T-ara facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
T-ara
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Seoul, South Korea |
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| Years active | 2009–present |
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T-ara (Korean: 티아라) is a popular South Korean girl group. They are known as one of the best-selling girl groups ever! T-ara started in 2009 and mostly creates dance-pop music. This style is often thanks to their work with composer Shinsadong Tiger. T-ara is also famous for their many different visual styles in their dances and shows.
T-ara first appeared in July 2009 with their song "Lies." Their first full album, Absolute First Album, came out in December 2009. It had many hit songs like "TTL (Time to Love)," "Bo Peep Bo Peep," and "You Drive Me Crazy."
In 2011, T-ara released "Roly-Poly." This song became the best-selling single of the year in South Korea on the Gaon chart. The group also became very popular in Japan. They signed a big contract with J-Rock, an agency in Japan, for USD 4.7 million. This was a record for a Korean girl group in a foreign market at that time. T-ara then released a Japanese album called Jewelry Box, which reached number one on the Oricon charts in Japan. Also in 2011, T-ara's Korean album Black Eyes had three number-one songs in a row: "Cry Cry," "We Were in Love," and "Lovey-Dovey."
In 2012, T-ara faced some challenges. There were rumors of disagreements within the group. Soon after, Hwayoung left T-ara, and Areum left a year later. After these events, T-ara's songs had mixed success in South Korea. Because of this, T-ara started to focus on China. In 2014, they covered the Chopstick Brothers' song "Little Apple." After focusing on China, T-ara became one of the most loved K-pop groups there.
In 2017, the contracts for Soyeon and Boram ended. However, Qri, Eunjung, Hyomin, and Jiyeon extended their contracts. This meant the group would go from six members to four. T-ara had planned to release one more album with all six members, but this did not happen due to issues with their management. T-ara's next release was an EP called What's My Name? in June 2017, featuring only the four members.
Contents
History of T-ara
How T-ara Started (2009–2010)
T-ara was created by Mnet Media, which is now called Stone Music Entertainment. The first members were Jiae, Jiwon, Eunjung, Hyomin, and Jiyeon. They trained for three years before their first official performance. The group's name, "T-ara," comes from the word "tiara," meaning they aimed to be "queens of the music industry."
Their first song, "Joheun Saram," was for the Cinderella Man TV show soundtrack, even before their official debut. A month before their debut, Jiae and Jiwon left the group. Boram, Soyeon, and Qri joined T-ara in June and July 2009. T-ara then moved from Mnet Media to Core Contents Media, which is now MBK Entertainment.
T-ara officially debuted in July 2009 on the Radio Star talk show. Their first live performance was on the M Countdown music show a few days later. They performed "Geojitmal" (or "Lies") and "Norabollae?". Some viewers did not like the performance, saying it looked like "elementary school" and was lip-synced. After this, the group decided to perform live from then on.
In September 2009, T-ara released "TTL (Time to Love)" with the boy band Supernova. This song became a number-one hit for both groups. A month later, they released a follow-up song called "TTL Listen 2."
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T-ara's first full album, Absolute First Album, came out in November 2009. Core Contents Media asked the public to choose the main song for the album. The choices were "Bo Peep Bo Peep" and "Cheoeum Cheoreom" ("Like the First Time"). Even though most people chose "Cheoeum Cheoreom," "Bo Peep Bo Peep" was picked as the main song. It reached number four on the Gaon chart, while "Cheoeum Cheoreom" reached number ten. T-ara performed these songs on Music Bank in December 2009. At the 24th Golden Disk Awards, T-ara won Rookie of the Year alongside the girl group 4minute.
T-ara won their first music show award for "Bo Peep Bo Peep" on January 1, 2010. The song won five awards in total. T-ara planned to promote "Cheoeum Cheoreom" next, but these plans were canceled because Soyeon got sick. Later that month, T-ara made a small appearance in two episodes of the TV show God of Study.
In February 2010, the group re-released their first album as Breaking Heart. The digital version came out on February 23. The main songs were "Neo Ttaemune Michyeo" ("I Go Crazy Because of You") and "Naega Neomu Apa" ("I'm Really Hurt"). "Neo Ttaemune Michyeo" became number one on the Gaon chart. T-ara won three awards for this song. The physical album was released on March 3 and reached number two on the weekly Gaon chart.
In July 2010, Hwayoung joined T-ara as the seventh member. This was meant to help the other members with their busy schedules and allow them to do solo activities. In November 2010, the group starred in the reality show Hello Baby. Later that month, T-ara released "Wae Ireoni," the main song for their first extended play (EP) called Temptastic. Temptastic was released in December 2010, along with the song "Yayaya." T-ara performed with Hwayoung for the first time on Music Bank on December 3. They later won awards for "Wae Ireoni" and "Yayaya."
Growing Popularity (2011–2012)
T-ara released their second extended play (EP), John Travolta Wannabe, in June 2011. It reached number three on the Gaon Album Chart. The EP's main song, "Roly-Poly," reached number two on the Gaon Digital Chart and number one on the Korea K-Pop Hot 100 chart. It became the best-selling song of 2011 in South Korea. "Roly-Poly" won Best Music Video at the 3rd Melon Music Awards. T-ara also won Singer of the Year at the 1st Gaon Chart Awards.
In August 2011, T-ara released a special edition of John Travolta Wannabe called Roly-Poly in Copacabana. The main song was a eurodance remix of "Roly-Poly." The album reached number three on the Gaon chart.
T-ara released a Japanese version of "Bo Peep Bo Peep" in September 2011. It reached number one on the Oricon weekly chart. This made T-ara the first non-Japanese girl group to achieve this. The song also topped the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart.
In November 2011, T-ara released their third EP, Black Eyes, which reached number two on the Gaon charts. The album included the song "Cry Cry," which hit number one on the Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100. "Cry Cry" also won two first-place awards. Its music video was a 30-minute drama with a big budget. The group released their second Japanese song, a remake of "Yayaya," in November.
In December 2011, the group held a three-day concert tour in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka. By the end of the year, T-ara was the second most popular girl group in Korea. Also in December, T-ara released a ballad with Davichi called "Uri Saranghaetjanha" ("We Were in Love"). It reached number one on the Gaon chart.
T-ara re-released Black Eyes as Funky Town in January 2012. The album reached number one on the Gaon weekly chart. "Lovey-Dovey" was the second song from the album. It reached number one on both the Gaon and Billboard Korea charts.
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In February 2012, Forbes Korea listed T-ara as number 17 in their "Top 40 Power Celebrities" list. In April, Core Contents Media said they would add two new members to T-ara. Areum joined T-ara in June 2012, making the group eight members. The second new member was to be Dani, but she did not officially join the group.
T-ara released their first Japanese full album, Jewelry Box, in June 2012. It reached number two on the Oricon weekly albums chart. After the album, T-ara went on a concert tour in Japan.
In July 2012, T-ara released their fourth extended play (EP), Day by Day. It reached number five on the Gaon chart. The main song, also called "Day by Day," was released as a single and reached number two on the Gaon chart. On July 7, T-ara performed "Day by Day" live with a 70-person orchestra. This was Areum's first performance with the group.
Challenges and Comeback (2012–2014)
In July 2012, T-ara had a concert in Japan. Hwayoung performed only one song due to a leg injury. After this, some members posted messages on Twitter that led to rumors of conflict within the group. People thought Hwayoung was being treated unfairly. Soon after, Core Contents Media ended Hwayoung's contract, and she left T-ara. The company said Hwayoung's actions were hurting teamwork. The group said the rumors were not true but confirmed there was a conflict. Because of the rumors, T-ara stopped all activities for a while.
In September, T-ara started performing again. They released Mirage, a re-issue of their Day by Day EP with new songs. They also released a Japanese version of "Day by Day." In October, T-ara released a greatest hits album in Japan to celebrate one year since their Japanese debut.
New Sub-groups and Albums (2013–2014)
In March 2013, T-ara released their sixth Japanese song, "Bunny Style!" This was their first song made just for Japan. It came out in ten different versions, each with a different second song. Seven versions had a solo song by a T-ara member, and three had a song by a sub-group (a smaller group made of T-ara members). T-ara held concerts in 10 Japanese cities to promote the song.
In April, T-ara formed a sub-group called T-ara N4 with members Eunjung, Hyomin, Jiyeon, and Areum. Their first song, "Jeon Won Diary," was a "funky and intense" dance song with hip-hop parts. T-ara N4 released the song, an EP, and a music video on April 29, 2013.
In July 2013, T-ara performed at the Nippon Budokan to celebrate their second Japanese album, Treasure Box, which was released in August. At the concert, it was announced that Qri would be the new leader of T-ara. T-ara also released the music video "Painkiller" as a digital song. This song was made with T-ara, Davichi, See Ya, 5dolls, and SPEED. Jiyeon was the main character in the music video. Also in July, Core Contents Media said Areum would be leaving the group.
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In August, T-ara released the music video "Bikini" with Davichi and Skull. T-ara then held a concert in Mongolia. In October, T-ara performed in Korea for the first time since the rumors.
In December, T-ara performed in Korea with the song "Do You Know Me." They also released a repackaged album called Again 1977. The group also released a ballad version of "Do You Know Me" and a Christmas song, "Hide & Seek." By the end of 2013, T-ara was ranked seventh for the number of top songs in the past ten years.
T-ara planned to focus on China in 2014, with five concerts. They held the first in January in Chengdu. In February, T-ara performed in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with SPEED. In March, T-ara performed in Japan and released the songs "Lead The Way" and "LA'booN." They also released their third Japanese album, Gossip Girls.
In September 2014, T-ara released their sixth mini album, And & End. They also released two music videos for the main song, "Sugar Free." This song was inspired by EDM. On September 24, a remix album called EDM CLUB Sugar Free Edition was released, which included an English version of "Sugar Free." This was T-ara's first song recorded in English.
In October 2014, T-ara signed a contract with Chinese record label Longzhen Culture Development for about USD 4.8 million. In November, T-ara covered the Chopstick Brothers' song "Little Apple." It was partly in Korean and partly in Chinese. The music video had 8 million views in just two days.
In December, T-ara held a small concert in Seoul, their first in Korea in 2014. Later that month, T-ara ended their year with a concert in Shanghai.
New Music and Tours (2015–2016)
T-ara held a concert in Korea in early January 2015. Soon after, they went to Vietnam to perform. The concert was rescheduled and took place on October 10.
In February 2015, MBK Entertainment formed a project group called TS, which included Eunjung and Soyeon. The TS group released a winter song, "Don't Forget Me." In March 2015, T-ara was announced as the main performer for Malaysia's Sultan Of Johor Coronation celebrations.
In June 2015, T-ara began their Great China Tour in Nanjing, Beijing, and Hefei. The group performed 22 songs. The next concert on their tour was in Guangzhou on December 19.
On July 17, 2015, MBK Entertainment announced that T-ara would release new music in August. In August, T-ara released their seventh extended play (EP), So Good. The main song was "So Crazy."
In October 2015, "Insider Monkey" listed T-ara as number ten on their list of 16 best-selling girl groups ever, with 36.18 million sales. Later that month, T-ara appeared on the Chinese variety show The Brain.
In June 2016, T-ara performed at the Dream Concert 2016, with a remix of "Be Peep Bo Peep," "Roly Poly," and "So Crazy."
On September 9, T-ara performed three songs for the IASGO in Seoul. On September 11, T-ara flew to Japan for a concert at the Tokyo Dome City Hall. T-ara performed seven songs and talked to their fans. They performed twice that day. At this concert, T-ara performed their song "Memories" live for the first time. On September 17, T-ara held their last concert in the Great China Tour at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai. Also in September 2016, the Dong-a Ilbo newspaper listed "Roly-Poly" as the 14th favorite song of the past 20 years.
On October 1, 2016, T-ara performed at the Busan One Asia Festival. They also held a concert on October 4 and performed eight different songs. T-ara flew to Jeju for a concert the next day and performed five songs.
In November 2016, T-ara released their eighth extended play (EP), Remember. The main song of the EP was "Tiamo." Their music video for "Tiamo" was voted the number one music video of the year on Fuse.
New Beginnings (2017–2018)
In February 2017, Hwayoung and her twin sister Hyoyoung spoke about the past rumors on a reality show. Hwayoung said how hard it was for her. This brought the rumors back into public attention. Soon after, a former staff member said that it was actually the twins who had treated the other members badly. This person shared texts that seemed to show Hyoyoung threatening Areum. Other staff members also shared evidence that Hwayoung had treated others poorly and had faked how serious her injury was. Hwayoung first denied this but later admitted the texts were real. This helped to clear up the rumors about the other T-ara members.
In March 2017, MBK Entertainment announced that Soyeon and Boram's contracts would end soon. They also said T-ara would make one more album as a six-member group. However, this did not happen due to issues with their management. Instead, the album was released after Soyeon and Boram left. T-ara's last performance as a six-member group was in Taiwan on May 13, 2017.
T-ara released their ninth extended play (EP), What's My Name?, as a four-member group (Qri, Hyomin, Jiyeon, and Eunjung) on June 14, 2017. T-ara won first place on The Show on June 20. This was their first win on a music show in five years!
In July 2017, T-ara made the song "My Love" for the TV drama Greatest One-Shot.
On November 4, the group held a concert in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Part of the ticket money was given to charity. On November 24, the group performed with B.A.P, Rain, Kim Jong-kook, and Haha for K-Pop Music Wave 2017 in Penang, Malaysia.
On January 3, 2018, Hyomin announced that she, Jiyeon, Eunjung, and Qri would not renew their contracts with MBK Entertainment. The record label later confirmed the group had left the company. MBK then tried to get a trademark on the name "T-ara." In January 2018, Hyomin, Jiyeon, Eunjung, and Qri asked for MBK's trademark request to be denied. In August 2018, MBK's request was denied. This means Hyomin, Jiyeon, Eunjung, and Qri can still use the group name. They said they plan to stay together as a group.
In an interview in October 2019, Jiyeon said they hope to perform as a group again, but it might take some time.
Members of T-ara
Jiae and Jiwon left the group in 2009, before their official debut. Boram, Qri, and Soyeon joined soon after, before the official debut. Hwayoung joined the group on July 26, 2010. Areum joined T-ara in early 2012.
Hwayoung's contract ended in mid-2012, and she left the group. Then Areum left in July 2012. T-ara continued as a six-member group until Soyeon and Boram left in 2017. The remaining four members are Qri, Hyomin, Jiyeon, and Eunjung.
Leaders of T-ara
T-ara Sub-groups
Sometimes, T-ara members formed smaller groups called sub-groups or sub-units. The first sub-groups were formed in March 2013 for the "Bunny Style!" release. These groups had no official names. The first official sub-groups came a few months later.
T-ara N4
On April 12, 2013, Core Contents Media announced a sub-group called T-ara N4. The members were Jiyeon, Eunjung, Hyomin, and Areum. The group's first song, "Jeon Won Diary," was inspired by a 1980s drama TV show. It is a "funky and intense" dance song with hip-hop elements. T-ara N4 released the song, an extended play (EP) of the same name, and a music video on April 29, 2013.
QBS
A Japanese sub-group called QBS was announced in May 2013. The members were Qri, Boram, and Soyeon. QBS focused on the Japanese music market. They released their first single "Kaze no You ni" on June 26, 2013. QBS held a live show in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, on June 10, 2013. At the show, the group performed "Kaze no Yō ni."
T-ara in Commercials
In October 2009, the group signed a contract to make a commercial for Nonghyup Apples. They made the song "Apple Song" for the commercial. In 2010, the group modeled for Mentholatum Korea, Tedin Water Parks, and Olympus cameras. T-ara was chosen to model for Tedin Waterpark again in 2011.
In 2011, T-ara appeared in commercials for Spris, iRiver, Windysoft, Look Optical, Shin Ramyun, and Crown Mountain. T-ara also started their own café franchise called Cafe Page One. The name came from the cafe that Eunjung's character ran in the drama Coffee House. T-ara members were there to greet customers when it opened on July 1, 2011. That same year, T-ara became models for the cosmetics brand Tony Moly in South Korea, China, Japan, and other Asian countries. T-ara also signed a contract with the online shopping mall Hi-Mart.
In February 2012, T-ara became models for the Brilliant Chicken franchise.
In early 2015, T-ara signed a USD 1 million contract with the Chinese clothing brand Celucasn. In November, T-ara made a Chinese version of "Cry Cry" to be the theme song for the game "World of Warships." The group also became the face of the mobile game "Dream of the Three Kingdoms." In the same month, T-ara became brand ambassadors for the partnership between Hankyung Media Group and Sina Weibo.
In 2016, the group became brand ambassadors in Vietnam for Pantech Korea.
Helping Others
T-ara held a charity event on December 14, 2013, at Cafenne, a cafe run by Eunjung's mother. They sold their old clothing, stage costumes, and items from other artists. T-ara raised 12.5 million won (about USD 12,000) from the sale. They donated this money to the "Hope Windmill" campaign organized by the Red Cross. T-ara said, "We are able to end the year with a warm heart thanks to the many people who took part in the charity event."
T-ara Albums
Studio Albums
- Absolute First Album (2009)
- Jewelry Box (2012)
- Treasure Box (2013)
- Gossip Girls (2014)
T-ara Concerts
| Year | Name | City |
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| 2012 | T-ara 1st Lovey Dovey Roly Poly Live in Bangkok | Bangkok |
| T-ara 1st Showcase in Hong Kong organized by Star Studio Limited | Hong Kong | |
| T-ara Showcase in Kuala Lumpur | Kuala Lumpur | |
| 2013 | It's T-ara Time 2013 in Hong Kong organized by Star Studio Limited | Hong Kong |
| T-ara Showcase in Beijing | Beijing | |
| T-ara's On Air in Guangzhou | Guangzhou | |
| 2014 | T-ara's On Air in Chengdu | Chengdu |
| T-ara & Speed Concert in Phnom Penh | Phnom Penh | |
| Dear My Family in Seoul | Seoul | |
| Shanghai Concert Tour Greeting | Shanghai | |
| 2016 | T-ara & MIC Yuefan FPlus Mini Concert in Beijing | Beijing |
| T-ara Premium Live in Japan - 11 September 2016 | Tokyo - Tokyo Dome City Hall | |
| 2017 | T-ARA LIVE IN TAIPEI 13 May | Taipei, Taiwan |
| T-ARA Concert Vietnam 2017 (25th Anniversary Vietnam - Korea) | Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam |
Tours
| Year | Tour | City |
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| 2011 | T-ara X'mas Premium Live | Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka |
| 2012 | T-ara Japan Tour 2012: Jewelry Box | Tokyo, Sapporo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka |
| 2013 | T-ara Japan Showcase "Banisuta" | Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya |
| T-ara Japan Tour 2013: Treasure Box | Tokyo, Sapporo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka | |
| 2015 | T-ara Great China Tour | Nanjing, Beijing, Hefei, Guangzhou, and Shanghai |
Books About T-ara
- Sparkle (2012) Tokyo: Gentosha, 2012. ISBN: 978-4344021594.
- T-ara Private Book (2013) Tokyo: Kodansha, 2013. ISBN: 978-4062182201.
Music Videos and Television Shows
Awards and Nominations
Images for kids
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T-ara performing in Hanoi, Vietnam in November 2012
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T-ara on stage during the launch ceremony for Team Korea on September 11, 2014, in Seoul
See also
In Spanish: T-ara para niños
