Pledis Entertainment then decided to form a sub-unit from After School. This sub-unit, called Orange Caramel, brings up the concept of candy culture that involves a cute and colorful style. This style is quite unique since most of the girl groups from that era were bringing up the dark and sexy concept. Orange Caramel itself consists of the third generation members of After School, they are Raina, Nana, and Lizzy. They debuted on June 16th, 2010, with the single “Magic Girl,” which was commercially very successful in selling. Starting from 2015, After School’s and Orange Caramel’s promotions were focusing on the members’ solo activities. On May 1st, 2018, as her senior member already did, Lizzy graduated from After School. Well, what will happen with the group and the sub-unit? Let’s find out!
Lizzy Graduated From After School
On May 1st, 2018, Lizzy announced that she has officially graduated from After School after eight years of performing with the girls. Lizzy wrote a hand-written letter for her fans where she talks about the short story of her journey of becoming an After School member. She also thanked Pledis Entertainment and the CEO for making her like this. As the closing words, she thanked all of her fans that always support and love her, ever since her debut. The agency themselves announced the official statement, “We inform you that our contract with Lizzy has expired as of April 30th, 2018.” They continued, “We have had meaningful conversations with Lizzy and after discussions, we agreed to end her management work with respect to her intention to pursue her dreams through various pursuits.” The agency added their thankful message to Lizzy and promised to keep supporting her future career even though they would be taking separate paths. Pledis Entertainment also shared, on their official Twitter account, the goodbye message for Lizzy. They wrote, “We support your future that will shine even brighter!” along with Lizzy’s picture. Lizzy’s departure made After School have only four members left, they are Raina, Nana, E-young, and Kaeun.
Orange Caramel’s Future
On May 2nd, 2018, Pledis Entertainment clarified to the media outlet OSEN about the future of Orange Caramel after they announced Lizzy’s official departure on May 1st, 2018, due to the expiration of her exclusive contract. The agency said that there’s a possibility of Orange Caramel promoting again. The representative of the agency said, “The members are currently pursuing different fields in accordance with their wishes, but Orange Caramel has not been officially disbanded. If a good opportunity presents itself later on and they were to release an album, we will not hold back from actively giving our support.” However, fans would love to watch Orange Caramel’s comeback, and it would be even nicer if Lizzy is involved. But in the previous year, in Raina’s appearance on Radio Show, she said that it’s hard for them to come back since the agency now has many junior artists, whether in a group or solo artists. She also said that they were getting old, so the agency wondered whether it’s still good for them to continue with that image.
Raina Pursuing a Solo Career
Since After School released their single album First Love, their recent activities were nowhere to found. At this time, Raina focused on her solo career. In October 2014, Raina debuted as the first member of After School to have a solo career. She released her single album titled Reset with the lead track “You and Me” feat. Kanto, and the b-side track “Repertoire.” She previously released a duet with rapper San E called “A Midsummer Night’s Sweetness” and it was a commercial success as they were nominated and won some honorable awards. Since then, Raina has been active as a solo artist releasing some songs. Most of her songs have been self-composed, like the song “I Don’t Know.” Her second single album is titled Loop with the same title of the leading track feat. NU’EST Aron. The album consists of three tracks, “Loop,” “Your Day,” and “Treat You Better.”
Nana Became an Actress
Starting from 2014, Nana was involved in various TV Shows, such as being a member of Roommate, being the host of Style Log, and participating in the Chinese fashion elimination show Muse Dress. She also appeared as a cameo in the Korean movie titled Fashion King, which was released on November 6th, 2014. In early 2015, Nana started getting her own roles with the role in the Chinese television drama, Love Weaves Through A Millenium, which was the remake of the Korean drama Queen In-hyun’s Man (2012). After that, Nana’s acting career started rising up, proved by her roles in some television dramas, movies, and TV shows. She has also been nominated and has won some honorable awards for her work as an actress and in the fashion industry.
Latest News
After School Raina’s New Single
In August 2018, Raina dropped her new single titled “It’s Okay” as part of a project single with producer Bumzu. This single is effortlessly beautiful ballad which is very different from After School’s and Orange Caramel’s image. Some people have said it’s very comforting and will suit well as the soundtrack of a drama. But, some people are also waiting for the upbeat songs from Raina because they miss the cheerful and strong personality of hers.
After School Nana’s Upcoming Drama
Actress Nana will make her acting comeback in the upcoming OCN drama titled Blue Eyes along with Jang Gi-yong. A drama insider revealed on December 21st, 2018, that Nana will be taking the leading role as Do Hyun-jin, a police detective with a troubled past and no parents to speak of. The drama itself tells the story of a man abandoned by evil, a woman raised by evil, and the pursuit of revenge. Blue Eyes is scheduled to premiere in February 2019. Stay tuned, guys!
