"Why Are You Being Like This?" () (also translated as "What's Wrong?") is a single recorded by South Korean girl group

T-ara T-ara (; ) is a South Korean girl group formed in 2009, currently consisting of four members: Qri, Hahm Eun-jung, Eunjung, Hyomin, and Park Ji-yeon, Jiyeon. T-ara's career is marked by Hook (music), hook-heavy dance-pop music, a result of their ...

, released on November 23, 2010. It was later re-released under the group's first

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

Temptastic ''Temptastic'' is the debut extended play by the South Korean girl group T-ara. It was released on December 1, 2010, through digital retailers by Core Contents Media. The EP marked the first appearance of the group's seventh member, Ryu Hwayoung. ...

''. The song peaked at number four on the

Gaon Chart Gaon may refer to * Gaon (Hebrew), a non-formal title given to certain Jewish Rabbis ** Geonim, presidents of the two great Talmudic Academies of Sura and Pumbedita ** Vilna Gaon, known as ''the'' Gaon of Vilnius * Gaon Music Chart, record cha ...

, marking T-ara's ninth top-ten entry. It ranked as one of the best-selling singles of 2010, amassing over 1.7 million downloads.

Background and release

Concept photos promoting the single were released on November 22, 2010. "Why Are You Being Like This?" was released as the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

for ''

'' on November 23, 2010. The single is the group's first release to feature their newly added seventh member, Hwayoung. The choreography was done by Yama & Hotchicks, who choreographed some of T-ara's previous hits, including "

Bo Peep Bo Peep "Bo Peep Bo Peep" is a song by South Korean girl group T-ara. It is the lead track from the album ''Absolute First Album''. The song won 5 weekly number one awards on KBS '' Music Bank'' and SBS ''Inkigayo''. It was later re-recorded in Japane ...

" and " I Go Crazy Because of You". T-ara revealed that they personally requested their close friend and fellow agency artist

Yangpa Lee Eun-jin (; born March 17, 1979), better known by her stage name Yangpa (, lit. ''Onion''), is a South Korean singer. She debuted in 1996 with the hit single "Novice's Love." History 1990s Yangpa debuted in 1996 with the album ''Novice's Lo ...

to write the lyrics, and she gladly contributed to the project. On October 10, 2012, "Why Are You Being Like This" was featured on T-ara's first

greatest hits album A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

, '' T-ara's Best of Best 2009–2012: Korean ver'' along with its music video on the DVD set. It was also recorded in Japanese and released on June 6, 2012, on the group's second Japanese album ''

Jewelry Box Jewelry Box may refer to: * ''Jewelry Box'' (Shizuka Kudo album), 2002 * ''Jewelry Box'' (T-ara album), 2012 See also * Casket (decorative box) A casket is a decorative box or container that is usually smaller than a chest and is typically ...

.''

Composition

Written by label-mate

and produced by Kim Do-hoon and Lee Sang-ho, the song contains influences from

1980s File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 335px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Space Shuttle Columbia, Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union, Soviet General Secretary of the Communist Party of ...

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s ...

and features the use of an electric guitar in the instrumental.

Music video

Unlike T-ara's previous releases, "Why Are You Being Like This?" has no teaser. The song's official music video premiered on November 23, 2010, the same day as the single's release, on South Korean media player

GOMTV GOM Player is a media player for Microsoft Windows, developed by GOM & Company. With more than 100 million downloads, it is also known as the most used player in South Korea. Its main features include the ability to play some broken media files ...

. The director of the video was Lee Dae-jin. It wasn't until November 26, 2013, that the music video was officially released on YouTube, licensed by

1thek Kakao M Corp. (; formerly Seoul Records, YBM Seoul Records and LOEN Entertainment) was a South Korean entertainment company established by Min Yeong-bin in 1978. It was one of the largest co-publisher companies in South Korea. The company opera ...

Promotion and live performances

T-ara began promotions for their "Why Are You Being Like This?" on December 3, 2010, on

KBS The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS; ) is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters under the government of South Korea. The KBS operates seven radio net ...

's ''

Music Bank ''Music Bank'' () is a South Korean music program which airs every Friday at 17:15 KST on KBS2. the show is also broadcast in more than a hundred countries through KBS World. Episodes are filmed at the KBS New Wing Open Hall in Yeouido-dong, Ye ...

''. However, due to the chosen outfits for the song not meeting KBS's dress code regulations, the group's company

Core Contents Media MBK Entertainment () was a South Korean entertainment company established by Kim Kwang-soo. MBK Entertainment is known for managing multiple successful K-pop artists, such as T-ara, DIA, Davichi, SeeYa, F-ve Dolls, Shannon, Coed School, and S ...

, had to buy additional leggings at the last minute. A similar issue was raised following their performance on December 11, 2010. The group delivered a special

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

-themed stage on MBC's ''

Show! Music Core ''Show! Music Core'' (), or simply ''Music Core'' is a South Korean music television program broadcast by MBC. It airs live every Saturday at 15:30 (KST). The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform live on stage. I ...

'', on December 25, 2010. The performance was well-received by the audience for the group's charm, elegance, and energetic presence, complemented by personalized outfits that added a unique touch to the stage.

Reception

Commercial performance

"Why Are You Being Like This?" peaked at number four on

Gaon chart Gaon may refer to * Gaon (Hebrew), a non-formal title given to certain Jewish Rabbis ** Geonim, presidents of the two great Talmudic Academies of Sura and Pumbedita ** Vilna Gaon, known as ''the'' Gaon of Vilnius * Gaon Music Chart, record cha ...

and charted for 15 weeks. It also debuted at number two on the download chart. Despite being released in late November, the song was placed at number 77 on Gaon annual digital chart and was one of the best-selling singles of 2010 over 1.7 million downloads. The song received a music show win on ''

M Countdown ''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet from the CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. It features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. First hosted by Leeteuk ...

'', dated December 9, 2010.

Critical reception

In 2017, Jeff Benjamin of ''

SBS PopAsia SBS PopAsia is an Australian digital radio station that broadcasts music, most notably from East Asia and Southeast Asia, on digital radio, online and on mobile devices. The station originated as a two-hour segment on SBS youth radio programme ...

Background and release

Composition

Music video

Promotion and live performances

Reception

Commercial performance

Critical reception

Awards and nominations

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References