generasia:Featured article for 2025 week 21

i-dle promoting We are (2025)

i-dle

i-dle (아이들) is a Korean pop girl group formed by CUBE Entertainment. They debuted as (G)I-DLE ((여자)아이들) on May 2, 2018, with their first mini-album I am and its lead single "LATATA". (G)I-DLE was dubbed the "monster rookie" of 2018 and has been considered one of the most successful South Korean girl groups to not hail from the "big three" record labels. Since their debut, the group has released four Korean mini-albums and six lead songs including "LATATA", "HANN", "Senorita", "Uh-Oh", "Oh my god", "HWAA", and their promotional song, "LION", with all of them reaching the top ten on Billboard's World Digital Songs chart.

In conjunction with the release of their third mini-album, I trust, in 2020, the group signed with American record label Republic Records to pursue expansion into the U.S. marketplace. Upon its release, the group set the highest record for a South Korean girl group to top the iTunes Top Albums chart and the fourth girl group to sell 100,000 copies in the first week of sales. Their 2020 single album, "DUMDi DUMDi", broke the single album sales record, making it the second best selling girl group single album of all time. (G)I-DLE also became the first K-pop group to be interviewed by Forbes China.

Their next single, "Tomboy", from their first full-length album I NEVER DIE, topped the Circle charts, remaining at the top of the charts for more than two months. Additionally, the single was certified platinum by Certification Korea Music Content Association (KMCA), followed with their next single, "Nxde", which also topped the Circle Chart. "Nxde" made (G)I-DLE the only artist to have two songs achieving a Perfect All Kill (PAK) in 2022. In 2023, they became the first act from an independent label to rank at #39 on Mediabase Top 40 Radio airplay charts and debuted at #40 on the US Billboard Pop Airplay chart with a non-English song.

(G)I-DLE's sixth mini-album, I feel, produced the single "Queencard", which marked the group's third consecutive #1 single in South Korea. The album became their first to sell over one million copies in South Korea, and they sold two million copies worldwide in 2023, according to the IFPI. The group's second studio album, 2, was also met with commercial success and sold over one million copies in South Korea. It yielded the top-ten lead single "Super Lady" and the #1 song "Naneun Apeun Geon Ttag Jilsaeginikka (Fate)", which found success despite not being released as a single.

On May 2, 2025, CUBE announced that the group would officially be rebranded as i-dle, marking their seventh anniversary since debut. A special digital mini-album We are i-dle was later released on the same day, containing five-member versions for nine of their previously released singles.

Unlike most K-pop girl groups, i-dle are directly involved in the creation of their music; in particular, Soyeon who has written and produced the majority of the group's songs. Members Minnie and Yuqi have also co-written and produced numerous album tracks. i-dle is considered one of the most successful South Korean girl groups from outside of the "big three" record labels.

Their eighth mini-album, We are, is released this week on May 19th.