April, DSP Media’s new girl group, made their debut with the release of their first EP “Dreaming” and the lead track “Dream Candy.”

The group, known to fans as the “younger sister group” to DSP‘s signature group Kara, includes six members: leader Somin, Chaewon, Hyunjoo, Naeun, Yena and Jinsol, born in consecutive years from 1996 to 2001.


“Our average age is 17.5,” said Jinsol, the youngest member, at their media showcase at Coex in Seoul. “We heard we were the youngest girl group out there, and we have that much more to show you.” 

The name “April” has two meanings: that the group will be as fresh and warm as the month of April, and the combination of the letter “A” with “pril,” which they say brings to mind an image of cute and lovely girls. 

“Together, it means that we will be lovely girls who bring warmth through our music,” explained member Chaewon.

April’s lead single “Dream Candy,” created by Hwang Sung-jae‘s producing team ButterFly, is a bubbly, upbeat house song about being persistent in chasing one’s dreams. 

“It's a sweet song for everyone who’s working hard towards their dreams,” said Somin. “When we're young, we get candy when people are encouraging us or comforting us. We wanted our song to provide both support and comfort.” 


The stage performance for the track has the girls dressed up like Swiss yodelers. 

“We wanted to create a dreamy, fairy tale-like mood,” said Naeun. “So we wore clothes that we normally can’t wear, like something Alice would wear in ‘Alice in Wonderland.’”

Two of the members, Somin and Chaewon, had already been introduced to the public through the program “Kara Project -- Kara the Beginning.” 

“It feels different this time,” said Chaewon. “We learned a lot while training for our debut, and the past experience (of ”Kara Project“) helped us to grow to where we are today.”

According to Somin, the girls feel more a sense of responsibility than pressure about being called “the next Kara.” “We worked even harder to make sure we won’t be a stain on that reputation,” she said.

April's six-track debut EP “Dreaming” was released Monday.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)