XG (short for Extraordinary Girls) was formed by the XGALZ Company in late 2019 to be one in a series of “global girl groups”. All seven members—Jurin, Chisa, Cocona, Harvey, Juria, Maya, and Hinata—are Japanese, but they sing in English and promote in Korea, meaning that the jury’s still pretty out on how to classify them. They officially debuted in 2022 and have been making waves since, especially after their Coachella performance in May of 2025.

Here are my credentials: Of course, being a kpop fan, I’ve been hearing about XG for a while, and like a lot of people, Coachella was really what got my interest piqued. Besides that, though, I know almost nothing about them, and thought that this would be a good opportunity to learn more. Let’s get into it!

Single #1: Tippy Toes

Having basically no expectations to start with, I sat back just to observe when Tippy Toes started off with a solidly electropop base and a hushed hook. After two years of doing the blog, I’ve learned that songs that start like this usually go one of two ways: either they build on what they started, and have a hook that ties the whole thing together, or they have an anti-drop that lets it down. It doesn’t quite go for either one; in fact, the song doesn’t go…anywhere. The chorus is both simple and hushed, but the track just continues, as though a big moment happened…off screen somewhere? I have no idea what the thought process was, to be honest with you, but it’s a very odd experience listening to it. It’s not a bad song, but it could so easily be a much better one, and I don’t know why it’s not.

And that’s not even getting into the other issues, from the cringe-worthy AAVE in the lyrics (“gyals”, “keep ya change and ya two cents”, both of which are in the official lyrics) to the weirdly sexual choreography for a group whose oldest members were born in 2002 and thus were twenty when this came out. I’ll be honest, it’s not an auspicious start.

Single #2: Mascara

There’s little I love more than a “girl, that boy isn’t worthy of you, drop him” song, and that’s exactly what Mascara is. Already starting off with a stronger beginning than Tippy Toes, it keeps the rap-heavy verses but goes for a much fuller hook. The pre-chorus especially is great, one of those tracks that sounds its best when screamed in a concert crowd full of teenage girls. I’m a bit more ambivalent about the chorus (though it’s growing on me), and the post-chorus isn’t really my style, but I can appreciate the song as a whole. Not only does it have so much more personality than their debut, but I can distinguish voices better. One of their rappers—who I think is Harvey—has a very unique tone: nasal but with a power to it that’s unusual, and it immediately caught my ear.

My compliments don’t mean that some of the issues (chiefly the AAVE and the slightly uncomfortable dancing) aren’t still here, by the way, but they seem to be lessened here, so I’m really hoping that this is a marker of good things to come.

Single #3: Shooting Star

So, spoiler alert, Mascara was not in fact a marker of good things to come. The first verse of Shooting Star is basically all of the problems I had with their past few songs combined into thirty seconds. And the other verses don’t really make it better. But, neither is this song unsalvageable. In fact, the pre-chorus is really lovely, showcasing XG’s vocals in a way that past songs haven’t. The chorus isn’t quite as sprawling as I’d personally like, but it’s honestly better than I was expecting given the verses. And, finally, we have a choreography and a concept that on the whole is age-appropriate (what an accomplishment, I know). It’s not perfect, but I think it shows that XG does have the potential to keep growing.

From the single, I enjoyed the vocals-driven Left Right.

Single #4: Girl GVNG

I didn’t have high expectations for GIRL GVNG, I’m going to be honest with you. I was expecting some very 2019 kpop girl crush, with iffy lyrics that veer close to cultural appropriation and a lot of lip service paid to women (literally, take a shot every time someone says “me and my girls” “savage” or something to the effect of “we’re so much cooler than you” and you’ll die). And is that what this is? Yes. I’m not going to say that I’m surprised, and I can’t really say I’m disappointed either. There are some parts I enjoy, like, once again, the slow build of the pre-chorus, or a couple clever turns of phrase (“Level so high, you gonna need that ladder”) but on the whole I think I’m fine never listening to it again. Sorry, girls.

Single #5: TGIF

For anyone that doesn’t know, I’m a 2000s child; so, whenever I hear TGIF, I think of Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night”. And this song does nothing to change my mind. Besides the fact that I don’t like the song in general (sorry), there’s so much here that I’m side-eyeing. First, there’s the direct “VVS’s got nothing on me”, which seems destined to start a war between fans of XG and VVS. Maybe there’s some inside joke I’m missing here (if so please let me know) but there was nothing I could find. Then there’s the return of the AAVE in spades: “Moolah”, “I’m fly”, “Off the heezy”—who the hell wrote this? An AI. And then there’s not only unnecessarily sexual choreography but unneccessarily sexual lyrics (“Pleased with blessings, look at my body” // “Sweeter than a peanut butter cup, gotta eat it up”). No. I’m not even going to try to find good about this one. Who okayed this?

Single #6: New Dance

After a spate of singles that, to put it mildly, were not for me, New Dance feels like a breath of fresh air. It’s also rap heavy at the start, and operates on an electro beat, but it does something different with it, melding them with a catchy trop-pop sound and a sense of fun that’s been missing so far. The issues from other songs are still here, definitely—but overall they’re smoothed over. The lyrics aren’t overly appropriative. The choreo is hip-heavy, but it isn’t shot to be sexual. This is the first song I’d say feels like a spiritual successor to Mascara; it focuses on female friendship and self-expression, and doesn’t waste its time posturing, showing us confidence rather than insisting it’s there. It’s nothing groundbreaking but it’s honestly pretty good.

EP #1: New DNA

Puppet Show is a departure from XG’s previous songs in a lot of ways. While it keeps the pulsing electric beat and the off-kilter feeling, it’s a lot stranger. The MV especially is otherworldly, the start of an interesting lore that XG is known for now. I liked the vocal layering in the background during the raps and the melodic tint to the chorus.I wasn’t expecting where the song in general went, especially not the emphasis on the vocals, but I’m here for it. It’s not exactly my style, but I’m always more appreciative of a song that tries something new. That being said, I have to point out the ridiculousness of some of these lyrics; who the hell even knows what an Atari is or says the phrase “Bye Felicia” unironically in 2023? Besides that, though, I think it’s another single that’s not quite found its sound but comes closer.

This EP is mostly composed of past singles, but from the new songs, I enjoyed the otherworldly intro Hesonoo and the genuinely clever wordplay of X-Gene, which defeat all my complaints about lazy lyricism.

Single #7: Winter Without You

I have a confession to make: there are few things that grind my gears more than Christmas music. It takes a lot for me to enjoy a “winter holidays” song, and somehow Winter Without You achieves that. Not only is it the most vocal-focused of all of XG’s singles (by far; their voices are gorgeous here) but it has some of their best lyrics, empty of overly brash, informed confidence, but instead deeply honest and even a bit vulnerable. It’s a really good song, and I’m kind of in shock.

Next time, we’re onto Part 2. Tschüss!