The singer-songwriter-producer Yuqi has made her raw talent known for years with her role in the iconic girl group (G)I-DLE. Through her uniquely magnificent vocal range with a penchant for deeper, rich tones, Yuqi has a history of bringing different sides to mainstream vocal norms of K-Pop. Now, after collectively selling 750,000 albums worldwide and charting across everything attainable, she’s getting the opportunity to take the reigns and showcase her individuality through her very own solo project, A Page. 

In A Page, Yuqi presents us with two singles, “Giant” and “Bonnie & Clyde” displaying the potential for vocal persistence, with an edginess to her recognizable style. When talking to Yuqi about the release, she describes the first track noting, “‘Giant’ is a pop-rock track with a drum line sound which emphasizes the grandness of the song.” In addition, her upbeat, rock-twinged follow-up “Bonnie & Clyde” amplifies that style and kicks up her performance energy in what the multi-talented singer notes, “I’ve wanted to do disco music, so when I first listened to this song, I immediately loved it,” adding, “I thought it would be a perfect fit for my voice.”

At the young age of 21, Yuqi has managed to accumulate a lot of industry and life experience to inaugurate this new, professional evolution – and the title quite literally reflects that current creative desire. Her music offers an ability to live within the moment and relish in bountiful opportunities, a perspective that motivates her own concept behind this almost solo-rookie reintroduction. “When I first thought I would do a solo, I thought I should do what fits well with me.” Yuqi explains, “So I chose to do what I want to express at the moment. I named my album A Page because I’m growing up right now in this time of my life.”

Though the songs can still feel like they paint a laid-back, inherent confidence to it, Yuqi explains that she does have an overall magnetic response to upbeat dance tracks over ballads – but both of her own singles are valued equally by the singer. She tells us, “I like both of them because they’re based on my own story. For ‘Giant’, I hope people who know me well and have the same experience as me can relate to the song. As for ‘Bonnie & Clyde’, I hope everyone can feel the soul of the song while listening to it and get the courage to do whatever they want with confidence.”

Yuqi’s mentality behind her music is a sentiment that needs to be reiterated, as it’s clearly important to embrace confidence – however, that purpose of making music feel authentic to her story is something that’s a sign of a mindful talent. After getting to a place where she feels less shaken by nerves or other outside influences, the A Page singer divulges, “Since I normally don’t get nervous, I just thought I should try to do well alone and make others proud of me.” admitting, “Sometimes, when I do get nervous I try not to make it noticeable, although it may not be easy!” 

Coming from such a powerful group of singers and dancers, Yuqi’s chance to step out and tackle solo music was definitely a different experience despite her ability to shed typical music-related nerves. That bond and comradery between the women of (G)I-DLE is something that she noticeable appreciates and respects, sharing, “Doing something by myself makes me feel lonely and anxious, so, there were times when reality hit me from time to time.” Despite its obstacles, the personal achievements that Yuqi has garnered through this process have made each and every step feel necessary to the respected performer. On Spotify US alone, she’s achieved millions of streams for the dual singles, and over 300,000 individual monthly listeners – but what’s even more impressive is that her music videos have both amassed a total of 20 million views in just under a month. When asked about the best feeling she experienced in this solo, debut era she states, “I would say everything. Everything was well-matched with my style and I was happy that I got to prove myself that I could do this kind of music!”

The outpour of love and support from fans over the years has helped make this path possible for Yuqi, and through that support, she stresses the importance of a little self-love. “Since it’s my first solo album that I put so much effort into, please love and support it.” Yuqi offers readers before closing out our interview, adding, “Lastly, as I always say, ‘Always be proud of yourself.’” 

Yuqi’s solo release A Page which includes the hit tracks “Giant” and “Bonnie & Clyde” are available now, so make sure to check it out as well as the music videos above!