Why (Taeyeon EP)

Why is the second extended play (EP) by South Korean singer Taeyeon, released by SM Entertainment on June 28, 2016. Lee Soo-man, founder of SM Entertainment, served as the producer of the album. The EP saw the contributions of alternative R&B singer Dean and Taeyeon's fellow Girls' Generation member Hyoyeon. Musically, Why incorporates various genres including EDM, R&B, and pop.

Why
Digital cover artwork
EP by
Taeyeon
ReleasedJune 28, 2016 (2016-06-28)
Genre
Length23:13
LanguageKorean
Label
ProducerLee Soo-man, LDN Noise
Taeyeon chronology
I
(2015)		 Why
(2016)		 My Voice
(2017)
Singles from Why
  1. "Starlight"
    Released: June 25, 2016
  2. "Why"
    Released: June 28, 2016

To promote the EP, Taeyeon performed on three music programs, Music Bank, Show! Music Core, and Inkigayo from July 1–3, 2016. She further embarked on her first concert tour Butterfly Kiss, which visited Seoul and Busan in July and August 2016. Upon its release, Why received generally positive reviews from media outlets, who were favorable towards the EP's diverse musical styles and Taeyeon's vocals.

The EP was a commercial success in South Korea, peaking atop the Gaon Album Chart and has sold over 110,000 physical copies in the country. It also fared well in Taiwan, charting at number two on the G-Music chart and became the second best-selling release by a South Korean artist of 2016 in the country. The EP additionally charted at numbers thirty and two on the Japanese Oricon chart and the US Billboard World Albums, respectively. Two singles from Why, "Starlight" featuring Dean and "Why" also fared well commercially, entering the top ten of South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart.

Background and release

On June 17, 2016, Taeyeon was announced to be releasing her second extended play titled Why.[1] On June 20, it was reported that South Korean singer Dean was featured in the album.[2] On June 22, Taeyeon's fellow Girls' Generation member Hyoyeon was revealed to be featured in the track "Up & Down".[3]

Promotion

Taeyeon began performing "Why" on South Korean music television programs on July 1, 2016.[4] Her first concert tour titled "Butterfly Kiss" was held in Seoul and Busan in July and August 2016 respectively.[5]

Singles

The first single from Why, "Starlight", featuring South Korean singer Dean, and its music video were released on June 25, 2016, three days ahead of the album's release.[6] The title track and second single, "Why", and its music video were released together with the album on June 28.[7] A second music video for "Why", featuring the song's choreography, was released on July 7.[8] "Starlight" and "Why" peaked at number 5 and 7 respectively on the South Korean Gaon weekly digital chart.[9]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Korea JoongAng Daily[10]Positive
The Star[11]8/10
The Straits Times[12]

Why received generally positive reviews from media outlets. Lee Seo-jin from Korea JoongAng Daily praised Taeyeon's "addictive" vocal tone and wrote that the EP "proves [Taeyeon]'s potential as a solo artist".[10] Chester Chin from The Star lauded the album's musical styles with "impressive melodies and a general feel-good vibe". He additionally complimented on Taeyeon's vocals and labelled Why as "a super solid" follow-up to her previous extended play I.[11] Gwendolyn Ng writing for The Straits Times was mildly favorable, writing "Lead vocalist Kim slips into soloist mode with ease". However, Ng selected "Up & Down" as the EP's drawback and did not approve of Hyoyeon's contribution, saying "Hyoyeon's abrupt rapping comes in far too early and does not gel with the rest of the melody".[12]

Why debuted at number one on the South Korean Gaon weekly album chart.[13]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Why"Jo Yoon-kyung
  • LDN Noise
  • Lauren Dyson
  • Rodnae "Chikk" Bell
3:27
2."Starlight" (featuring Dean)Lee Seu-ran
  • Jamil "Digi" Chammas
  • Taylor Mckall
  • Tay Jasper
  • Adrian McKinnon
  • Leven Kali
  • Sara Forsberg
  • MZMC
3:43
3."Fashion"Kim In-hyung
  • LDN Noise
  • Marissa Shipp
  • Brittany Mullen
3:12
4."Hands on Me"
  • Yorkie
  • Ryu Woo
3:48
5."Up & Down" (featuring Hyoyeon)
2:53
6."Good Thing"Jung Joo-hee
  • LDN Noise
  • Alice Sophie Penrose
  • Carolyn Jordan
2:57
7."Night"
  • Ryu Woo
  • Yorkie
  • Im Kwang-wook
  • Ryan Kim
  • Chase
  • Amanda Moseley
3:13
Total length:23:13

Charts

Sales
Country Sales
South Korea[22] 112,754
Japan[23] 6,234

Release history
Region Date Format Label Ref.
South Korea June 28, 2016
SM Entertainment [24]
Worldwide Digital download [25]
Taiwan July 22, 2016 CD
  • SM Entertainment
  • Universal Music Taiwan
 [26]
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References
  1. Jo In-woo (June 17, 2016). "여름 걸그룹 대전, 최종보스 등판…태연 28일 컴백" (in Korean). Newsis. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  2. Choi Ji-ye (June 20, 2016). "'솔로컴백' 태연, 'R&B 대세' 딘 피처링 합류" (in Korean). My Daily. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  3. Son Ye-ji (June 22, 2016). "효연, 태연 솔로앨범 피처링 참여…소녀시대 특급의리". Korea Economic Daily (in Korean). Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  4. Lee Kyung-ho (June 22, 2016). "태연, 7월 1일 '뮤뱅'서 신곡 '와이' 무대 첫 공개" (in Korean). Money Today. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  5. Jang Kyung-guk (May 25, 2016). "태연, 첫 단독 콘서트 'TAEYEON, Butterfly Kiss' 개최". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  6. Park So-young (June 24, 2016). "태연, 딘을 만나 ♥에 빠졌다..러블리 듀엣곡 'starlight'" (in Korean). Online Sports and Entertainment News. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  7. Jeon Won (June 23, 2016). "'음원퀸 귀환' 태연, 25일 딘 피처링 '스타라이트' 선공개" (in Korean). My Daily. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  8. Choi Na-young (June 23, 2016). "태연, 주간 음반차트 1위..오늘 'Why' 댄스버전 MV공개" (in Korean). Online Sports and Entertainment News. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  9. "Gaon Digital Chart, June 26-July 2, 2016" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  10. Lee Seo-jin (July 5, 2016). "[New Release] Taeyeon". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  11. Chin, Chester (August 1, 2016). "Review: Why by Taeyeon". The Star. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  12. Ng, Gwendolyn (July 20, 2016). "Hot Tracks". The Straits Times. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  13. "Gaon Album Chart, June 26-July 2, 2016" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  14. "French Digital Albums: Week 26, 2016". June 26, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  15. "Weekly CD Rankings – July 11, 2016" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  16. "Albums Chart – September 9, 2016" (in Chinese). G-Music. Archived from the original on September 22, 2016.
  17. "World Albums, July 16, 2016". Billboard. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  18. "Heetseekers Albums – July 16, 2016". Billboard. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  19. "Independent Albums – July 16, 2016". Billboard. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  20. "Gaon Album Chart of 2016" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on January 13, 2017.
  21. "2016 albums chart" (in Chinese). G-Music. Archived from the original on January 25, 2017.
  22. Sales references for Why in South Korea:
  23. "Oricon Ranking Service 'You Big Tree'" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  24. "Why – The 2nd Mini Album by Taeyeon". Melon. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  25. "Why – The 2nd Mini Album by Taeyeon". iTunes Store. Apple Inc. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  26. "Taeyeon – Why" (in Chinese). Universal Music Taiwan. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
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