T-ARA Becomes John Travolta Wannabes for “Roly Poly”
Bubbling up as the girl group with addictive, dance-along singles, T-ARA solidified themselves as hit-making K-Pop princesses with the career-defining “Roly Poly.”
For their second mini-album, the seven members of T-ARA channeled the likes of John Travolta, tearing up the dance floor in the ‘70s movie Saturday Night Fever. The disco-inspired single “Roly Poly” dropped on June 28, 2011 and proved to be even more dance-worthy than the group’s previous earworm hit “Bo Peep Bo Peep.” The song became a defining moment for the group and set the tone for the addictive electro sound that would characterize their follow up releases.
T-ARA reunited with the renowned songwriter Choi Kyusang and producer Shinsadong Tiger, both of whom boast numerous chart toppers with the likes of 4Minute, BEAST, Apink, VIXX, SISTAR, TWICE, and EXID. The two concocted “Roly Poly” using a bouncy bass line, warpy synths, electric piano chords, and a bridge of violins under T-ARA’s high-pitched vocals that mimicked the singing style of the Bee Gees. Mixing the electronic sound of the 2010s with inspirations from ‘70s-’80s music, T-ARA set out to make a “national song” that would be enjoyable for both young and old listeners.
In the music video, the members of T-ARA came to life in the memories of a woman played by Im Yejin, who was a popular teen actress in the 1970s. She finds washed out pictures of her “younger self” tucked away in scrapbooks and turns on a home video that plays out T-ARA’s night of fun as ‘70s disco club hoppers. The members giggle about the cute DJ played by actor Jeon Youngrok, who’s also the father of the group’s vocalist Boram. They teach each other new dance moves in the bathroom before strutting onto a flashing dance floor to recreate John Travolta’s Saturday Night Fever moves. After leading the crowd in a perfectly synced line dance, the credits roll as more washed out pictures of the members play out to a song about treasuring memories and friendships.
T-ARA turned the stage at Music Bank into their own disco club for their comeback on July 1, 2011. They were joined by a dozen backup dancers who performed on a circle-shaped catwalk that surrounded the crowd, while fans sang along under a glimmering disco ball. Even among the bright pink stage lights and many dancers, T-ARA stood out in vibrant high-waisted pants, colorful hair accessories, and layered stripes and polka dots that matched the flashy fashions of the disco era.
Despite battling against established artists like 2NE1 and 2PM from top companies, as well as the soundtrack for the wildly popular variety show Infinite Challenge, T-ARA peaked at No. 2 with “Roly Poly'' on the Gaon Chart (now known as the Circle Digital Chart) and maintained positions in the top ten for five weeks. With the song’s sustaining popularity, the group released a more ‘80s inspired version called “Roly-Poly in Copacabana,” named after a popular nightclub in New York City. This time taking on the persona of school girls enjoying summer vacation, the members stretched their music show promotions for another month and took home three awards.
Two months after the original release of “Roly Poly,” the track raked in more than $2 million in sales, topping IU’s “Good Day” as the highest selling single of 2011. T-ARA swept the year end charts, topping the MelOn Comprehensive Chart and Download Chart along with the Gaon Chart. During award show season, the members celebrated their first “Bonsang Award” and “Record of the Year in Digital Release” at the Seoul Music Awards, along with one of 12 “Singer of the Year” awards at the Gaon Chart Music Awards and “Best Music Video” at the MelOn Music Awards.
T-ARA kept up the momentum on their popularity by quickly releasing their next single “Cry Cry” in November 2011 and following up with “Lovey Dovey” in January 2012, both topping the Gaon Chart and landing in the top 10 of the Billboard World Digital Song Sales Chart. Unfortunately their exploding popularity was stifled by rumors that former member Hwayoung was bullied by the rest of the group. Five years later, it was revealed that Hwayoung was disrespectful to the other members and staff, with her sister even threatening the group’s vocalist Areum with physical harm, but by then the remaining members of T-ARA decided to go on hiatus after releasing one last single.
After three years of focusing on solo and acting endeavors, members Qri, Eunjung, Hyomin, and Jiyeon reunited for the YouTube variety show MMTG to give a nostalgic performance of “Roly Poly” and “Sexy Love.” In November 2021, they made their first group comeback in four years with “Tiki Taka” for the project Re: T-ARA to celebrate their 12 year anniversary.