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(G)I-DLE's Genre Definition

K-POP RISING STARS (G)I-DLE ARE DEFINING THEIR OWN GENRE
WITH THE RELEASE OF THEIR NEW EP, 'I TRUST,' THE KOREAN GIRL GROUP CARVE THEIR OWN CONFIDENT PATH

The performance begins with a roar, as Soyeon, 21-year-old leader of Korean girl group (G)I-DLE, turns to the crowd and lets out a guttural cry. Her small frame is hidden behind her own unrivaled bravado, and her gaze pierces the camera. "Beware, with rough claws," she warns in Korean. "I pave ways no one has gone before." As the stage rises beneath her, the rapper's formidable flow intensifies until it culminates in a dominant declaration: "I'm a queen." Then, she smiles.

For the emerging band (G)I-DLE, barely two years old, this staggering moment was their televised coronation. Their moody and percussive performance of "Lion" on the live finale of the competition series Queendom boosted their provocative image globally, and it exemplified what soulful vocalist Yuqi refers to as the "(G)I-DLE genre," a bold aesthetic that is loosely defined as "whatever they want it to be." At the end of the choreography, before the six women strut across the stage to take their seats atop actual thrones, sultry singer Soojin exhales the final word: "I’m a lion, I’m a queen, nobody can handle me."

Onstage, (G)I-DLE appears fully without restraints, and that feeling extends to "Oh My God," the group's latest single off their third EP, I Trust. One of the five total tracks on the release written and composed by Soyeon, "Oh My God" is a dark, trap-infused song with lyrics that riff on contrasts — light and dark, purity and sin — to communicate the the idea that true divinity comes from knowing and trusting yourself. "Believing in ourselves is a kind of confidence that only (G)I-DLE can portray," Soyeon tells MTV News from a conference room in Seoul, South Korea, where she's joined by her members at a large table.

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They are her muses: Miyeon with her powerful voice and temperate composure; Minnie with her sweet, airy tone and charming pluck; confident Yuqi, bursting with energy and humor; quiet storm Soojin with her empathy and grace; and youngest member Shuhua, whose ethereal  strength inspired the untamed ferocity of "Lion." One of the reasons their music is so distinct and assertive, Minnie says, is because the group control much of the process: Their music is by and about themselves. Minnie, who is from Thailand, wrote last year's funky " Blow Your Mind," and Beijing-born Yuqi has been working on her own compositions from the group's designated studio inside CUBE Entertainment. "It's not easy, especially for us as foreigners," Minnie says. "That's why I respect Soyeon because she produces everything, sometimes in a very short amount of time."

"Our strong point is that we're different individuals," she explains. "So we try to put out the strong, unique points of each of us through our songs. Soyeon knows us the best, so she tries to give us the perfect part for each of us. That's the reason it comes out good every time." She pauses and smiles, "And this time, it's also very good!"

"With 'Oh My God' we want to present a genre of our own," Soyeon adds, though she would rather the sound speak for itself than spell it out in words. Because Soyeon, who once rapped "break the cage of prejudice / how dare someone stop me and control me" knows better than anyone: Once when you define something, it defines you — it boxes you in. And (G)I-DLE aren't about labels. There's a freedom to Soyeon's process; she likes to experiment with rhythms and melodies from various musical backgrounds. Their debut track, "Latata," was pure trop-pop seduction, while follow-up singles further expanded the group's diverse sound: to the sultry house of "Hann" to the Latin snaps and horns on "Senorita" to the '90s boom-bap of "Uh-Oh." In many ways, "Oh My God" is the natural evolution of their trendy sound, building on the seething tension of "Lion" and adding a slow, simmering drop primed for the Western market, like a cozy sonic and thematic companion to Ariana Grande's " God Is a Woman."