I Feel is the upcoming sixth Korean extended play (eighth overall) by South Korean girl group (G)I-dle. It is scheduled to be released by Cube Entertainment digitally on May 15, and physically the following day. It consists of three physical versions: Cat, Butterfly, and Queen. The EP contains six tracks, all written and produced by the members. The EP takes the form of Mean Girls,[1] and a Y2K inspired concept.[2] The album marks the group's condition of "I" series, following I Love and I Never Die.
Background
Marketing
On April 18, 2023, Cube Entertainment announced the group's comeback on May 15.[3] The announcement was accompanied by a concept poster featuring a drawing of a Trump's queen card, with the letter 'G,' representing the G in the group's name, engraved in the upper left corner of the poster instead of 'Q,' in which means queen. In addition, phrases such as 'Top 10' at the top right and '(G)I-dle Original Series' at the bottom.[4] On April 24, the group released the tracklist and a teaser video, revealing "Queencard" as the lead single.[5] The following day, the group released five "casting board" teaser images.[6] On 29th, the group released the Queen concept images.[7]
Conception
From April 26 to May 4, the group released a series of teasers and photos that narratives a story, which took the form of "High Teen," Mean Girls, and Y2K‐inspired visuals throughout the releases. Beginning on April 26, the group released a "map character," an introduction to each character that was played by the members. The map contains photos of the members along with "short introductory phrases and their stories in the form of a diary." Starting with Miyeon, who is an "influencer with numerous followers, and Minnie, a lonely fitness trainer, [and] Soyeon, who admire[s]" the latter two, in addition, the map "predicts" an "adventurous" journey for Yuqi and Shuhua, who are best friends.[8] Later on the same day, an "introduction video" inspired by the 2004 movie Mean Girls was released. It opens with Yuqi, who is playing a "Regina George-type character, introducing the members of the group. Yuqi calls Shuhua her “bestie”, adding that she wishes she was Shuhua sometimes. Meanwhile, she calls Minnie someone who is “born to be confident, full of herself, [and] perfect in everything”. She later calls Miyeon the group’s “princess”, but refers to Soyeon as “nothing special”. Yuqi then questions if she should give Soyeon a makeover before it cuts to a “coming soon” title card."[1] On the 27th, the group released a "Spoiler Alert: Yuqi" version that showcased snippets of the fourth track, "All Night." The released video starts with Yuqi taking out ice cream and eating it alone in her house, where the sunlight shining through the windows. "In the midst of news comments from anchors mentioning the titles of new songs in the album," then it cuts to Yuqi reading the newspaper, where she seemed to find something interesting and soon went somewhere to make a phone call.[9] On the following day, the group released Shuhua's version, which showcased snippets of the sixth track, "Young Adult." The released video displays a storyline that is connected to the previous release. In the released video, Shuhua appears surrounded by pink props and magazines depicting the images of (G)I-dle while she is curling her hair and humming a song. Then she receives someone's phone call and hears Yuqi's voice over her receiver, and the video cuts.[10] On May 1, the "Spoiler Alert: Minnie" version was released, and it showcased snippets of the third track, "Lucid." The video shows Minnie appearing alone in an empty parking lot, where she gets into a parked car and starts texting someone stored as "Tomboy" in her phone. As soon as the conversation ends with the person on the phone requesting to see Minnie, then Minnie checks her appearance through the car mirror, and "the butterfly-shaped pendant swinging under it catches her attention." Subsequently, Minnie's figure departs somewhere is the dark, where the video ends.[11] On May 2th, Miyeon version was released. The video shows a snippets of track "Paradise." The video shows Miyeon as a famous influence, where she was opening "a lavishly wrapped box and 'unboxing' a new bags."[12] On May 4th, Soyeon version was released with snippets of the second track, "Allergy." The video displays Soyeon spending her time in a "lethargic and boring way," she then turns on her laptop and "reads the lecture page titled 'How to be a queen'." She then transform into "a new liberation zone," after she pressed the register button, the video ends afterword.[13]
Artwork and packaging
The physical album was released in three versions with three concepts: Queen, Butterfly, and Cat. In the Queen version, (G)I-dle showed "haughty eyes and elegant expressions," with the members staring at the camera.[14] In the said version, the five members are shown dressed in pink outfits and shining tiaras.[15] In the Butterfly version, the group embraced a "dreamy atmosphere," in which each member wore a butterfly wings over a white dress.[16] In the Cat version, (G)I-dle exuded a chic expression and a mysterious atmosphere, with the group showing off their "strong chemistry" by lying on the bed while "enjoying" their leisure time.[17] The EP comes with a CD, lyric paper, booklet, photocard, polaroid, a mini poster, and a tattoo sticker, ID card, and poster which are only available for pre-order.[18] The Target exclusive versions will contain an additional mini photobook and photocard.[19] The album also came in jewel cases as well, and there will be five versions covering all five members of the group.
^Kim, Won-hee (April 24, 2023). "Y2K 입은 (여자)아이들" [(G)I-DLE Wearing Y2K]. Sports Trend (in Korean). Retrieved April 25, 2023.
^Park, Dong-sun (April 18, 2023). "(여자)아이들, 5월15일 컴백확정…새 앨범 'I feel' 발표 예고" [(G)I-DLE confirmed comeback on May 15th... Notice of release of new album 'I feel']. Electronic Times (in Korean). Retrieved April 25, 2023 – via Naver.
^Kim, Jae-won (April 18, 2023). "(여자)아이들, 5월 컴백 초읽기" [(G)I-DLE, countdown to comeback in May]. Sports World (in Korean). Retrieved April 15, 2023.
^Seon, Mi-kyung (April 24, 2023). "(여자)아이들, 'I feel' 트랙리스트 공개..타이틀곡은 '퀸카'" [(G)I-DLE, 'I feel' track list released..The title song is 'Queen Car']. OSEN (in Korean). Retrieved April 25, 2023.
^Lee, Kyung-ho (April 15, 2023). "(여자)아이들, 'I feel' 캐스팅 보드 이미지 공개..컴백 열기 UP" [(G)I-DLE, 'I feel' casting board image released...comeback fever UP]. Star News (in Korean). Retrieved April 15, 2023.
^Kim, Na-yul (April 29, 2023). "(여자)아이들, 'I feel' 콘셉트 포토..티아라 쓴 도도한 퀸" [(G)I-DLE, 'I feel' concept photo.. Proud queen wearing a tiara]. Herald POP (in Korean). Retrieved May 5, 2023.
^JI, Min-kyung (April 26, 2023). "(여자)아이들, 하이틴 스타 변신..'I feel' 캐릭터 맵 이미지 공개" [(G)I-DLE transforms into a teen star...'I feel' character map image released]. OSEN (in Korean). Retrieved May 6, 2023.
^Park, Seo-hyun (April 27, 2023). "(여자)아이들 'All Night' 일부 공개..컴백 열기 2배" [Part of (G)I-DLE's 'All Night' released... Double the comeback fever]. Herald POP (in Korean). Retrieved May 6, 2023.
^Moon, Ye-bin (April 28, 2023). "(여자)아이들, 수록곡 '어린 어른' 일부 깜짝 공개" [(G)I-DLE, surprise release of part of b-side song 'Young Adult']. Newsis (in Korean). Retrieved May 6, 2023.
^Seon, Mi-kyung (May 1, 2023). "'컴백' (여자)아이들, 민니 작곡·작사 'Lucid' 일부 공개" ['Comeback' (G)I-DLE, partially released 'Lucid' composed and written by Minnie]. OSEN (in Korean). Retrieved May 6, 2023.
^Park, Dong-sun (May 2, 2023). "(여자)아이들 미연, 발랄 Paradise 인플루언서 변신?!…'I feel' 스포 공개" [(G)I-DLE Miyeon, transformed into a lively Paradise influencer?! 'I feel' spoiler released]. Electronic Times (in Korean). Retrieved May 10, 2023 – via Naver.
^Ahn, Yoon-ji (May 4, 2023). "(여자)아이들 소연, 퀸카 되기 전..신보 수록곡 일부 공개" [(G)I-DLE's So-yeon, before becoming a queen... Some of the songs in the new album are released]. Star News (in Korean). Retrieved May 10, 2023.
^Lee, Min-ji (April 29, 2023). "티아라 쓴 (여자)아이들, 핑크빛 아우라 뽐내는 퀸카들" [(G)I-DLE wearing tiaras, queen cars showing off their pink auras]. Newsen (in Korean). Retrieved May 5, 2023.
^Kim, Na-yul (April 29, 2023). "(여자)아이들, 'I feel' 콘셉트 포토..티아라 쓴 도도한 퀸" [(G)I-DLE, 'I feel' concept photo.. Proud queen wearing a tiara]. Herald POP (in Korean). Retrieved May 5, 2023.
^Park, Sang-hoo (May 3, 2023). "나비로 변신한 (여자)아이들, 몽환적 컨셉트도 찰떡" [(G)I-DLE transformed into a butterfly, the dreamy concept is perfect]. JTBC (in Korean). Retrieved May 5, 2023.
^Kim, Hyeyoung (May 5, 2023). "컴백 앞둔 (여자)아이들, 침대에 누워 여유 만끽" [(G)I-DLE ahead of their comeback, lying in bed and enjoying their leisure time]. MBC Entertainment (in Korean). Retrieved May 5, 2023.
I-dle_I_Feel.jpeg)
