(G)I-dle’s second studio album “Two” topped the iTunes top albums chart in 24 regions, according to agency Cube Entertainment on Tuesday.
The LP also was No. 1 on Apple Music’s top albums chart in eight regions.
The album was released on Monday and had more than 1.8 million pre-orders, becoming the group’s second million-selling album after its sixth EP “I Feel” from last year. The LP sold over 860,000 copies on the first day, a record for the quintet.
Minnie and Yuqi, however, will not be able to join the promotional activities for the new album as they are taking a break due to health reasons. The media conference slated to be held on Monday to introduce the album was canceled as well.
The physical album will be available from Tuesday.
[📽] 'Super Lady' Official Music Video
— (G)I-DLE·(여자)아이들 (@G_I_DLE) January 29, 2024
▶ https://t.co/WihnxpcAjO#여자아이들 #GIDLE#Two#Super_Lady pic.twitter.com/YKEdesvHGN
Who Are (G)I-dle?
(G)I-DLE ((여자)아이들) is a five-member girl group under Cube Entertainment. Originally as six, they debuted on May 2, 2018 with their first mini album I Am.
2018: I Am, “Hann” and “Pop/Stars”
On March 22, Cube Entertainment published a logo for its third girl group which would debut shortly after PENTAGON’s comeback with Positive. The group already comprised Jeon Soyeon, a former contestant of the reality shows Produce 101 and Unpretty Rapstar 3. From April 8 to April 12, the five other members of the group were revealed via social media, starting with Yuqi, followed by Miyeon, Shuhua, Soojin, Soyeon and Minnie respectively. The group officially debuted on May 2, with the release of the mini album I Am and its title track “Latata”, which was written by member Soyeon. On May 22, “Latata” gave the group their first win at The Show, exactly 20 days after their debut. They won a total of three times during their promotion.
On June 16, the group took part of Cube Entertainment’s concert 2018 United Cube – One – with BTOB, HyunA, CLC, PENTAGON and Yoo Seon Ho. It took place at Kintex in Ilsan.
The group released their first digital single, “Hann (Alone)”, on August 16.
Soyeon and Miyeon were the voices of two members of the virtual group K/DA. The group, inspired by K-pop and developed by Riot Games, is composed of four characters from the game League of Legends. Their debut single, “Pop/Stars”, was released on November 2. The song hit number 1 on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales.
2019: I Made, “Uh-Oh”, Japanese debut and Queendom
On February 26, the mini album I Made was released. Once again, Soyeon participated to writing and composing almost all the tracks. The album also featured, for the first time, a song co-written and co-produced by Minnie.
The single “Uh-Oh” was released on June 26.
The group made their Japanese debut on July 31, releasing the mini album Latata.
The group participated in the competition show Queendom, which premiered on August 29 and ended on October 31. Through the show, they got to showcase their powerful performances as well as the individual talents of each member. For their final performance, they released the majestic song “Lion”. A music video for the song was released on November 4. The group finished Queendom in third place and were grateful of the opportunity to let people know about them. The show helped them draw more attention and interest than they’d expected.
2020: Planned world tour, I Trust, “Dumdi Dumdi”
At midnight KST on January 20, (G)I-DLE posted a teaser photo for “I-Land” throughout their social media. It was revealed on the 23rd through another teaser that the group would be holding their first world tour. On February 28, Cube confirmed that the tour, along with their upcoming album, would be postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The group released their third mini album, I Trust, on April 6 with “Oh My God” as the title track. In the album, the title track’s English version – the group’s first song entirely in English – and “Lion”, the song the group released through Queendom, were included. I Trust, in which self-confidence is an important theme, shows the contrast “between the members’ reality and what society expects from them”.
On June 5, Cube announced the cancellation of their world tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, an online concert, 2020 (G)I-DLE Online Concert ‘I-Land : Who Am I’, was held on July 5. On June 29, the group announced that their second Japanese mini album, Oh My God, would be released on August 26.
The single album “Dumdi Dumdi” was released on August 3. The track, with booming percussions and a catchy whistle hook, was described as a feel-good summer song.
On December 8, Cube Entertainment confirmed the group’s plans to comeback with a new album sometime in January 2021. On December 28, (G)I-DLE confirmed on their social media that they would release their fourth mini album, I Burn, on January 11, 2021.
2021: I Burn, “Hwaa”, Soojin’s Hiatus, “Last Dance” and Soojin’s departure
The group released their fourth mini album, I Burn, as well as its title track “Hwaa”, on January 11. The album, which tells a story revolving around love, heartbreak and farewell, is thematically and musically connected to their 2018 single “Hann (Alone)”. “Hwaa” earned the group ten music show wins. On January 27, (G)I-DLE released the digital single “Hwaa” which contained the English and Chinese versions of their fourth mini album’s title track “Hwaa”.
A remix single titled “Hwaa (Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike Remix)” was released on February 5. Remixed by Belgian DJ duo Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, it is their first foreign collaboration since debut.
Both Cube Entertainment and Soojin announced on March 4 that she would be temporarily going on hiatus due to bullying allegations. The label declared that, though Soojin had been involved in an extended argument, they couldn’t find evidence of bullying nor of violence after contacting teachers and alumni students at the school. The netizen that wrote the allegations also declined to meet with the company. The group started promoting as a five-member group until Soojin’s supposed return.
The single “Last Dance (Prod. GroovyRoom)”, made in collaboration with the platform UNIVERSE, was released on April 29. Due to Soojin’s continued hiatus, it was a release with only five members.
On August 14, 2021, Cube Entertainment released a statement announcing Soojin left (G)I-DLE, with the remaining members to continue as a group of five with no additional members.
2022: I Never Die, first world tour, I Love, collaboration with Kuromi
On February 17, News1 reported that the group would be making a 5-member comeback in March, and Cube Entertainment confirmed the reports in response. On February 24, they announced their first full-length album I Never Die, which was released on March 14.
On May 12, (G)I-DLE announced the scheduled dates and cities for their long awaited first world tour, 2022 (G)I-DLE World Tour ‘Just Me ()I-DLE’. A remix single titled “Tomboy (R3HAB Remix)” was released on May 20.
On September 14, they announced their fifth mini album I Love, which will be released on October 17.
On October 3, their Japanese twitter announced a collaboration with Hello Kitty character Kuromi.
2023: I Feel, “I Do”, Heat
On April 13, Cube Entertainment announced that (G)I-DLE will be having a comeback in May. On April 18, they announced their sixth mini album I Feel, which was released on May 15.
On April 27, (G)I-DLE announced the scheduled dates and cities for their 2023 world tour, 2023 (G)I-DLE World Tour ‘I am Free-TY’, starting in Seoul with a two-nights concert on June 17 and 18.
On July 11, it was announced that (G)I-DLE will be releasing an English single, “I Do”, on July 14. The group will be also be releasing their first special English EP, Heat, on September 7. On August 17, 88rising announced that the EP would be delayed to October 5 in order to improve the quality of the album.
2024: “Wife”,
On December 1, 2023, News1 reported that the group is in the final stage of preparations for a comeback in January 2024 with their second full-length album. Cube confirmed the report a few hours later. On January 8, 2024, (G)I-DLE unveiled the first teaser for their second full-length album , set to be released on January 29. “Wife” was pre-released on January 22.
