Asia falls for a 'girl' band
By Elizabeth Davies
October 25, 2005
They strut their stuff and shake their booties as well as any pop band
worldwide, and their infectious dance tunes are taking the Asian music scene by
storm.
But in one crucial respect Lady, the hottest music act to come out of South
Korea in years, are not your average girl group. They may have looks that many
women would die for - but none of these four singers was born as a lady.
Shinae, 29, Sahara, 25, Binu, 22, and Yoona, 21, have all undergone sex change
operations and used their new, curvaceous physiques to propel them to stardom.
Earlier this year, to a frenzied fanfare of television appearances, newspaper
interviews and even the odd nude photo shoot, Lady became Korea's first
transgender pop group.
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"We love chocolate, shopping and gossip. Mentally we were always women, the only
difference being that we changed something physical, simply we are women with
an extra scar," one of the girls told Chosun Ilbo newspaper.
And with their debut album Attention flying off the shelves in their native
country and concerts lined up in China, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Lady's
risqué dance act is blowing a breath of fresh air into the traditionally
conservative world of Asian music. The girls are seeking to follow in the
footsteps of Harisu, Korea's most successful transgender singer, whose song
"Foxy Lady" is popular from Bangkok to Beijing.
But the group's path to stardom hasn't been entirely smooth. Lady have come in
for scathing criticism from the media, who accuse their record company of
trying to cash in on the novelty of "sex change stars" and of manufacturing a
pop act whose selling point, they claim, lies in sexual status rather than in
musical talent.
The girls, however, remain defiant.
"Soon," they proclaim, "we'll show everyone what we've got on stage."
