(G)I-dle members talk about break-ups, new K-pop album I Burn, and how it reflects their musical and emotional growth
- Soyeon, Miyeon, Minnie, Soojin, Yuqi and Shuhua explain that I Burn’s opening track, Hwaa, tells the story of someone coming to terms with a romantic break-up
- They say the album shows how the group have matured musically and emotionally, as artists and individuals
“Fireworks,” explains Soyeon. “Hope,” adds Miyeon. “Recover,” says Yuqi. To Shuhua: “Salt”. Minnie says it’s “Our youth”. Soojin concludes that it’s “wind”. These are words the six members of (G)I-dle use to describe their new album I Burn.
Late at night in Seoul on Shuhua’s 21st birthday, amid a snowstorm that made Soyeon late, the six women were prepping for their return with their first Korean album since last April’s I Trust.
I Burn, which dropped on Monday, picks up (G)I-dle’s lyrical narrative where they left off with 2018 single Hann (Alone), and is fronted by a sequel to that single, the reggaeton-inflected dance track Hwaa, with its chilling ambience.
The new single, and the album as a whole, tell the story of someone coming to terms with a break-up. Hann spoke about a person who had turned their back on the past, and Soyeon, who spearheads much of the songwriting, describes it as “the surface feelings after a separation”.
Hwaa reveals what the narrator feels deep inside, beyond the immediate feeling of trying to create a clean break. “It’s about coping and moving on, rather than forgetting the past,” she says. It wasn‘t that the narrator was rejected in Hann, but rather that she was turning her back on the past.
I Burn reflects (G)I-dle’s growth since their start in May 2018: Hann came out in the first year of their career, and Soyeon says it shows a bit more of an immature way of looking at a separation. Hwaa, in comparison, reflects not only the act’s musical growth but their emotional growth.