'Even we sometimes get bored' — Eight years in, i-dle continues to reinvent itself

Eight years into its career, girl group i-dle has reached the point where reinvention is not just a strategy but a necessity.

"Starting with 'Mono,' we really tried to experiment with many different things," said leader Soyeon during a press showcase for the girl group's ninth EP, "We made," held at Yes24 Live Hall in Gwangjin District, eastern Seoul, on Monday.

"Now that we're in our ninth year since debut, even we sometimes get bored with ourselves. We wanted to do something new and fun, and as we took on many different challenges, we began to ask ourselves what kind of story we should tell."

"We made," released Monday, comes six months after the group's previous single, "Mono," and a year and two months after "We are" (2025), the quintet's eighth EP and the beginning of its "We" series.

The title of the "We" series is a nod to the group's previous "I" series, which began with its 2018 debut EP, "I am," followed by "I made" in 2019, "I trust" in 2020, "I burn" in 2021, "I love" in 2022, "I feel" in 2023 and "I sway" in 2024.

"We made," the second installment in the "We" series, also takes after the earlier series, echoing the group's "I made" EP.

"We wanted to show a new side of ourselves and take on fresh challenges with this album, especially compared to 'I made,'" Soyeon said.

Debuting in 2018 under Cube Entertainment as (G)i-dle, the girl group rebranded last year to i-dle, and consists of members Minnie, Miyeon, Soyeon, Yuqi and Shuhua.

The group's latest EP features five songs: lead track "Gimme Dat Love," the January single "Mono," prerelease track "Crow" and B-sides "Morning" and "Love is Pain."

The lead single, "Gimme Dat Love," is a sleek pop track marked by an addictive whistle hook. The song was written by Daramola, Alyx, Samanta Camara and Daily, while Soyeon is credited for the lyrics under her new pen name, icebluerabbit, which she first used for the group's previous single, "Mono."

Arriving at a time when Latin music has become an increasingly dominant force in global pop — with Bad Bunny at the forefront — "Gimme Dat Love," created by producers active in the Latin pop scene with unmistakable Latin influence in its sound, reflects i-dle's continuing interest in stretching its sound beyond familiar boundaries.

The members wanted to break free from the pressure of their own established identity, said Miyeon.

"There were times we felt trapped within our own color," she said. "So we thought a lot about going back to zero — back to the feeling of why we liked our music in the first place. That makes this album deeply meaningful."

i-dle recently completed the Taiwanese stop of its "Syncopation" world tour at Taipei Dome as the first K-pop girl group to perform at the expansive venue, and also drew 80,000 fans for a two-day performance at Hong Kong's Kai Tak Stadium.

"As singers, the fact that we can go on a world tour itself is meaningful, and we also performed at Taipei Dome," Yuqi said. "The first thought I had was that we were able to become such artists thanks to our fans, and I felt so proud and grateful."

The singer added that the moments when fans sang along to the songs' Korean lyrics were especially memorable.

"It made me feel that we have to work even harder for all our fans around the world," she said.

The group is now preparing for its upcoming Lollapalooza performance with that global support in mind.

"It is an honor to be able to perform at Lollapalooza," Minnie said. "Because we have received so much support, we will draw strength from that and put on a powerful show."

Looking forward, Soyeon noted that she no longer defines the group's next step with one particular milestone or charting performance. Instead, she said, i-dle's priority is to keep focusing on the music in front of them.

"I want to focus on music in each moment," Soyeon said. "Our next step is to work hard on the album that comes after this one, and then the album after that."

BY SHIN HA-NEE [[email protected]]