Why So Lonely

"Why So Lonely" was written by Wonder Girls members Hyelim, Sunmi, and Yubin, with songwriter Hong Ji-sang. It is the first Wonder Girls single not written by JYP Entertainment producer Park Jin-young, and marks their tenth anniversary as a group.[1][2] After the release of the group's album Reboot in 2015, Park told them they were ready to write their own single.[3] Yeeun said they tried to write a song that can "really benefit from being played live as a band", because their previous release did not meet their expectations. The reggae genre was chosen after the members voted on various options, and they were also influenced by British singer Lily Allen.[1][2] Unlike Reboot, which had hired instrumentalists, the members actually played their instruments on the tracks, completing their transition from a dance-oriented girl group to a real band.[2][3]

"Why So Lonely" was described as a slow tempo, reggae-pop dance song with "soft guitar riffs and steel drum rhythm".[2][3] Hyelim said the lyrics "are about the lonely feeling after a romantic relationship, material that many people can sympathize with".[3] The original chorus had a modern rock feel before Park advised the group to make it more reggae like the verses.[2] "To the Beautiful You" was written by Sunmi, Yubin, and Hyelim, with songwriter Frants, who also co-wrote three songs on Reboot. It is an uptempo track featuring digital and analog sounds, and is inspired by 1970s music.[4]

Wonder Girls performing at the launch ceremony for the South Korean Olympic team on July 19, 2016

In order to promote the single, JYP Entertainment released teaser pictures of each member on the company's official Twitter account in June 2016, showing the members venturing off to a 1970s concept.[5][6] "To the Beautiful You" was released exclusively on limited edition vinyl at the 6th Seoul Record & CD Fair on June 18, selling all 500 copies in less than two hours.[4][7] One day before the single's release, the track list was revealed, showing that the members had written and composed each track, including the title track.[3]

On July 4, Wonder Girls had a live premiere on Naver's V app at 11:30 pm KST, thirty minutes before the single was released at midnight on July 5. During the live broadcast, they performed all three songs from the single with the members playing their respective instruments.[8] The single was then promoted with a series of televised live performances on South Korean music programs, starting with Mnet's M! Countdown on July 7.[6] Before the single's release, KBS had banned "Sweet & Easy" from broadcast because the lyrics mention a brand name, considered "inappropriate for the national telecast".[9][10]

On July 12, Wonder Girls performed the dance version of "Why So Lonely" for the first time on SBS MTV's The Show, winning the trophy for that week. This was their first win on a music program since the release of "Like This" in 2012.[11] They subsequently won awards on M! Countdown and Inkigayo.[12][13] The group performed the song at the launch ceremony for the South Korean Olympic team on July 19.[14] On August 5, they won a fourth music show award on Music Bank, even though they had finished promotions for the song and did not perform.[15]

"Why So Lonely" received positive reviews from music critics. Mike Wass, writing for Idolator, said the single's reggae sound was a "major sound overhaul" and worked to "surprisingly great effect". He also said the song "shouldn't work at all, but it's actually one of the group's catchiest efforts to date".[19] Jeff Benjamin of Fuse noted the song's 1970s-inspired rock band concept and reggae-rock sound, and said "the surging guitar riffs mixed with Wailers- and Sublime-like ska beats give the track a classic-rock vibe that the ladies successfully pull off".[16] Hwang Sun-up of online magazine IZM gave the song three-and-a-half out of five stars.[20] Billboard named "Why So Lonely" the second best K-Pop song of 2016, calling the band "throwback queens" and stating they were able to conquer "another musical era" while "touching listeners' emotions."[21] Additionally, Dazed named the track the fourth best K-Pop song of 2016.[22]

"Why So Lonely" was a commercial success in South Korea, topping the Gaon Digital Chart and selling 271,333 digital units in its first week of release. "To the Beautiful You" and "Sweet & Easy" also charted, at numbers 30 and 41, respectively.[23][24] The CD single charted at number three on the Gaon Album Chart.[25] In the United States, "Why So Lonely" charted at number five on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart, while "To the Beautiful You" was number 16 and "Sweet & Easy" was number 17.[26]

• Yubin – vocals, drums
• Yeeun – vocals, keyboard
• Sunmi – vocals, bass guitar
• Hyelim – vocals, guitar

• "Why So Lonely" music video on YouTube