio and television network KBS banned the playing of "Won't Give You ()" for what they considered to be overly sexual lyrical content. The lyrics in question, in the style of a first-person narrative, express an unwillingness on the part of the subject to "give" herself or her heart to her partner. Cube Entertainment responded to the ban by stating that the song was intended to be "about the pure feelings of a girl to a guy" and that they were very disappointed by the decision. On October 15, the single "What a Girl Wants" was released. On December 2, 4Minute, with Korean singers Mario and Amen, released the Christmas song "Jingle Jingle". The group recorded a remix with American artist Amerie for her song " Heard 'em All" which was part of the Asian version of her fourth album. The song featured Korean rapper Yong Jun-hyung of label mate Beast.

On January 5, 2010, it was announced that the Universal Music Group would be assisting 4Minute with an international launch of its album. The group toured Taiwan, Philippines, Thailand, and Hong Kong. On May 5, the group debuted "Muzik" as a Japanese single, and on May 8, held its first concert in Japan. The single reached number 21 on the Oricon weekly singles chart. On May 19, 4Minute released a mini-album entitled '' Hit Your Heart'', and its title track "HuH". The single featured fellow label mates Beast, who rapped during song "Who's Next?." "HuH" peaked at number 3 on the Gaon Singles Chart. On May 24, South Korean FM station "Voice of Freedom" included the "Huh" song in its propaganda broadcasts to North Korea. On July 5, the group released the music video for "I My Me Mine", which was the second single from ''Hit Your Heart''. On July 19, the song "Superstar" was digitally released for the Korean TV show Superstar K2. The group performed for Celebration at Marina, one of the line-up activities for the Singapore Youth Olympic Games 2010. On July 30, the Japanese version of "I My Me Mine" was released. On October 12, the third Japanese single. In December, 4Minute held Japanese concerts ''4Minute Energy Live Volume 2: Diamond'' in Tokyo and Osaka. Its Japanese album ''Diamond'' was released on December 15 and debuted at the number 18 on the Oricon chart.

2011–2012: ''4Minutes Left'', ''Volume Up'' and "Love Tension"

On January 13, 2011, the group performed at the DiGi Live K-Pop Party 2011 in Malaysia at Stadium Negara with Beast and G.NA. On January 20, the group received a Bonsang Award at the 20th Seoul Music Awards. In February 2011, the group received the Kpop New Artist Award for 2010 at the Billboard Japan Music Awards. On February 23, the group modeled for bridal designer Yumi Katsura at her 2011 Paris Grand Collection Tokyo Fashion Show held in Tokyo's Ryōgoku Kokugikan, where the group performed songs "Muzik" and "Why". On March 12, the group performed at the 50th Anniversary Music Wave Concert in Thailand. Its fourth Japanese single, " Why" was released as the theme song to the TV Asahi drama, ''Akutō: Jūhanzai Sōsahan''.The music video was released in February, followed by a single release on March 9. "Heart to Heart" was released as a music video on March 29, and starred CN Blue's Jungshin. On March 29, the digital-only mini-album ''Heart to Heart'' was released. On April 5, 4Minute released the Korean album, '' 4Minutes Left''. The music video for "Mirror Mirror" was released on the same day. The album includes "Mirror Mirror", and songs from ''Heart to Heart'' and ''Diamond''.Because the ''Heart to Heart'' tracks were put on the release of the full album '' 4minutes Left'' a week later, ''Heart to Heart'' is not counted as a mini-album, Cube Entertainment instead labeled '' Volume Up'' to be the group's third mini-album, and '' Name is 4Minute'' to be the fourth mini-album. Sources:
* Because of the song's provocative spread leg choreography; music producers demanded that "Mirror Mirror" be changed or the group could not perform the song on their shows. As a response, 4Minute changed the song's choreography, starting with the performance on ''M! Countdown'' on April 14. The song reached number two on the Gaon Chart. 4Minute collaborated with Japanese singer Thelma Aoyama for her single, "Without U", which has both Japanese and English versions. Hyuna was featured in SS501's Heo Young-saeng's title track from his first solo mini album, '' Let It Go''. On July 5, Hyuna released a solo mini album, '' Bubble Pop!'' and the music video for the title track, ''Bubble Pop''. Although the performances for ''Bubble Pop'' the song was concluded prematurely due to Korea Communications Commission review committee, the music video was a viral hit, gaining 10 million views on YouTube as of August 2011. On August 3, the music video ''Freestyle'' was released as an endorsement track for the video game company ''JCE''. On August 15, 4Minute posted the music video for the Japanese version "Heart to Heart". On September 7, the group released "Heart to Heart" as its fifth Japanese single, which ranked 15 on Oricon Daily Singles chart. The group also released its first DVD, ''Emerald of 4 Minute'', which ranked second on the Oricon Daily DVD Chart. In October, the TV Tokyo

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