On February 17, CUBE Entertainment confirmed reports stating (G)I-DLE’s comeback. News1 first reported that the group was preparing for a March comeback with the remaining five members. Hours later, a representative from the agency confirmed the same.
March currently holds multiple K-pop group’s comeback releases already. The group’s fans (Neverlands) have a fierce battle ahead of them, especially for music shows, as a fan expressed on Twitter.
Agency confirms (G)I-DLE’s comeback, group to return as five members
Girl group (G)I-DLE’s last album release was I Burn in January last year. After an entire year full of ups and downs, the group has confirmed its comeback in March. However, the comeback will only include five members as Soojin left the group and agency after bullying allegations in August last year.
CUBE Entertainment had previously announced that the group would promote with five members henceforth. The agency shared no information on the kind of music or expectations. For fans, the news of a comeback has brought a bittersweet feeling and higher expectations than before.
Over the past year and two months, group members have focused on individual activities. Though fans were given opportunities to see other talents of the idols, they were also eager for a group release.
With a confirmed release month in mind, fans are both celebrating and a bit skeptical about the release. The reason for the latter is that the fandom will be going up against multiple groups in the industry during promotions.
With bigger fan bases who have higher achievements such as streaming and physical sales, fans believe they’ll have to work harder to make (G)I-DLE’s comeback successful and make them win trophies.
As for solo activities, Jeon Soyeon released her solo album Windy after member Yuqi released her solo album A Page in May last year. Additionally, the former also currently appears on the audition reality show My Teenage Girl as a mentor and judge.
Another member, Miyeon, made her acting debut and has filmed multiple projects. She also voiced the historical romance drama Moonshine’s OST, Someday. However, she was recently reported to have tested positive for COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Taiwanese member Shuhua, Thai member Minnie and Chinese member Yuqi are reportedly performing their scheduled activities in their respective home countries.
(G)I-DLE debuted in 2018 and soon climbed up the charts with their unique girl group concept and discography. As one of the first fourth-generation groups, the group’s songs took a dark, fantasy route rather than the bubble-gum, teenage-crush concepts, making their popularity soar.