i-dle Essentials

i-dle, formerly known as (G)I-DLE, has been spitting out edgy, “self-produced” K-pop hits since 2018, when they debuted as a six-member group under Cube Entertainment. MIYEON, MINNIE, SOYEON, YUQI, and SHUHUA would become a quintet in 2021 with the departure of SOOJIN. Led by SOYEON, a rapper and prolific songwriter-producer who appeared on Produce 101 and Unpretty Rapstar prior to debut, i-dle has become known for their feminist, sometimes satirical concepts and fierce performance style. Debut track “LATATA” leaned into tropical pop, but many of the group’s biggest hits—from “TOMBOY” to “Queencard”—have been driven by rock guitar. Within a K-pop soundscape populated by superficial girl-crush tracks, i-dle’s women’s-empowerment lyricism (much of it written by SOYEON) cuts deeper. In 2025, they officially dropped the “G” from their group name and rerecorded their early tracks as a quintet, entering a new chapter as i-dle.