Heo Young-ji (born August 30, 1994[1] in South Korea) is a South Korean singer and actress. She is best known as a member of girl groupKara after winning the TV show Kara Project in 2014, which made her the newest member of the group.
Young-ji was a former trainee at Core Contents Media alongside T-ara's ex-member Areum. She was about to debut in a new girl group but left before the girl group debuted. Later, she became a trainee at KeyEast before leaving again. She then became a trainee in DSP Media, participating in the show Kara Project, making her the last member of Kara.
Kara (2014-Present)
In May 2014, after former Kara members Nicole Jung and Kang Ji-young left the group, DSP Media launched a reality TV show called Kara Project which revolved around seven trainees competing to become the new member of the group. Even though she missed 2 live performances due to a leg injury from practice, she grabbed attention from viewers and topped the voting charts.[2]
On July 1, the live voting results commenced on 6:45 pm (KST). Heo Young-ji was proclaimed the winner with a total score of 49,591.[3][4] After winning the show, she gave a winning speech saying she'll work even harder as a new member of Kara.[5]
When fellow member Goo Hara guested on Episode 9 of Roommate, she shared that she wanted Young-ji to be chosen as a member of Kara as she has charms that the existing members does not have and Kara feel more youthful with her.[6][7][8]
On January 15, 2016, DSP Media announced Gyuri, Seungyeon and Hara's departure from the group due to contracts expiring. The company also noted that Youngji would continue her music career as a solo artist. The company is planning to help Youngji succeed and develop for the future.[9]
On April 13, Park Gyu-ri stated that the group did not disband and that the members hoped to release new albums in the future.[10]
Variety show appearances
Roommate
She was one of the new participants for the second season of the show, Roommate.[11][12][13] She was known for her muted laughter, and on the recent Christmas special of Roommate, it was shown that Young-ji's family members have similar laughing styles as well.[14][15][16] In the interview as a preview for being one of the new casts for Roommate, she said that many people told her to cover her mouth while laughing, but it was very problematic and now she is more comfortable to laugh without covering her mouth.[17][18]
Hitmaker Season 2
An MBC EVERY1 rep told MBN Star on December 18, 2014 that Young-ji will join Hitmaker season 2 as a part of a girl group along with Orange Caramel's Lizzy, G.NA, 4minute's So-hyun. The group was later named Cham So Nyeo.[19][20] The group first released their debut song teaser "올해의 주문 (Magic Words)" on February 17,[21] followed by the full song and music video 3 days later on February 20.[22]