On August 6, 2014, it was revealed that the group would be returning with a new album the following month, with their label later confirming a mid-September release date.[3][4] The title track, "Sugar Free", is an electronic dance music (EDM)-inspired song of the big room genre and was produced by Shinsadong Tiger, who had worked with the group on previous releases including "Roly-Poly", "Lovey-Dovey", and "Number 9", and Beom & Nang.[5][6] Core Contents Media released a stand-alone single of "Sugar-Free" on September 24, 2014. The stand-alone single featured the "BigRoom Version" of Sugar-Free as well as various remixes of the single. The "BigRoom Version" was promoted as the primary version of "Sugar Free" and released to media outlets and radio.
EDM Club Sugar Free Edition
EDM Club Sugar Free Edition is the second remix album by South Korean girl group T-ara, which was released on September 24, 2014.[7] The album consisted of a total of 18 tracks; all remixes of "Sugar Free" in Korean and English. The original version of the song featuring LE of EXID was also included on the album.
On October 9, a representative of T-ara said, "We only released a limited edition of the EDM Edition album of 7,000 copies, but fans in Southeast Asia Ordered nearly 20,000 copies. We are very surprised and grateful for the interest of the fans, as this album was planned to be a limited release only, we decided not to release any more."[8]
Reception
Critical reception
"Sugar Free" received generally positive reviews. Scott Interrante of PopMatters praised the song's synths use and the "saccharine and overly processed" vocals "Sugar-Free is as good as one could hope it to be".[9] "ORGR", a side-track from the EP was chosen as the 10th best T-ARA song by NME describing it as ahead of its time for its infusion of dance-pop, nu-disco and electropop which "pair beautifully with T-ARA’s vocal range and soulful tones". "Sugar Free" ranked at No. 7 on the same list highlighting its success at becoming a staple in clubs all over Asia.[10]
Commercial performance
And & End debuted at number two on the Gaon Album Chart for the week of September 7, 2014.[11] In the United States, the album debuted at number 12 on the Billboard World Albums chart. As of December 2014, the album has sold 20,677 copies.[12] On May 19, 2016, YinYueTai announced Top 15 MVs with the most views on YinYueTai. In this list,[13] T-ara ranked first and second with two music videos " Number Nine " (133 million views) and "Sugar Free" (122.8 million views).[14]
In popular culture
On February 5, 2016, "Sugar Free" (Big Room Ver.) was added to Japanese game NEON FM's playlist as well as Pump It Up Prime 2's song list in 2014 and later again in 2016.[15]
^ ab2014년 38주차 Album Chart [Week 38 of 2014 Album Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on November 13, 2014. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
^ ab2014년 Album Chart [2014 Album Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on January 14, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
