I-dle
I-dle, formerly known as I-dle, is a South Korean girl group formed by Cube Entertainment in 2018. The group consists of five members: Miyeon, Minnie, Soyeon, Yuqi, and Shuhua. Originally a sextet ensemble, member Soojin departed the group on August 14, 2021. They are praised for their musicality, versatility, and for breaking stereotypes as a "self-producing" idol group, known for writing and producing much of their material. Since their debut, they have been described as one of the most successful South Korean girl groups outside of the "big four" record labels.
I-dle debuted with the extended play I Am and its lead single "Latata" on May 2, 2018. After several moderately successful releases, the group rose to prominence with "Tomboy", the viral lead single of their first studio album I Never Die. The song was a critical and commercial success, peaking at number one on the Circle Digital Chart. Their next single, "Nxde", also topped the chart and made I-dle the only artist to have two songs achieve a perfect all-kill in 2022. It also made them the first act from an independent label to debut on the US Billboard Pop Airplay chart with a non-English song.
I-dle's sixth EP, I Feel, produced the single "Queencard", which marked the group's third consecutive number-one single in South Korea. The album became their first to sell over one million copies in South Korea, and sold two million copies worldwide in 2023, according to the IFPI. In 2024, the group released their second studio album 2 and their seventh EP I Sway, which each sold over one million copies in South Korea. The releases yielded the top-ten singles "Super Lady" and "Klaxon" and the number-one song "Fate", which found success despite not being released as a single domestically. After renewing their contract, the group rebranded to I-dle and released their million-selling eighth EP We Are in 2025.
History
Name
In an interview with The Star, group leader Soyeon revealed that the name "Idle" came to her when she was composing "Idle Song", her second digital single. She suggested it to Cube Entertainment, and the name was finalized after undergoing internal competition. However, the name received mixed reactions in South Korea and internationally since "아이들" means "children", and "idle" in English refers to someone who avoids work. Accordingly, the group was renamed I-dle, with the "I" standing for individuality, the hyphen showing that the name has been divided into two parts, and "Dle" as the plural form of "I" in Korean to indicate a group of six different personalities gathering together. When the name is stated aloud, the "G" enclosed in parentheses is not included. Following their return as a quintet, on an episode of 1theK Original's IDDP, the group confirmed they would like to be referred to verbally as "I-dle". The group's name was officially changed to I-dle in May 2025.Pre-debut activities
was a trainee who represented Cube Entertainment in the survival show Produce 101, peaking at 20th place on the final episode. However, she did not become a member of the winning girl group, I.O.I. Soyeon also competed in the third season of the rap competition reality show Unpretty Rapstar, finishing as the second runner-up. She later debuted as a soloist, releasing two digital singles, "Jelly" and "Idle Song".Miyeon previously trained under YG Entertainment between 2010 and 2015, leaving the company after unknown complications regarding her debut with Blackpink and attending a vocal academy. Before joining Cube Entertainment, she was a freelance singer and appeared as an associate singer with Lim Seul-ong in Urban Zakapa's Canada Tour in September 2016. In 2017, Miyeon had a small part in Lim Seul-ong's "You" music video. Soojin was a former trainee under DN Entertainment in 2015. She trained as a member of the girl group Vividiva with the stage name N.NA but left before the group's debut.
Minnie featured in Line Friends' album Dance Party, which was released in November 2017. In September 2017, Shuhua appeared alongside Yoo Seon-ho in 10cm's "Pet" music video.
On April 5, 2018, Cube Entertainment revealed the name of their upcoming girl group, I-dle. Before their debut, Cube unveiled the lineup to the public through Dingo Music's dance busking at Hongdae, Seoul. The busking performance video exceeded two million views on YouTube less than three weeks after its initial upload on April 15, 2018.
2018: Debut, ''I Am'' and "Hann (Alone)"
I-dle released their debut EP I Am on May 2, 2018, with "Latata" serving as lead single. The video for "Latata" exceeded 5.9 million views within the first week, and the EP debuted at number 13 on the Gaon Album Chart issued on May 10. I Am also debuted at number seven and peaked at number five on Billboard World Albums chart on May 9. One week after release, "Latata" debuted at number 35 on Gaon Digital Chart on May 17. I-dle received their first-ever music show win on SBS MTV's The Show on May 22, twenty days after their debut. On June 5, they entered Billboard Social 50 Chart for the first time, charting at number 36. In June, a survey carried out between thirty-five participants in the South Korean music industry named I-dle to the "Next Generation of K-pop" category with 39 points overall. On August 6, the group held a small concert and recorded a flash-mob performance of "Latata" in Times Square and Washington Square Park.On August 14, I-dle's first digital single "Hann " was released. Within 24 hours, the music video surpassed 4.9 million views on YouTube. "Hann" topped domestic music charts including Bugs, Genie and Olleh Music on August 16 and peaked at number two on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart. I-dle received their first music show win for the song on Show Champion on August 29. In September, the group made their first appearance at KCON in Thailand. In November 2018, Riot Games released the song "Pop/Stars" by a virtual girl group called K/DA, featuring vocals from Soyeon as Akali and Miyeon as Ahri alongside American singers Madison Beer and Jaira Burns. They performed the single at the League of Legends World Championship, and it reached number one on the Billboard World Digital Sales chart.
Throughout the rest of 2018, I-dle won several rookie awards at major Korean year-end music award shows, including the Asia Artist Awards, Gaon Chart Music Awards, Genie Music Awards, Golden Disc Awards, Korea Popular Music Awards and Melon Music Awards.
2019: ''I Made'', "Uh-Oh", Japanese debut and ''Queendom''
I-dle released their second EP, I Made, on February 26, 2019. The EP contains five songs, including the lead single "Senorita", written and composed by Soyeon and Big Sancho. On June 26, I-dle released their second digital single, "Uh-Oh". The song ranked number 22 on NetEase Cloud Music China for the first half of 2019, making them the only K-pop group on the chart. In July, I-dle held their first performance in the United States during the annual KCON convention and music festival at Javits Center, New York City. They later held a live showcase at the Mainabi Blitz Akasaka on July 23. The showcase sold over 1,000 tickets with 1,500 attendees. It was reported that around 15,000 people applied to attend, although many were unable to attend due to the venue's capacity. On July 31, I-dle debuted in the Japanese market with the release of their EP Latata. On August 19, they collaborated with makeup brand Kate to release a spin-off music video of "Latata ".I-dle subsequently participated in a reality girl group survival show created by Mnet called Queendom. In the first preliminary round, I-dle finished in first place after performing "Latata" re-imagined with a concept of shamanism. The introduction of the performance, Minnie's Thai "enchantment", was well received and was widely discussed among both Korean and Thai fans. In the second preliminary round, I-dle reinterpreted 2NE1's "Fire" but finished in last place. In September, it was reported that Cube Entertainment would partner with e2PR and Strategic Communications to establish a new promotion team to handle I-dle's international public relations. That same month, the group held their first fan meeting, Welcome to the Neverland, at the Yes24 Live Hall in Seoul. Tickets to the show sold out in two minutes.
On October 4, I-dle performed as a first-time headliner at the Spotify On Stage Jakarta. They were one of the six acts, including Rich Brian, Ateez, and others. On October 5, the group appeared on Immortal Songs 2, a KBS reality television singing competition, the group's first appearance on the program. They performed a rendition of Koyote's "Sad Dream" as a part of the group's 20th anniversary. I-dle performed "Put It Straight " for Queendom Fan-dora's Box round. The stage performance reached one million views after fourteen hours of being released, and I-dle placed fourth in the round. On October 25, I-dle released "Lion" as part of the EP Queendom Final Comeback. By November 2019, the live performances of "Latata" and "Fire" surpassed 11 and 13 million views, respectively. On October 31, I-dle finished the show in third place. "Lion" became a sleeper hit, gaining popularity due to their stage concept and re-entering real-time charts of various music sites. A music video for the song was released on November 4, surpassing five million views in two days. "Lion" debuted at number 13 on the World Digital Song Sales and peaked at number five. Meanwhile, the single rose eighty-nine spots to number 19 on the Gaon Digital Chart and topped China's QQ Music Korean Song chart for two consecutive weeks. On December 21, I-dle performed their hit singles at the 2020 Tainan Christmas & New Year Eve Party at Tainan City, Taiwan. Their segment was the most-viewed of the event, with an audience of 80,000 people.