''Pretty Girl'' is the second

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

by South Korean girl group

Kara Kara or KARA may refer to: Geography Localities * Kara, Chad, a sub-prefecture * Kára, Hungary, a village * Kara, Uttar Pradesh, India, a township * Kara, Iran, a village in Lorestan Province * Kara, Republic of Dagestan, a rural locality in ...

. It was released on December 4, 2008. A song with the same name was released as the title track to promote the album. The title track is a lively and upbeat track that showcases the group's catchy melodies and energetic choreography. A repackage of the EP, titled ''Honey (Special Edition)'', was released on February 12, 2009, and spawned the single "Honey".

Background and release

It was announced in late November that Kara would be releasing a second mini-album, two months after "Rock U", with a fun "party" concept.카라, '프리티 걸' 뮤비 공개...미니 2집 활동 본격 돌입 예고 ''Kara, "Pretty Girl" MV Released...2nd Mini Album Activities Rush-Announced''
. ''매일경제 (Maeil Gyeongjae)''. December 2, 2008. Retrieved December 3, 2008. Following the release of the song and the enthusiastic response it garnered, the group's name rose to the top of search results on numerous Korean portal websites, further boosting the girls' fame in South Korea.
. ''

Hankook Ilbo ''Hankook Ilbo'' () is a Korean-language daily newspaper in Seoul, South Korea. As of 2017, it had a daily circulation of about 213,200. It was previously published by the Hankook Ilbo Media Group, however following an embezzlement scandal i ...

''. December 10, 2008. Retrieved December 10, 2008. In addition, the song also charted high on various websites and digital music retailers, which allowed the group to rival some of South Korea's top girl groups such as

Wonder Girls Wonder Girls () was a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group debuted in February 2007 with the single "Irony (Wonder Girls song), Irony" and 5 members: Park Ye-eun, Yeeun, Sunye, Sunmi, Hyuna, and Ahn So-hee, Sohee. Aft ...

Girls' Generation Girls' Generation (), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piec ...

, and the

Brown Eyed Girls Brown Eyed Girls (; ) is a South Korean girl group. The group is composed of four members: JeA, Miryo, Narsha, and Gain (singer), Gain. They debuted as an R&B/ballad vocal group with "Come Closer (다가와서)" in 2006 through the release of ...

.카라 '원더걸스-소녀시대-브아걸, 거기 서!' (''Kara: "Wonder Girls, Girls' Generation, Brown Eyed Girls, Stop Right There!"'')
. ''Sports Seoul''. December 15, 2008. Retrieved December 15, 2008. The group's leader, Park Gyu-ri, attributed Kara's rise in popularity to their natural but pretty appeal, while national newspaper ''Sports Seoul'' attributed it to the fact that the band finally found their own identity.

Repackage

A repackaged

mini-album A mini-LP or mini-album is a short record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A mini- ...

edition of the ''Pretty Girl'' EP was released on February 12, 2009. The new EP features "Honey", various remixes of "Pretty Girl", and a remix "Good Day Season 2", a song that was initially only given a digital release. Kara filmed the music video for "Honey" on February 10. The music video was to be released on February 17 but was moved up a day to February 16. The music video features the girls in angelic dresses sitting at home. In contrast to "Pretty Girl"'s cute and lively concept, the title track "Honey" is more wistful and features the members of Kara as soft, feminine women. The song was remixed from the original version, and also underwent a slight name change from "하니" (Ha-ni) to "Honey". It is considered the group's first hit.

Commercial performance

The

Gaon Music Chart The Circle Chart (), previously known as the Gaon Music Chart or the Gaon Chart (), tabulates the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in South Korea. Founded in 2010, it is produced by the Korea Music Content Association and sponsored ...

was launched in February 2010 as the official chart for South Korea. ''Pretty Girl'' entered at number 76 on the Gaon Album Chart for the second week of 2010 and peaked at number 23 for the week ending November 27, 2010. The repackage entered at number 84 on the Gaon Album Chart for the second week of 2010 and peaked at number 2 on the week ending April 17, 2010. It spent three non-consecutive weeks in the top 10 in 2010 and became their second top 5 album as well as their third top 10 album. Kara member Han Seung-yeon noted that the title track "Honey" climbed the charts much faster than "Pretty Girl" did, while Goo Hara stated that the song appealed to an older age group.

Music video

On November 29, 2008, DSP Entertainment released a teaser video for "Pretty Girl", which received over 40,000 hits in one day.Gil, Hye-sung
걸그룹 카라, 신곡 티저영상 12시간 만에 4만 클릭 (''Girl Group Kara, New Video Teaser received 40,000 Clicks in 12 Hours'')
''MoneyToday''. November 29, 2008. Retrieved December 1, 2008. The full video was released on December 2, 2008, online and was positively received by the public.

Promotion

The group began its comeback on all major music shows on December 4, 2008, the single's release date, starting with ''M.Net Countdown''. During their first national performance on KBS's ''Music Bank'', member Goo Ha Ra forgot part of the choreography and cried for an hour backstage. During Kara's December 14, 2008, performance on ''

Inkigayo ''Inkigayo'' (; English title: ''The Music Trend'', previously ''Popular Song'') is a South Korean music program broadcast by SBS. It airs live every Sunday. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform on stage. ...

'', the fans decided to cheer with pink rubber gloves, which positively surprised viewers; even the group was surprised, as member Han Seung-yeon wrote on her blog that she almost died of laughter.Kim, Sung-han
카라 "어? 고무장갑 부대… 웃겨 죽을뻔" (''Kara: "Huh? The Rubber Glove Accessories...I Almost Died Laughing"'')
''

Sports Hankook ''Hankook Ilbo'' () is a Korean-language daily newspaper in Seoul, South Korea. As of 2017, it had a daily circulation of about 213,200. It was previously published by the Hankook Ilbo Media Group, however following an embezzlement scandal in ...

''. December 15, 2008. Retrieved December 2008. "Pretty Girl" is featured in the international arcade

music game A music video game, also commonly known as a music game, is a video game where the gameplay is meaningfully and often almost entirely oriented around the player's interactions with a musical score or individual songs. Music video games may take a ...

, ''

DJ Max Technika 3 ''DJMax Technika 3'' (Korean: 디제이맥스 테크니카3) is a music arcade game published and developed by Pentavision in South Korea, and is a sequel to the earlier '' DJMax Technika 2'' arcade game in the ''DJMax'' game series. Announcement ...

''. The group debuted "Honey" on ''

Music Bank ''Music Bank'' () is a South Korean music program which airs every Friday at 17:15 KST on KBS2. the show is also broadcast in more than a hundred countries through KBS World. Episodes are filmed at the KBS New Wing Open Hall in Yeouido-dong, Ye ...

'' program on February 13, 2009.

Accolades

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 2008 EPs 2009 EPs Kara (South Korean group) EPs Korean-language EPs 2000s Korean-language albums