Rainbow (girl group)

For the British band, see Rainbow (rock band).

Rainbow (Hangul: 레인보우) was a South Korean girl group formed in 2009 by DSP Media. The group is composed of seven members: Woori, Seungah, Jaekyung, Noeul, Yoonhye, Jisook and Hyunyoung. They released their debut EP Gossip Girl on November 12, 2009, and since released two studio albums (one Korean and one Japanese) and five extended plays, In October 2016, DSP Media announced that Rainbow would disband after seven years because their contracts expired. In November 2019, the group was re-formed for their tenth anniversary.

Rainbow
Rainbow in 2016 at the fanmeeting From left to right: Jaekyung, Woori, Hyunyoung, Jisook, Noeul, Seungah and Yoonhye
Background information
Origin	Seoul, South Korea
Genres	K-pop
Years active	2009–2016 2019
Labels	DSP Universal Sigma
Past members	Woori Seungah Jaekyung Noeul Yoonhye Jisook Hyunyoung

History

2009–2010: Formation, debut and rise in prominence

 

Rainbow performing at the Korea KPOP World Festival

During late October and early November 2009, DSP Media released daily teasers in the form of pictures of Rainbow, and then a music video for "Gossip Girl" on November 6, 2009.^[1][2] On November 12, the five-song EP Gossip Girl was released.^[3] On August 12, 2010, Rainbow released the single "A". A second single, "Mach", was released on October 20.

In April 2011, Rainbow released their second EP, So Girls. One song from the EP, "To Me", was released as a single. On September 7, 2011, Rainbow topped Recochoku's weekly download rankings for the Japanese release of their "A" music video. On September 14, 2011, Rainbow released their debut single in the Japanese market, "A", and reached No. 3 on Oricon's daily single chart, selling 10,141 copies.^[4] The single release included a Japanese remake of their debut single "Gossip Girl", as well as an exclusive DVD. Rainbow made their Japanese TV debut on the show Sukkiri, performing "A". On December 7, 2011, the group released their second Japanese single, a Japanese version of the song "Mach" (Japanese: マッハ), and reached No. 9 on Oricon's weekly chart.^{[citation needed]}

2012–2013: Rainbow Pixie, Over the Rainbow and Rainbow Syndrome

 

Rainbow in 2012 Asia Model Festival Awards

On January 3, 2012, DSP Media announced that a section of the group will be formed as a trio. On the same day, DSP drops a teaser image with revealing "Rainbow Pixie" as the trio's name. On January 4, 2012, another image revealed the members of the group as SeungAh, Jisook and Hyunyoung. The group released their debut song, "Hoi Hoi", on January 12, 2012,^[5] and held their first performance on Show! Music Core.

Rainbow released a Japanese single on March 14, 2012, entitled "Gonna Gonna Go!" (Japanese: ガナガナGO!).^[6] Their Japanese debut album, Over the Rainbow, was released on March 28.

The group released the first part of their first studio album, Rainbow Syndrome, on February 13, 2013.^[7]

2014–2016: Rainbow Blaxx, Innocent, Prism and disbandment

 

Rainbow with April in September 2016

A second subunit named Rainbow Blaxx, was formed in January 2014 consisting of Jaekyung, Woori, Seungah and Hyunyoung.^[8] Their special album, RB Blaxx, was released on January 20, 2014.^[9] The music video for the title track, "Cha Cha", was directed by Digipedi and was the fourth-most viewed K-pop music video globally in January 2014.^[10][11] The music video, as well as the song's choreography, drew controversy for being "too sexual".^[12][13]

Rainbow's third EP, Innocent, with the title track "Black Swan" were released on February 23, 2015.^[14][15]

Their fourth EP Prism and the music video for its title track "Whoo" was released on February 15, 2016. They also held their commemorative showcase at the Yes24 Muv Hall in Seoul's Mapo-gu, which was broadcast through the Naver V App on the same day as the album release.^[16][17] Rainbow held their first comeback stage with "Whoo" through SBS MTV's The Show on February 16.^[18]

On October 27, 2016, it was confirmed that Rainbow would be disbanded on November 12 as the member contracts were set to end.^[19]

2019: Tenth anniversary comeback

In November 2019, on their tenth anniversary, the group was re-formed.^[20] Their self-produced single, titled "Over the Rainbow", was released on November 14.^[21]

Members

• Woori (우리)
• Seungah (승아)
• Jaekyung (재경)
• Noeul (노을)
• Yoonhye (윤혜)
• Jisook (지숙)
• Hyunyoung (현영)

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Title	Album details	Peak positions		Sales
		KOR ^[22]	JPN ^[23]
Over the Rainbow	Released: March 28, 2012 (JPN) Re-released: December 12, 2012 (JPN) Language: Japanese Label: Universal Sigma Formats: CD, digital download	—	10	JPN: 31,559+
Rainbow Syndrome	Part 1 Released: February 13, 2013 (KOR) Language: Korean Label: DSP Media, CJ E&M Formats: CD, digital download	2	164	KOR: 14,179+^[24] JPN: 1,850+
	Part 2: Sunshine Released: June 4, 2013 (KOR) Language: Korean Label: DSP Media, LOEN Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download	6	234
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Extended plays

Title	Album details	Peak positions	Sales
		KOR ^[22]
Gossip Girl	Released: November 12, 2009 (KOR) Language: Korean Label: DSP Media Formats: CD, digital download	2	KOR: 15,000+ ^[25]
So Girls	Released: April 7, 2011 Re-released: June 22, 2011 (KOR) Language: Korean Label: DSP Media Formats: CD, digital download	3	KOR: 27,697+^[26]^[27] JPN: 1,422+
RB Blaxx	Released: January 20, 2014 (KOR) Language: Korean Label: DSP Media Formats: CD, digital download	3	KOR: 6,436+^[28] JPN: 554+
Innocent	Released: February 23, 2015 (KOR) Language: Korean Label: DSP Media Formats: CD, digital download	5	KOR: 4,176+^[29] JPN: 369+
Prism	Released: February 15, 2016 (KOR) Language: Korean Label: DSP Media Formats: CD, digital download	8	KOR: 3,809+^[30] JPN: 422+
Over the Rainbow^[31]	Released: November 14, 2019 (KOR) Language: Korean Label: DSP Media Formats: Digital download	—	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Singles

Title	Year	Peak chart positions					Sales^[A]	Album
		KOR Gaon ^[32]	KOR Hot ^[33]	JPN Oricon ^[23]	JPN Hot ^[34]	US World ^[35]
"Gossip Girl"	2009	62	—	—	—	—	—	Gossip Girl
"Not Your Girl"	2010	84	—	—	—	—
"A"		9	—	—	—	—	KOR: 1,617,074+^[36]	So Girls
"Mach"		19	—	—	—	—	—
"To Me" (내게로)	2011	5	—	—	—	—	KOR: 1,484,948+^[37]
"Sweet Dream"		8	—	—	—	—	KOR: 1,266,120+^[37]
"A" (エー)		—	—	3	4	—	JPN: 45,000+	Over the Rainbow
"Mach" (マッハ)		—	—	9	15	—	JPN: 22,000+
"Hoi Hoi" (호이 호이) (as Rainbow Pixie)	2012	35	35	—	—	—	KOR: 664,610+^[38]	Gonna Gonna Go! (single)
"Gonna Gonna Go!" (ガナガナGO!)		—	—	7	23	—	JPN: 17,000+	Over the Rainbow
"Candy Girls" (キャンディー・ガールズ)		—	—	—	—	—	—
"Tell Me Tell Me"	2013	14	13	—	—	—	KOR: 754,331+^[39]	Rainbow Syndrome
"Sunshine"		13	8	—	—	—	KOR: 401,939+^[40]
"Cha Cha" (as Rainbow Blaxx)	2014	20	26	—	—	—	KOR: 342,833+^[41]	RB Blaxx
"Black Swan"	2015	43	—	—	—	16	KOR: 47,132^[42]	Innocent
"Whoo"	2016	40	—	—	—	—	KOR: 66,968^[43]	Prism
"Aurora"	2019	—	—	—	—	—	—	Over the Rainbow
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Other charted songs

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Album
		KOR ^[32]
"Sad But Romantic" (슬퍼도 로맨틱)	2010	62	The Sparkling OST Part.1
"Kiss"		115	Gossip Girl
"So Cool"	2011	104	So Girls
"I Said You're The One" (너뿐이라고)		111
"I'm With You" (그대와 난)		61	City Hunter OST
"A Story You Never Knew But I Know" (나만 아는 너는 절대 모를 이야기)	2013	143*	Rainbow Syndrome
"Golden Touch"		200*
"*" denotes releases on domestic chart only.

Soundtracks

Year	Title	TV series/Film
2010	"Love you, Like you" (사랑해, 좋아해)	KBS2 Secret Agent Miss Oh
2011	"Sad But Romantic" (슬퍼도 로맨틱)	MBC Sparkling
	"I Love Zoobles"	SBS Zoobles!
	"The Adventures of Zoobles"
	"You and I" (그대와 난)	SBS City Hunter
2012	"Candy Girls"	TV Tokyo Zoobles!
	"Sweet" (달콤해)	TV Tokyo Rainbow Rose

Year	Title	Artist(s)	TV series/Film
2011	"Galpangjilpang"	Hyunyoung, Gyuri	MBC Hooray for Love
2012	"We Shall Love"	Jisook, Min Hoon Ki	tvN I Love Italy

Awards

Year	Awards
2010	Cyworld Digital Music Awards: Rookie of the Month (September)("A")^[44]
2011	12th Korean Video Daejun's Award: Photogenic Award^[45]
2012	26th Golden Disc Awards: Hallyu Icon Award^[46] 7th Asia Model Awards: Best New Artist

Notes

1. Korea sale is a digital sales only by Gaon Music Chart and Japan is a CD single sales by Oricon

References

1. (in Korean) 신예 걸그룹 Rainbow(레인보우), 데뷔곡 티저 영상 공개! July 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. The Star. November 6, 2009. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
2. (in Korean) 걸그룹 레인보우 '가쉽걸' 티저공개 '청순+깜찍+섹시 매력발산'. Newsen. November 6, 2009. Retrieved July 6, 2010
3. (in Korean) 레인보우 (Rainbow) – 미니앨범 : Gossip Girl. YES24. Retrieved July 5, 2010
4. (in Korean)레인보우, 日 오리콘 3위로 데뷔 `기염` naver.com. September 15, 2011. Retrieved on July 1, 2012.
5. (in Korean) 레인보우, 3인조 '픽시'로 유닛 활동. Naver. January 4, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2012
6. (in Japanese). DSP Media. February 15, 2012. Archived from the original on February 18, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2012.
7. Park, Hani (February 14, 2013). "Rainbow Admits to Noise Marketing for Topless Photo". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Retrieved March 22, 2016.^{[permanent dead link]}
8. . enewsWorld. CJ E&M. March 7, 2014. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
9. Hong, Grace Danbi (January 20, 2014). . enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Archived from the original on April 9, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
10. . enewsWorld. CJ E&M. March 27, 2014. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
11. Benjamin, Jeff (April 29, 2014). "Most-Viewed K-Pop Videos in America vs. Internationally: Quarter 1 of 2014 | Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
12. Kim Ji-soo (January 22, 2014). "Sexiness gone too far?". The Korea Times. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
13. Um Dong-jin (January 28, 2014). "Pop groups under fire for hot shows". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
14. Park Hyun-taek (March 9, 2015). "Rainbow returns after a long hiatus". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
15. Benjamin, Jeff (February 24, 2015). "Rainbow Attempt to Turn 'Black Swan' Into a Sultry Disco Track". Billboard. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
16. Won Ho-jung (February 15, 2016). "Girl group Rainbow brings the energy for 'Prism'". The Korea Herald. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
17. ""단지 느릴뿐, 올해는 빵 뜬다"…레인보우, 일곱 빛깔 매력(종합)" Naver.Retrieved February 20, 2016.
18. "'더쇼' 레인보우 컴백, 건강 섹시미란 이런 것 'Whoo'". Daum. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
19. Park, Hero (October 28, 2016). "레인보우, 결국 해체 공식발표..'마의 7년' 넘지 못했다 (공식)". Sports Chosun.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
20. "[단독]'10주년' 레인보우, 신곡 깜짝 발표…뮤직비디오도 촬영 완료". entertain.naver.com (in Korean). October 25, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
21. @official_DSP (November 5, 2019). "Over the Rainbow". Twitter. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
22. . Gaon Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on August 27, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
    • "Rainbow Syndrome". February 16, 2013.
    • "Rainbow Syndrome Part 2". June 8, 2013.
    • "So Girls". April 10, 2011.
    • "RB Blaxx". January 25, 2014.
    • "Innocent". February 28, 2015.
23. "Oricon Chart" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
24. [First half of 2013 Album Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). KMCIA. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
25. "국내 대표 음악 차트 가온차트!". gaonchart.co.kr.
26. "Circle Chart" 2011년 Album Chart [2011 Album Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). KMCIA. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
27. "Circle Chart" 2011년 06월 Album Chart [June 2011 Album Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). KMCIA. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
28. 2014년 02월 Album Chart [February 2014 Album Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). KMCIA. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
29. "2015년 상반기 총결산 (First half of 2015) Album Chart (Domestic)". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. from the original on July 10, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
30. 2016년 03월 Album Chart [March 2016 Album Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
31. "Over the Rainbow - EP". music.apple.com. November 14, 2019.
32. . Gaon Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on February 8, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
    • . February 6, 2010. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014.
    • . February 13, 2010. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014.
    • "A". September 4, 2010.
    • . October 30, 2010. Archived from the original on May 21, 2015.
    • "To Me". April 30, 2011.
    • . July 2, 2011. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015.
    • "Hoi Hoi". January 21, 2012.
    • . February 23, 2013. Archived from the original on July 5, 2016.
    • "Sunshine". June 8, 2013.
    • "Cha Cha". January 25, 2014.
    • "Black Swan". February 28, 2015.
    • "Whoo". February 20, 2016.
33. "Korea K-Pop Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
34. "Japan Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
35. "World Digital Songs". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
    • "Black Swan". Billboard. March 14, 2015.
36. [Gaon Chart 2010 Top 100 Charts]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). KMCIA. February 8, 2011. Archived from the original on February 13, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
37. Total sales for "To Me" and "Sweet Dream":
    • 2011년 04월 Download Chart [April 2011 Download Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). KMCIA. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
    • 2011년 05월 Download Chart [May 2011 Download Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). KMCIA. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
    • . Gaon Chart (in Korean). KMCIA. June 2011. Archived from the original on May 25, 2014. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
    • 2011년 07월 Download Chart [July 2011 Download Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). KMCIA. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
    • . Gaon Chart (in Korean). KMCIA. August 2011. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 23, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
38. Total sales for "Hoi Hoi":
    • 2012년 01월 Download Chart [January 2012 Download Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). KMCIA. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
    • 2012년 02월 Download Chart [February 2012 Download Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). KMCIA. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
39. [First half of 2013 Download Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). KMCIA. Archived from the original on December 31, 2013. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
40. Total sales for "Sunshine":
    • 2013년 06월 Download Chart [June 2013 Download Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). KMCIA. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
    • . Gaon Chart (in Korean). KMCIA. July 2013. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
41. Total sales for "Cha Cha":
    • 2014년 01월 Download Chart [January 2014 Download Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). KMCIA. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
    • 2014년 02월 Download Chart [February 2014 Download Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). KMCIA. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
    • . Gaon Chart (in Korean). KMCIA. March 2014. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
42. Total sales for "Black Swan":
    • 2015년 10주차 Download Chart [10th week of 2015 Download Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). KMCIA. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
    • 2015년 11주차 Download Chart [11th week of 2015 Download Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). KMCIA. from the original on March 12, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
43. Total sales for "Whoo":
    • 2016년 02월 Download Chart [February 2016 Download Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). KMCIA. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
    • 2015년 3주차 Download Chart [3rd month of 2016 Download Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). KMCIA. from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
44. "Rookie of the Month (September)". cyworld. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
45. "U-KISS and Rainbow win the 'Most Photogenic of the Year' award". allkpop. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
46. 레인보우, 日서 男心 올킬…골든디스크 '한류아이콘' 수상. sport donga (in Korean). January 11, 2012. Retrieved January 11, 2012.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rainbow (South Korean band).

• Official Korean website (in Korean)