T-ara are a South Korean girl band whose eight-year career peaked at the time K-pop was enjoying the height of its popularity in Japan. During this period the girls signed to the management agency J-Rock for a multimillion dollar sum reported to be the highest signing fee paid for an emerging K-pop act. With a fan base extending throughout Asia the band were hugely popular in both China and Japan as well as in South Korea. With two hit albums and a string of number one singles, the girls were one of the most popular K-pop bands of the period until rumours of internal strife and bullying began to permeate the Asian media and the band's popularity began to wane. A number of the band's issues were played out in a series of TV interviews and magazine features. The group's internal relationships began to take on a soap opera quality which eventually saw two of the key members, Hwayoung and Areum, depart the band amidst accusations of bullying. The controversy stubbornly refused to go away and their management company announced the group's 2017 album 'What's My Name?' would be their final release.
