(G)I-dle Are 'Standing Out' With Their Self-Produced Sound And Defining It On Their Own Terms

By Taylor Glasby


Before the recent release of their fourth single — the lyrically sagacious, '90s hip-hop-soaked "Uh-Oh" — the six members of the multinational K-pop sort (G)I-DLE felt the prickly onslaught of nerves. Not that this was new; according to Beijing-born vocalist Yuqi, 19, they get nervous before every drop of new material. Their way through it is by communicating together. A lot. Not just before a comeback yet "almost daily if we have time," says Thai vocalist Minnie, in English language. "Maybe not all six of us daily, maybe just two or three, however we’ll habitually talk."


"We often encourage each other before a stage," Yuqi elaborates, also in English, her long, diamante earrings repeatedly catching the light. "We’ll have a pep talk." She’s an animated speaker, hands fluidly mapping out the rhythm of her words. The group’s leader, rapper and songwriter, Soyeon, 20, and Minnie, 21, also share this habit, and the latter’s thin metal bangles collide as she talks, filling this beige, windowless room deep indoors Madison Square Garden with tiny, bright spirals of noise.


Members Shuhua, Yuqi, Soyeon, Soojin, Miyeon, and Minnie at KCON New York on July 7, 2019


This isn’t their first trip to New York City — they made a fleeting stop last summer for a 3-song showcase — nevertheless as they step confidently onto the stage at KCON to the noisy adoration of thousands, it’s easy to be able to see how far they’ve come in just per year since their debut. Each of (G)I-DLE has their own ultra-distinctive presence: Minnie is basically Amazonian, all lithe strength and power; Soojin, 21, oozes a sexy playfulness; Miyeon, 22, is coolly composed; Taiwanese Shuhua's, 19, etherealness is punctuated by cheeky, knowing glances; Yuqi has a feisty, fighting spirit; and Soyeon's compelling energy (which saw her effortlessly take down opponents on the 2016 season of Korean hip-hop survival show, Unpretty Rapstar) ignites every move and word.


Their KCON efficiency consists of "Uh-Oh," "LATATA," "HANN," and "Senorita," all of which have been penned by Soyeon (alongside some legendary Korean producers, including Big Sancho). She's written for other idols (CLC, JBJ, SHINee’s Key) and penned four of the five tracks on (G)I-DLE's second EP, I Am, with Minnie composing its final track, "Blow Your Mind."


Yet Soyeon had been given songwriting classes whenever she was a trainee, she never intended to be the group's primary songwriter. "At first, I really didn't know I'd be writing these songs," she recalls. However our debut was getting delayed because we didn’t have a song. So that's Whenever I thought, I should write our song, and began writing a title track."


"Because I was a rapper, I'd only written lyrics and verses," she continues. "I began putting on the beats and melody, then I took a MIDI class and stuff." Nevertheless she generally seems to have been undaunted by the task in this instance, it doesn’t lessen the enormity of the scenario — that the reception to, and even the fate of, her categorize lay in her hands. "I routinely have pressure," she concedes with a tiny laugh and smile, nevertheless her arms fold protectively over her body, "because it’s not a solo song — it’s for the team."


The members are her muses. "She habitually says my voice inspires her," says Minnie, who was the main influence for "LATATA." "I think she is aware my voice better than me! She understands how to put it in a way that sounds good. She's like..." She pauses. A mind reader? Minnie laughs. "Yeah, a mind reader."


"I typically have more than a few conversations with Soyeon," says Miyeon softly. Soyeon says, smiling at her: “For some songs, I write with inspiration coming only from Miyeon. I get it in various characteristic yet mostly from the powerful, emotional parts of her.”


Shuhua believes it's her image and her vibe that assists the spark Soyeon’s creativity, yet for Yuqi, it's in reverse around; she doesn't think she inspires their leader as much as Soyeon inspires her. "I prefer to just believe in her. She's done everything so fast so, from my point of view, whichever parts she gives me, I attempt to do my best with. I think that trust works for me."


"She’s been seeing me since trainee period, so she is aware what fits me the perfect, and she writes me that part," says Soojin, glancing over at her bandmate, who nods. "Soojin has a really pretty voice," Soyeon says, "so I some days make her do pretty songs. Although I also know she expresses sexy well, so I attempt to give her parts like that, too."


Their label, CUBE Entertainment, recently gave them their own studio and the ladies can be noticed ducking in to check on progress. "Soyeon lets us listen to a sample or perhaps the hook and asks us if it's OK, then she'll continue writing," says Minnie. Nevertheless Soyeon isn’t one to sit around writing fragments of songs and tucking them away onto hard drives that gather dust on a shelf. "I've written so several raps," Soyeon points out, “but for the team, I write songs for an album. I don't really have made songs [lying around]. I'm more like, While I write it, I publish it."


The songs are steeped in their very essence — a girl’s detailed, internal home of resembles that is constantly being damaged, assessed, understood, and remade, where one fashion or sound is never enough to resemble who they really are. And thus (G)I-DLE are the enticing tropical beats and coy fingersnaps of "LATATA" and the ominous, warning whistled hook of "HANN." They’re also the pensive harmonies and slow throb of bass on the R&B-infused ballad "Put It Straight," the whimsical words painted over the residence music of "What’s In Your Residence and even the tango of "Senorita." Their lyrics push back, they beckon. They can be bored nonchalance or sharpening desire.


Soyeon sees their self-produced sound as a "perk," since "knowing our members better than any [external] songwriter means we know what we can do best." There really are several well known female idol songwriters (such as Miryo, LE, Sunmi), nevertheless they're primarily from an older generation of idols. Unsurprisingly, they're not often spoken about with the same reverence, or perhaps in the same breath, as male idol writers like Zico or G-Dragon.


Ask (G)I-DLE if they feel like their status as a women, self-producing order is pushing forward or laying new ground for their generation and so they exchange unsure looks, then laugh at each other's expressions. "I guess... Not really," says Minnie slowly. "The strength of our categorize is that we make our own songs and we put our advice into the concepts and everything, yet we just aspire to do something that suits us. We aspire to show who we are as best we can, and why we can perform."


Although Soyeon said in a 2018 interview that she was keen for (G)I-DLE not "to be like other idol groups in Korea," she takes a moment right now to fancy and mention that "rather than being different from other groups in a certain way, we’d like to have our own color. Like, [someone saying] 'Oh, this song must be (G)I-DLE.' It's not being different, it's about standing out," she says seriously.


Nevertheless much they downplay their role, (G)I-DLE are already a significant addition to the pop landscape. Soyeon's shy, slightly embarrassed smile indicates she’s still coming to terms with that line of thought, admitting that winning over a dozen awards in their first year stunned her. "We used to mention our first objective was 'the best rookie award' and once we actually got it, it was beyond belief she says. Minnie adds: "We didn’t really know up until we derived the rookie awards. That’s once we realized, oh, maybe we can do something. However even right now we're still just trying harder [as a group]."


Their impressive begin (118 million views for "LATATA," 64 million for its follow-up “HANN”) is no small burden on the order who are expected to not only preserve their success although continue growing. "The president of CUBE habitually says, 'If you stop right now, there’s no spotlight later,'" says Soojin. It honestly sounds terrifying. They laugh, even as they nod in agreement.


Although Yuqi understands there’s a middle ground to be struck and she wants to have fun in the process. "Of course, every time we’re successful, and then the next time everybody will have even more expectations for us — like, what will their next color be, what will their fashion be? As an alternative opposed to getting pressured, we can like it, we just do what we wish to do. We show who and what (G)I-DLE is — that's the only objective for us."