Aloha, Tahiti!

MANILA, Philippines - The future looks promising for Tahiti, a six-piece K-pop girl band who broke into the Korean recording scene only seven months ago.

From around 70 K-pop bands that debuted in 2012, Tahiti was chosen as one of the 38 groups most likely to succeed and last long in the recording industry, according to a recent Korean poll. Barely a year after their breakout, the group is embarking on its first overseas concert, a feat for a fledgling K-pop band.

Tahiti is one of the six K-Pop groups that will perform tonight at the SM Mall of Asia in a concert billed Dream K-Pop Fantasy Concert.

The show is headlined by K-pop heavyweight Girls Generation, touted as one of the most successful girl groups in Korea, which sold over 11 million albums worldwide and spawned infectious pop hits like Gee, Genie and The Boys. 

The show also includes K-pop boy bands and dreamboats EXO, Infinite, U-Kiss and Tasty.

The Tahiti girls, aged 17 to 22, personally visited The STAR last Thursday for an exclusive interview, and talked about visiting the Philippines for the first time, their unique brand of music and what makes them stand out from the rest of the mushrooming girl groups in Korea. The members, namely Mi-so, Min-jae, Ji-su, Jung-bin, Ari and Jin are tall and rail-thin — all eye candies and stunning.

Of course, packaging is always an important feature of K-pop groups. Along with sleek music videos, a K-pop group trademark is that its teen members look gorgeous and fashionable.

Like all K-pop groups, the Tahiti girls went through a grueling training on singing, dancing, hosting, modeling and even acting. The girls said that they trained for two years under Dream Star Entertainment, one of Seoul’s high-profile talent agencies.

Again, like typical K-Pop groups, they all live together in a dormitory. The youngest Jin is still in middle school, while two members have already graduated from high school.

The girls said that it’s all their first time to travel to the Philippines. Their first impression so far? They love it here.

“Oh, we love the weather,” Ji-su said through a translator.

“The Filipino people are very kind and welcoming, and the country reminds us of Korea. If we have the time, we love to go around and do some sightseeing,” Min-jae, Ji-su and Ari chorused.

The girls probably feel at home here because it reminds them of their hometowns in Korea, said their manager. 

Some of the girls live in cities by the sea.

The Tahiti girls said they were particularly touched when a group of Filipino fans greeted them with a welcome banner.

“Eventhough we’re still new in the scene, our Filipino fans know us and they support us. We’re very excited to perform for them. We’ve worked hard to prepare for this concert and we will sing five songs — two are our original songs and three songs will be covers,” said Ji-so.

“We’re also trying to learn some simple Tagalog words like Salamat and Kamusta ka,” Jung-bin added.

Tahiti got its name from the French Polynesian island of Tahiti, off the southern Pacific Ocean, which the group’s manager said reflects the personality of each member — refreshing, vibrant, energetic and colorful.

Tahiti’s brand of music is pop and R&B with strains of house, hip-hop and electronic. The group’s first single Tonight was written by Ryan Jhun, who also wrote songs for top Korean artists such as Lee Hyori, TVXQ, SHINee, Girl’s Day, Supernova and U-KISS. Its second single Hasta Luego has feel-good beats and a memorable chorus, “Bye, bye, bye.”

Asked if they feel daunted by both established and emerging girl groups debuting in Korea seemingly by the minute, the girls confidently said they’re unique and can offer something different to the fans.

“We’re not really affected that there are a lot of K-pop girl groups now. Eventhough there are so many girl bands now, we still know we can stand out from the rest. We have something unique to offer, we have good skills in dancing and singing,” Minjae said.

A healthy self-esteem is important to last in the cutthroat industry of K-pop, and Tahiti members are equipped with a strong sense of confidence they need to outshine other girl groups.

Ari called herself the prettiest in the group, Min-jae said she has the most beautiful voice, Mi-So said she’s the goddess Venus, Jin said she’s the dancing machine, while Ji-su said she has the most charming smile.

What set them further apart are their dance skills, they added.

The girls claimed that they dance the dub step with aplomb and boasted about their seamlessly choreographed dance moves. Dub step is a popular dance move in Europe. 

They also take care and value their fans better. Like other K-pop groups, the Tahiti girls utilize social media to increase their popularity, connecting with their fans via their Twitter account with the handle @D.S.Tahiti.

They admitted, nevertheless, that it’s still a long way ahead for them. They’re still new and to reach the apex of fame, they must rack up millions of albums sales and reach millions of hits for every music video on YouTube.

But they are not discouraged nor disheartened as they’ve set their goals on breaking out in Asia and the rest of the world.

Right now, the Tahiti girls agree that they love what they’re doing and just enjoy performing on stage.

They also said they feel proud about the accomplishments of Psy who’s helping fuel the interest and fascination on K-pop music.

Psy’s hit Gangnam Style is the first song to reach a billion views on YouTube.

“We are truly inspired by his success and we know his dance moves. We’re proud of him,” the girls said.

(The Dream K-Pop Fantasy concert will be held tonight at the SM Mall of Asia Grounds at 8.)