T-ara changes leader to Hyomin

Korean girl group T-ara [Core Contents Media]

The leader of seven-member girl group T-ara has been changed from Boram to Hyomin, their agency Core Contents Media announced through a press release on Tuesday.

"Hyomin will be the leader of the team while T-ara promotes themselves in Japan and 'Roly Poly' in Korea," Core Contents said through the statement.

"Roly Poly" is the name of the title track to the girls' upcoming album "John Travolta Wannabe" set for release in Korea on July 1.

They are also gearing up for their official debut in Japan which will start with their first showcase at the Shibuya-AX concert hall in Tokyo on July 5.

The decision to pick Hyomin as the new leader came after thorough discussion with every member of the group, Core Contents explained. "Hyomin and Eunjung have been with the team the longest and since it is an important time for them...... we judged she'd be the best at leading everyone,"

The statement then added that the role of leader will be rotated by every member with each new album they release "in order to instill a sense of responsibility in everyone."

This is not the first time the group has transferred the position to another member of the team -- Boram became T-ara's leader last summer after Eunjung who had been the leader since the girls' debut in July 2009.

Also composed of members Jiyeon, Soyeon, Qri and Hyo-young, T-ara became popular with singles "Bo Peep Bo Peep" and "I Go Crazy Because Of You."

All the girls, excluding Hwa-young, have pursued acting careers on both the big and small screen as well as appearing on entertainment shows.

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Jessica Kim jesskim@