I-DLE (or (G)I-DLE) has been unique for a K-pop girl group since their debut in 2018, both by being mainly self-produced and by not having a consistent genre. Over the years they’ve dipped their toes into tropical Moombahton, trap, traditional Chinese balladry, tango (Señorita), and hip-hop, just to name a few. They’ve sung in Korean, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, and English, with the members themselves (Soyeon, Minnie, Miyeon, Yuqi, Shuhua, and former member Soojin, who left in 2021) representing four countries. 

Here are my credentials: I’ve been a casual fan of I-DLE since around 2020 and a Neverland since “I Burn” came out, so I’ve been looking forward to this deep dive for a while. But I’m excited to go back through their work and see what I find with a sharper eye than I usually have. Let’s get into it!

EP #1: I Am

They debuted in 2018 with the song Latata, which immediately established a self-assured, catchy tone that stands apart from the other girl-crush of its era with its reggae and moombahton influences and more muted delivery. Time for a confession: I never got the hype around this one. Maybe it’s that it was overplayed or treated like the second coming of Christ, but it just never clicked with me the way their other tracks did. Because of that, my enjoyment of it is a bit muted, though I can still acknowledge that it’s a pretty good song. 

From the EP, I AM, my hidden gem was Hear Me, and especially Miyeon’s high part, which feels like floating. Though I enjoy the songs from this album, they don’t quite have a (G)I-DLE feel to them yet. Besides HANN, I feel as though other groups could have recorded those songs and while it wouldn’t have been the same, it wouldn’t have felt “wrong” to me, which definitely isn’t the case with their later work at all. 

Single #1: HANN

HANN, in my opinion, is where (G)I-DLE truly begins what would define them, building from the confidence of Latata and turning this song into a coldly angry, almost bored in its nonchalance, break-up song that doesn’t waste any time establishing that this is the end. With its unique whistling hook, minimalistic, almost Wild-West-esque production, and sharp percussion, it’s an early standout in their work.

Ep #2: I Want

Señorita follows the trend of confident nonchalance, but pairs it with a delightfully colorful and dramatic music video and, fittingly for its name, a brassy hook that pulls from flamenco and tango and castanets in the more stripped-back verses. There’s even the interpolation of a man’s voice (Brazilian actor Carlos Gorito) calling back “Señorita!” in the post-chorus. It ends in a somewhat unsatisfying way for such a good song, unfortunately, with the simple vocalizing and only two choruses.

From the EP, I Made, Put It Straight is a definite stand-out, with its slowly rising anger and the Nightmare Version’s absolutely terrifying and furious delivery; the Queendom stage elevates these horror elements even more. I think it was Soyeon who said it was for a woman that everyone called crazy, but who was truly just heartbroken. Blow Your Mind is also pretty good, and marks the first song that Minnie is credited with writing; plus, the self-directed MV of them having fun was pretty nice to see.

Single #2: Uh-Oh

Uh-Oh is up next, and was written by Soyeon as a response to all the people who believed she would never become an idol because she “wasn’t pretty enough”. It goes for a bouncy feel, and is firmly in the realm of retro hip-hop, more specifically a subgenre known as “boom bap”, that features a snare drum and a kick-snare mix. Though hip-hop (and many of the genres (G)I-DLE’s used) is common in many k-pop songs, they go more in depth with the sound, and as a result I enjoy this song way more than I thought I would. Especially the outro, which I couldn’t help but sing along to.

Ep #3: I Trust

After this begins a mostly darker turn in their music, starting with Lion. Lion defies all of (G)I-DLE’s pitfalls completely, and is one of the best songs in their entire discography: it’s fierce, unapologetic, and loud, and also damn catchy. It’s rare that K-pop girl groups get to be justifiably angry and this song pulls it off so well! Hats off. It incorporates a heartbeat-like drumline that, while slight, is enough to . And while I often complain about raps feeling superfluous, the rap here is nothing short of perfection. I always feel so inspired and empowered whenever I hear it. God, I love this song!

Oh My God is the other single from this EP, and though I’ve described their other tracks as minimalistic, they have nothing on this one. With a dark, trappy beat, imagery that oscillates between heaven and hell, and an extremely controversial “oh my god, she takes me to the sky”, this song doesn’t pull its punches. Though it does go for an anti-drop chorus, I honestly don’t mind it here as it feels right for the song and intentional, though it does mean I enjoy it less.

While both of these title tracks are great, the rest of the album is a little forgettable. It’s the only one where I don’t have a hidden gem. 

Single #3: DumDi DumDi

I’m The Trend is a special clip, like Blow Your Mind, and is another nice break after Lion and Oh My God. As a celebration of their careers, it name-drops most of their titles and other popular tracks in its chorus to quite a funny effect, and though it’s not up there with their best, it’s absolutely a fun time and got a few chuckles out of me.

DUMDI DUMDI breaks (G)I-DLE’s trend of darker singles, with a peppy summer track that draws from moombahton, some Latin Pop, and tropical drum beats. It, like I’m The Trend, is a fun time, and incorporates a whistling hook (though to the exact opposite effect of HANN). I think that, like Party by SNSD, it gets a bit overshadowed by the rest of their discography being lighter and fluffier. As in, I’m not going to search for it but I’m gonna sing along when it comes up on shuffle. 

EP #4: I Burn

We now reach the song that made me a (G)I-DLE fan. HWAA draws from Chinese balladry and synths with traditional strings and is evocative, consistent, beautiful, and on top of that, tells an empowering and relatable story of getting over a toxic relationship, picking up where HANN left off. As mentioned, I used this song as inspiration for an art project and for good reason: the MV is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen, using the imagery of splintering ice, blooming flowers, and blazing fire, to great and dramatic effect. Also, its Chinese version was the first song I learned in Mandarin!

From the EP, I Burn, I honestly couldn’t choose a hidden gem. HANN: Alone In Winter’s beautiful and tense strings and Where Is Love’s emotional appeals are total standouts, but Moon’s interesting instrumental, Lost’s dark synths, and Dahlia’s sweet lyrics of hope are strong contenders too. This is (G)I-DLE at their best, and it’s no coincidence that around then is when members Yuqi and Minnie started writing, composing, and scoring with Soyeon, rounding out the albums with cohesive but still different enough songs. Did I write this entire review just for an excuse to rhapsodize about “I Burn”? Possibly.

Well, that’s where we’ll end Part 1 for this week! Stay tuned for Part Two!