(G)I-dle poses for pictures during the “I Never Die” media showcase in Seoul on Monday. (Cube Entertainment)
Often in troubled moments, we need to take a step back in order to take two steps forward.
Likewise, K-pop girl group (G)I-dle is returning to the music scene after over a year, short a member from their original six, yet stronger and more determined than ever.
On Monday, the girl group conducted a media showcase event ahead of the release of the first full-length album, “I Never Die,” later the same day.
“As it’s our comeback after a long hiatus, I prepared as if we were making a new debut. I made the album thinking about how far the five of us had come until now and how we could advance from here on,” the band’s leader Soyeon, who worked on a majority of the new songs, said at Monday’s event.
The LP marked the group’s return to the scene a year and two months after they scored a huge hit with fourth EP “I Burn” and its lead track “Hwaa” last year. It also marked their first new project as a five-piece act, after Soojin departed the group on Aug. 14, following accusations from her past of bullying.
“I Never Die” is a nine-track album that draws on the group’s thoughts and emotions about the prejudices of the world.
“It shows from the title (G)I-dle’s strong spirit and will,” Soyeon said. “The album embodies our determination to never step back in our fight against the world and to prove our own values.”
Fronting the album is “Tomboy,” a song by Soyeon that exudes (G)I-dle’s uniquely powerful attitude.
“It sings through straightforward lyrics that say we don’t need to befit anyone else’s standards but just be me,” she said. “I put a lot of time into the song, so I’m confident it will be good.”
Soyeon said they paid extra attention to the overall visuals of the album, saying, “We wanted to show the special aspects of each of the five members. As ‘Tomboy’ speaks of being free of prejudices and standards, I wanted to make sure the album gives off an unrestrained feeling.”
K-pop girl group (G)I-dle performs the group’s new “Tomboy” at the media showcase for the group’s first studio album, “I Never Die,” held in Seoul on Monday. (Cube Entertainment)
All the bandmates participated in the making of the nine tracks.
Along with Soyeon, Minnie and Yuqi took part in composition and lyrics of several songs -- Minnie for “Already” and “Escape” and Yuqi for “Polaroid” and “Liar.”
“As it’s our first studio album, we paid extra attention. We’re always writing songs, so we’re happy to be able to finally show them to Neverland,” Yuqi said, referring to the band’s official fan group.
Along with the lead single, Soyeon contributed to the production of three B-side tracks: “Never Stop Me,” “Villain Goes” and “My Bag.”
Marking four years since the group’s debut in May, the band said not much has changed since.
“The only thing that has changed is our age. We’re always trying to try as hard as we’d done back then,” Soyeon said.
Shu Hua said, “We really look forward to our comeback as it comes after such a long while. We hope to show everything we prepared.” Soyeon added, “It feels nice to be back on stage with the members. We’re looking forward to what people will say about the new music we’ve brought this time.”
“We tried hard again to live up to people’s expectations about (G)I-dle. Hopefully, people would say after watching our music video and our performances that (G)I-dle never disappoints,” Yuqi said.
In wrapping up the show, Minnie said the new album could be depicted in one phrase as “Just me,” which comes from the lyrics of “Tomboy.”
“There’s a line in ‘Tomboy’ that goes, ‘Just me, I-dle,’ which means ‘I-dle is no other than just I-dle,’” she said.
