Lupin (EP)

In early February, DSP Media announced that Kara would be coming back with "Lupin" and showing a darker, more mature concept.^[1] The song was released to digital outlets on February 17, 2010, and topped various charts the following day.^[2] Han Seung-yeon noted that, although the group had a cute image with singles like "Pretty Girl" and "Mister", "Lupin" would allow the girls to portray a "chic" concept.^[3] Media reports noted that the group would be going up against Girls' Generation, who had made their comeback a few weeks earlier with "Oh!".^[4]

The music video was released on February 22, garnering more than 90,000 views in the first two hours.^[5] After the popularity of the group's "butt dance" with "Mister", netizens were curious to see the choreography of "Lupin"; as such, parts of the dance, including the "Emergency Exit" dance and the "Halla" dance, were highlighted by viewers.^[6] Other moves of interest were Goo Hara's hair flip.

Kara made their comeback in late February, starting with Mnet's M! Countdown on February 25, 2010.^[7] The group then performed on all major network music shows over the weekend.^[8] On March 4, 2010, Kara won their first #1 award for "Lupin" on M! Countdown. The following week, Kara won yet another #1 award on M! Countdown, making it their second consecutive win on the program.^[9]"Lupin" also gave Kara their first #1 win on Music Bank on March 12, 2010, making it the group's first win on the music show since their debut,^[10] and held onto the position for three consecutive weeks.^[11] The song also won the Mutizen award from Inkigayo.^[12] "Lupin" is among a handful of Kara tracks featured in the arcade music game, DJ Max Technika 3.