Jini says girl group KARA inspired her to become a K-pop idol
K-pop singer Jini has opened up about how girl group KARA played a part in why she decided to become an idol.
In a recent interview with 102.7KIISFM, the soloist discussed her October 2023 debut mini-album ‘An Iron Hand in a Velvet Glove’ and why she chose to become a K-pop idol. Jini shared that girl group KARA had stood out to her as a child, and that they had inspired her to pursue a career as a singer.
“I watched a lot of K-pop idols on TV when I was young. One day, I saw a girl group called KARA performing on a music show,” Jini said. “They looked so pretty, and they were great dancers. After seeing them, I decided to become an idol as well.”
Later, Jini also spoke about parts of her ordinary life she had to give up after becoming an idol, sharing that she could no longer hang out with her friends whenever she wanted to. “There were a lot of things I had to give up, but I also gained a lot of things so I’m very proud of myself,” she added.
The 19-year-old singer first made her debut in February 2022 as a member of JYP Entertainment girl group NMIXX. In December that year, the agency announced that it had mutually terminated its contract with Jini due to personal reasons, and that she had left the group.
In October 2023, Jini made her solo debut with her first mini-album ‘An Iron Hand in a Velvet Glove’, led by the single ‘C’mon’ featuring American rapper Aminé. “It just kind of naturally happened,” she said of the collaboration in an interview with NME. “He just genuinely fell in love with ‘C’mon’ and wanted to be a part of it.”
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Gladys Yeo
NME
