(G) I-DLE Why is there up to 80% female fans? A few days ago, the group returned with the new song "QUEENCARD", once again calling for the concept of "Love Yourself". This article will analyze the message they want to convey and the reasons for their popularity through four songs.
"I love how beautiful I look!"
Have you ever wondered why (G)I-DLE stands out among Korean girl idol groups? From the first online concert in 2020, the gender ratio of fans was 8:2, and female fans were predominant. Recently, the pre-sales of new albums also set a new record of their own, exceeding 1.1 million copies, and the group's popularity remained high.
(G) I-DLE captain Xiaojuan told reporters at the launch of the sixth mini album "I feel" that the message of this album is "Be confident, you will look beautiful!" The strong performance style of the new song "QUEENCARD" and the message of defending women's rights have made this new song an explosive response and received continuous praise.
Why exactly did (G)I-DLE gain such popularity? And how to accumulate the love of the majority of female fans? Here's a closer look at it.
Since its debut in 2018, (G)I-DLE has been known for its unique style and strong stage performance style, the group currently has a total of 5 members Xiaojuan, Weijuan, Minnie, Yuqi, Shu Hua, Xiaojuan is the group leader, but also plays the role of producer, she will compose and assign passages according to the vocal range and style of the members, so that each member can shine in the song, which is why (G)I-DLE's songs are highly recognizable.
Unlike the stereotypical Korean idol groups of the past, in the conservative Korean social atmosphere, (G)I-DLE does not pursue the sweet style that the public likes, but instead strives to convey important messages that they think are worth paying attention to in each album, including defending the rights of everyone to be comfortable being themselves, the normality of women being scrutinized by colored eyes, and the theme of body shame, and even daring to ask the company for permission to release songs in order to adhere to the idea that the songs are supposed to convey.
Today, I will introduce four songs of (G)I-DLE in recent years, and the message they want to convey to the world through K-POP!
Do you want a Barbie? Sorry, I'm not the person you're looking for: TOMBOY
After experiencing the turmoil of group member Suizhen's withdrawal from the group, (G)I-DLE returned in 2022 with her debut regular album "I NEVER DIE", DECLARING THAT THEY WILL NOT BACK DOWN EVEN IF THEY ARE NOT FAVORED AND THEIR POPULARITY IS AFFECTED. And with the popularity of the title song "TOMBOY", they have also successfully brought the group's popularity to a new peak!
"Tomboy" originally means "a girl who shows a typical role or behavior unique to a boy", in short, a girl with a more masculine atmosphere, which used to be used as a pejorative term. And (G)I-DLE redefines this term through songs, casting it as an attitude of being yourself:
"You want a blonde Barbie?" She's not here, I'm not a doll."
"I'm a Tomboy, that's my attitude."——〈TOMBOY〉
(G)I-DLE wanted to convey that even if I wear a short skirt and long hair, I can be a "Tomboy", tearing off the specific image label given by this word, and calling on fans not to be bound by traditional frameworks, whether you dress like a princess, prince or witch today, you have the right to defend yourself, and worldly eyes cannot defeat our will.
"TOMBOY" was a commercial and artistic success, and the song reached No. 1 on the real-time chart and No. 1 on the daily chart on the top five Korean music charts, achieving the first Perfect All-Kill after its debut. This also proves the "transformation" phenomenon of Korean girl idol groups, and the society gradually accepts and loves idol singers who show different temperaments, and no longer needs to create "Barbie" in order to cater to the market.
(G) I-DLE also proposed in the MV that it wanted to delete the "G" from the group name, because (G) means "Girl", but they did not want to be bound by such a single gender framework, so they would protest to the company.
〈TOMBOY〉MV：
Nudity is my freedom, the one with colored eyes, it's you: NXDE
In September of the same year, (G)I-DLE took advantage of the victory to release its fifth mini album "I LOVE". Captain and producer Xiaojuan revealed that the concept of this album was inspired by Marilyn Monroe, a "sign of character", satirizing society's stereotypes of women.
The title of the song "NXDE" actually means "Nude", and Xiaojuan once admitted on the show that the company thought the song was too sensational and explicit and strongly opposed it, but this only deepened her desire to release the song.
"When I decided on the title of the song, I didn't think about pornography at all, I just felt that everyone was born naked, and our original appearance is naked." - Xiaojuan
In this album, I-DLE all members dyed blonde and incarnated Marilyn Monroe, accusing the label imposed on this woman by social and mass media. As we all know, Marilyn Monroe is the representative of the "blonde silly" and is named a gorgeous sexy goddess, but in fact, she is not stupid at all, she is a very dedicated, serious and intelligent actor, helpless the public forcibly molded her into a sexy vase for sale.
So in the song "NXDE", the lyrics directly sing: "Everyone, sorry, if you expect this to be an erotic work, I'm sorry, we don't have that kind of thing."
(G) In addition to reversing female stereotypes through this song, I-DLE also wants to remove the label of "nudity is pornography", when the public has a narrower idea of "pornography", the more likely stereotypes are to arise, so they encourage everyone to expand their thinking dimension and see the more diverse aspects brought by the word "naked".
I would like to add one more interesting detail here. The NXDE MV pays tribute to renowned artist Banksy who destroyed his paintings on a shredder. The process of the incident was like this, Banksy had created a painting of "Girl With Balloon", but at the moment of the auction of 1 million pounds, the painting was suddenly destroyed into strips of paper by a shredder, and everyone at the scene was instantly stunned.
Screenshot of the MV of NXDE
"A few years ago, I secretly hid a shredder in my painting in case it was auctioned one day."
Banksy wanted to protest the auction in the art market, but he didn't expect that the half-ruined painting eventually tripled its price on the trading market, and even caused a wave of well-known brand advertisements to pay tribute to the painting.
Banksy's move and the subsequent chain reaction are actually similar to the message of the song "NXDE" - don't be afraid to rebel against these rules or frameworks that you are not used to, because the "truth" you show will make you shine more.
〈NXDE〉MV：
Why am I not her? I'm allergic to myself: "Allergy"
Following the first two songs calling on everyone to tear off their labels and live their attitudes, (G)I-DLE announced this year that it will return with its sixth mini-album "I feel", and set its sights on the "MZ era" controlled by social media.
The so-called MZ era, which refers to people born between 1981 and 2010, is in the era of social media popularity, everyone tries to show their glamorous side in order to win the "like" of others, which has also led to the popularization of mental illness.
The introductory song "Allergy" means "allergy", and the lyrics sing: "Why am I not beautiful? Why am I not cute? Why am I not sexy? Why am I me?"
Screenshot of the MV of Allergy
(G) I-DLE Xiaojuan became a "nerd" in the MV, because of the appearance anxiety sold by social media, she became inferior, hated herself, and even wanted to get a plastic shape, becoming a popular girl who has a lot of followers and goes to parties every day. She describes the process as an allergy to mirrors.
In addition to rebelling against social media, (G)I-DLE also wrote the phenomenon of modern young people advocating famous brands into the lyrics: "It seems that only I don't have Chanel, for some reason, the current 10th generation is more mature than me."
I think all millennial-born readers should have a lot of resonance with this lyric. In the past, we were still playing with sand, and now children are playing with smartphones and shooting short videos, but no matter what era, if you really want to compare, in fact, each era is envious of the next generation, so stopping to compare mentalities is the way to make yourself happy.
〈Allergy〉MV：
With confidence in yourself, you can be anything: QUEENCARD
The title song "QUEENCARD" continues the story of "Allergy", Xiaojuan's "Nenerd" fell into a deep sleep at the moment before plastic surgery, and in her dream she experienced a "Different Life", so she realized that she didn't need to be someone else to get love, only when she began to learn to love herself and not care about the eyes of others, she was sparkling.
She woke up from the operating room and walked out of the clinic without plastic surgery for her appearance, but with her heart.
When she turns on her phone, she doesn't care if she sees that she has gained popularity on social media, because she has learned to focus her attention back on herself, and these "likes" or "tracking people" are no longer important.
IMAGE | "QUEENCARD" MV
"QUEENCARD" is actually a word used in Korea to describe "popular girls" in the past, and when we want to imitate because we see "popular" posts on social media, we also lose our own views and can't see the brilliance in ourselves. And those popular girls we adore in our hearts are actually chasing the popular girls in their hearts, forming a sick cycle.
"A GIRL WHO CAN CONTROL ANY LOOK, A GIRL WHO DOESN'T CARE ABOUT BEING PLUMP OR SLENDER, A GIRL WHO IS INVINCIBLE AND CONFIDENT, YOU ARE QUEENCARD."
(G) I-DLE calls on everyone to accept any of their appearances through "QUEENCARD", and the so-called "beauty" is not because of what brand you wear, or your body to achieve the aesthetics of society. You are the most beautiful when you confidently express yourself.
〈QUEENCARD〉MV：
As a Korean idol group, (G)I-DLE AMPLIFIES ITS INFLUENCE THROUGH THESE SONGS, WHILE NOT FEARING SOCIAL ATTENTION AND MARKET PRESSURE, AND HAS EMBARKED ON A PATH ON THE HIGHLY COMPETITIVE K-POP. Rather than being singers, I want to call them artists, because they use their power to try to break the framework of society and even the world, and successfully lead fans to listen to their song ideas, so that these important messages can reach the hearts of more people.