Rainbow (girl group)
| Company type | Girl group |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Founder | DSP Media |
| Defunct | 2016 (disbanded) |
| Fate | Disbanded; reunited in 2019 for tenth anniversary |
| Headquarters | South Korea |
Area served | South Korea, Japan |
Key people | Woori, Seungah, Jaekyung, Noeul, Yoonhye, Jisook, Hyunyoung |
| Products | Music albums and singles |
| Owner | DSP Media |
Rainbow () was a South Korean girl group established in 2009 under the management of DSP Media. The ensemble consisted of seven members: Woori, Seungah, Jaekyung, Noeul, Yoonhye, Jisook, and Hyunyoung. Their debut took place on November 12, 2009, with the release of their initial EP, Gossip Girl. Throughout their active years, Rainbow produced two full-length albums and five extended plays before disbanding in 2016. They later reunited in November 2019 to celebrate their tenth anniversary with a new EP.
2009–2010: Debut, formation, and growing recognition
Towards the end of 2009, DSP Media initiated a teaser campaign that culminated in the unveiling of the "Gossip Girl" music video on November 6. Shortly after, the five-track EP Gossip Girl was released on November 12. In 2010, Rainbow followed up with singles "A" on August 12 and "Mach" on October 20.
April 2011 saw the release of their second EP, So Girls, which included the track "To Me." Venturing into the Japanese market, Rainbow's "A" music video secured the top position on Recochoku's weekly download chart in September 2011. Their Japanese debut single "A" achieved a No. 3 spot on Oricon's daily ranking, selling over 10,000 copies. This single also featured a Japanese adaptation of "Gossip Girl" alongside an exclusive DVD. The group made their Japanese television debut performing "A" on Sukkiri. On December 7, 2011, they released their second Japanese single—a Japanese rendition of "Mach"—which reached No. 9 on Oricon's weekly chart.
2012–2013: Subunit launch, Japanese expansion, and album releases
On January 3, 2012, DSP Media introduced a subunit called Rainbow Pixie, consisting of SeungAh, Jisook, and Hyunyoung. Their debut single "Hoi Hoi" was released on January 12, with their first performance airing on Show! Music Core.
Continuing their activities in Japan, Rainbow released the single "Gonna Gonna Go!" on March 14, 2012. This was followed by their Japanese debut album Over the Rainbow on March 28.
The group unveiled the initial segment of their studio album Rainbow Syndrome on February 13, 2013.
2014–2016: Second subunit formation, subsequent releases, and disbandment
In January 2014, DSP Media formed another subunit named Rainbow Blaxx featuring Jaekyung, Woori, Seungah, and Hyunyoung. Their special album RB Blaxx was launched on January 20. The title track "Cha Cha," directed by Digipedi, ranked as the fourth most-watched K-pop video worldwide in January 2014 but attracted criticism due to its suggestive choreography.
Rainbow’s third EP Innocent, led by the single "Black Swan," was released on February 23, 2015.
Their fourth EP Prism and its lead song "Whoo" debuted on February 15, 2016. The release was accompanied by a showcase held at Seoul’s Yes24 Muv Hall and streamed through Naver's V App. The group presented their comeback stage for "Whoo" on SBS MTV's The Show on February 16.
On October 27, 2016, it was officially announced that Rainbow would disband on November 12 following the expiration of their contracts.
2019: Tenth Anniversary Reunion
In celebration of their tenth year since debut, the group reunited in November 2019 and independently released the single Over the Rainbow on November 14.
Members
Korean Studio Albums
| Title | Album Information | Highest Chart Rankings | Sales Figures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR |
JPN | |||
| Rainbow Syndrome |
|
2 | 164 |
|
|
6 | 234 | ||
| "—" indicates releases that did not enter charts or were not issued in that territory. | ||||
Japanese Studio Albums
| Title | Album Information | Highest Chart Ranking | Sales Figures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPN | ||||
| Over the Rainbow |
|
10 |
| |
| "—" indicates releases that did not chart or were not distributed in that region. | ||||
Extended Plays
| Title | Album Information | Highest Chart Position | Sales Figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| KOR | |||
| Gossip Girl |
|
2 |
|
| So Girls |
|
3 |
|
| RB Blaxx |
|
3 |
|
| Innocent |
|
5 |
|
| Prism |
|
8 |
|
| Over the Rainbow |
|
— | Template:N/A |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were unavailable in that market. | |||
Korean singles
| Title | Year | Highest chart rankings | Sales[upper-alpha 1] | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR Gaon |
KOR Hot |
US World | ||||||
| "Gossip Girl" | 2009 | 62 | — | — | rowspan="2" Template:N/A | Gossip Girl | ||
| "Not Your Girl" | 2010 | 84 | — | — | ||||
| "A" | 9 | — | — |
|
So Girls | |||
| "Mach" | 19 | — | — | Template:N/A | ||||
| "To Me" (내게로) | 2011 | 5 | — | — |
| |||
| "Sweet Dream" | 8 | — | — |
| ||||
| "Tell Me Tell Me" | 2013 | 14 | 13 | — |
|
Rainbow Syndrome | ||
| "Sunshine" | 13 | 8 | — |
| ||||
| "Black Swan" | 2015 | 43 | — | 16 |
|
Innocent | ||
| "Whoo" | 2016 | 40 | — | — |
|
Prism | ||
| "Aurora" | 2019 | — | — | — | Template:N/A | Over the Rainbow | ||
| Rainbow Pixie / Rainbow Blaxx / Rainbow18 (sub-unit) | ||||||||
| "Hoi Hoi" (호이 호이) (as Rainbow Pixie) |
2012 | 35 | 35 | — |
|
Template:N/A | ||
| "Cha Cha" (as Rainbow Blaxx) |
2014 | 20 | 26 | — |
|
RB Blaxx | ||
| "Festival" (as Rainbow18) |
2025 | — | — | — | Festival | |||
| "—" indicates titles that did not chart or were unavailable in that market. | ||||||||
Japanese singles
| Title | Year | Highest chart rankings | Sales[upper-alpha 2] | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPN Oricon |
JPN Hot | ||||
| "A" | 2011 | 3 | 4 |
|
"Over the Rainbow" |
| "Mach" | ""
9||15 |
|
"Over the Rainbow" | ||
| "Gonna Gonna Go!" | "2012" | "7 | 23" |
|
"Over the Rainbow" |
Additional Charted Tracks
| Song Title | Release Year | Highest Chart Rankings | Associated Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Korea | |||||||
| "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* | ||||||
| "*" indicates entries charted exclusively on domestic rankings. | |||||||
Soundtrack Contributions
| Year | Track Name | Associated TV Show or Film |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "Love you, Like you" (사랑해, 좋아해) | KBS2 Secret Agent Miss Oh |
| 2011 | "Sad But Romantic"(슬퍼도 로맨틱) | Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation Sparkling |
| "I Love Zoobles" | "Zoobles!" (Seoul Broadcasting System) | |
| "The Adventures of Zoobles" | "Zoobles!" (Seoul Broadcasting System) | |
| "You and I"(그대와 난) | 'SBS' City Hunter | |
| 2012 | "Candy Girls" | 'TV Tokyo' Zoobles! |
| "Sweet"(달콤해) | 'TV Tokyo' Rainbow Rose |
Awards and nominations
| Award event | Year | Category | Nominee | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyworld Digital Music Awards | 2010 | Rookie of the Month – September | "A" | Template:Won |
| Mnet Asian Music Awards | 2010 | Best New Female Artist | Rainbow | Template:Nom |
| Golden Disc Awards | 2011 | Hallyu Icon Award | Template:Won | |
| Asia Model Awards | 2012 | New Star Award | Template:Won |
External links
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- Articles with short description
- Articles containing Korean-language text
- Rainbow (girl group)
- 2009 establishments in South Korea
- K-pop music groups
- Musical groups established in 2009
- Musical groups disestablished in 2016
- 2016 disestablishments in South Korea
- South Korean girl groups
- South Korean dance music groups
- Universal Music Japan artists
- DSP Media artists
- Musical groups reestablished in 2019
- Pages with reference errors