Sunmi has shared what inspired her to write ‘Tail,’ the brand-new single she released yesterday (February 23).

During a live-stream press conference for the song’s release, the former Wonder Girls member revealed that she drew inspiration from how “animals use their tails to express their emotions,” per The Korean Herald.

“They’ll shake their tails gently when they’re in a good mood and flick it hard if frustrated. I liked the frankness of this instinctive behavior and the word ‘tail’ just left a huge impact in my mind,” she explained.

The song’s melody, which she created with longtime collaborator and producer Frants, is also similarly inspired by felines. “We focused on making it sound sharp and temperamental like a cat, while placing the animal’s uniquely cynical yet listless traits here and there,” Sunmi said. She noted that some of the beats and guitar riffs were also made to mimic cat-like sounds.

For the dance in the video for ‘Tail’, Sunmi enlisted the help of renowned choreographer Janelle Ginestra, who has worked with the likes of Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez. “I don’t have a tail, so I wanted to illustrate how animals express their emotions with their tails,” she said “I told Janelle to really go bold with it so the animal rawness can really come across. I loved how she made it.”

‘Tail’ is Sunmi’s first release of 2021. Last year, she released solo songs such as ‘Pporappippam’, ‘Borderline’ and ‘Gotta Go’, as well as a duet with J.Y. Park called ‘When We Disco’.