"Tail" (; stylized in

all caps In typography, text or font in all caps (short for "all capitals") contains capital letters without any lowercase letters. For example: All-caps text can be seen in legal documents, advertisements, newspaper headlines, and the titles on book co ...

) is a song by South Korean singer and songwriter

Sunmi Lee Sun-mi (; born Sun Mi, May 2, 1992), known mononymously as Sunmi, is a South Korean singer, dancer, songwriter and record producer. She debuted in 2007 as a member of South Korean girl group Wonder Girls and left the group in 2010 to purs ...

. It was released as a standalone

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

on February 23, 2021, through Abyss Company. "Tail" was made available for

digital download Digital download may refer to: *Downloading, the processing of copying data to a computer from an external source *Digital distribution, a method of downloading software or audio-visual media as opposed to buying it at a traditional point of sale * ...

and

streaming Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...

, and includes the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

track "What the Flower". Both recordings were written by Sunmi, with additional production credits handled by Frants on "Tail" and Hong Song-jin on the B-side. The song is also notable for its distinctive choreography. Musically, "Tail" is a

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

and

city pop is a loosely defined form of Japanese pop music that emerged in the late 1970s and peaked in popularity during the 1980s. It was originally termed as an offshoot of Japan's Western-influenced " new music", but came to include a wide range of st ...

song which conveys her instinctive feelings regarding love, similar to how "animals use their tail to express their emotions". Commercially, "Tail" peaked at number 22 on the

Gaon Digital Chart The Circle Digital Chart, previously known as the Gaon Digital Chart, is the music industry standard record chart ranking the 200 most popular singles in South Korea. It provides rankings on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis, which is based on ...

Background and release

On February 2, 2021, Sunmi's agency Makeus Entertainment (now named Abyss Company), stated that Sunmi is preparing to comeback at the end of February with a new release. On February 10, the singer announced the date of the release via Instagram. On February 15, the tracklist of the single was released. Concept photos and videos for both songs were released on February 17 and 18, as well as a track spoiler video the following day. The music video teaser for "Tail" was released on February 22, 2021. The single released digitally on February 23 along with the music video for the title track.

Music and lyrics

Turning 30 this year in Korean age, the new single marked a milestone for Sunmi. "It's my first move taken in my 30s and I feel like I've taken a very daring step forward," she said. The

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

lead single, "Tail" is a

and

song about a "super sensitive cat woman villainess who wants love with all her heart, expressing her deepest instinctive feelings". Sunmi added: "Animals use their tail to express their emotions". The song features a unique sense of rhythm and a catchy melody. "What the Flower" is a soul-infused B-side track with her lush vocals moving nimbly across sparkling

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

work and warm

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

Critical reception

Sofiana Ramli of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' wrote that "the pair of songs work well together, presenting new facades to a beloved veteran performer". Writing for ''

IZM ''IZM'' () is a South Korean online magazine that publishes pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Stre ...

'', Stern stated that "Tail" is a "song that reveals Sunmi's concerns, who don't want to fall into mannerism". The A-side song "Tail" won best song in the official 2021 Miyane fan club awards. In addition, the B Side "What the Flower" won the best B-side award for the same year.

Track listing

Credits

Credits adapted from

Melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. It can also specifically refer to ''Cucumis melo'', commonly known as the "true melon" or simply "melon". The term "melon" can apply to both the p ...

. *

Lee Sun-mi Lee Sun-mi (; born Sun Mi, May 2, 1992), known mononymously as Sunmi, is a South Korean singer, dancer, songwriter and record producer. She debuted in 2007 as a member of South Korean girl group Wonder Girls and left the group in 2010 to pursu ...

vocals, lyrics, composition, arrangement * Frantscomposition, arrangement (1) * Hong So-jincomposition, arrangement (2)

Background and release

Music and lyrics

Critical reception

Track listing

Credits

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly chart

Year-end chart

Release history

References