K-pop group i-dle embraces late summer night allure with new EP 'We Made'

By Shim Sun-ah

SEOUL, July 6 (Yonhap) -- Summer may be synonymous with bright and refreshing uptempo songs in K-pop music, but girl group i-dle is taking a different route -- leaning into heat, tension and late summer night allure on "Gimme Dat Love."

The track leads the group's ninth EP, "We Made," released on Monday, and blends a tropical sound with a signature whistling melody to capture the rush of magnetic attraction.

Rather than chasing a purely refreshing vibe, i-dle channels a more instinctive kind of romance. "Gimme Dat Love" paints love as something immediate and physical -- a feeling that spreads through gaze, touch and even temperature before it can be fully understood.

"I can't believe this is already our ninth EP," member Miyeon said during a media showcase for the album in Seoul. "We're returning with a summer song for the first time in a while, but this one feels hotter -- like fighting heat with heat. I hope people can enjoy that energy with us."

The shift reflects a broader evolution for the group, now in its ninth year since debut. Leader Soyeon explained that a desire for change came naturally over time.

"We started to feel like we wanted to try something new and more exciting," she said. "After releasing various summer tracks like "Dumdi Dumdi," "Klaxon" and "Hann" in the past, we wanted to showcase different shades of the season."

"We Made" arrives six months after the release of the digital single "Mono (Feat. skaiwater)" and features five tracks in total. Alongside the main track, the EP includes the mid-tempo R&B ballad "Love Is Pain," co-written and composed by Yuqi; "Crow," previously unveiled during the group's world tour; and "Morning," a lighter track capturing the start of an everyday moment of happiness.

The K-pop quintet rebranded last year by dropping the "(G)" from its name. Its previous EP, "We Are," became its fourth consecutive million-seller, surpassing 1.06 million copies in first-week sales.

When asked what message the group intended to deliver through the album name, Soyeon noted that it has previously released the "I" series, like "I Am" and "I Made."

"And since our last album was 'We Are,' we thought We Made would be the right next step."

I-dle has been connecting with fans on a global scale through its ongoing "Syncopation" world tour. The tour kicked off at Seoul's KSPO Dome in February and has already seen major milestones, including becoming the first K-pop girl group to perform at the Taipei Dome and drawing nearly 80,000 fans across two nights in Hong Kong. On July 31, the group is separately scheduled to meet its American fans at Lollapalooza Chicago.

"It still doesn't feel real how many fans came to see us," Yuqi said of the experiences of performing in Taipei and Hong Kong. "Performing in those venues made me feel grateful -- like we've truly become artists people look up to. I realized once again that even if we speak different languages, K-pop can connect us all."

"We're really thankful for the immense love we received on this tour," Shuhua said. "We'll keep working hard to show new sides of ourselves."