Release Date: July 6, 2026
Track Listing
- Mono (feat. skaiwater)
- Gimme Dat Love
- Morning
- Crow
- Love Is Pain
Review
i-dle’s ninth EP We made is the group’s first new Korean release since officially rebranding and dropping the “(G)” from their name. Its title continues the “We” series that began with their 2025 EP We are i-dle.
Compared with much of i-dle’s earlier work, we made the choice for a more restrained sound, leaning into softer, more relaxed production with occasional bursts of intensity. Prime examples include the pre-release single Mono (feat. skaiwater) and the title track, Gimme Dat Love.
Both songs showcase a gentler side of i-dle, moving away from the group’s typically hard-hitting spectacles in favour of a more atmospheric approach.
Mono encourages listeners to embrace their individuality, regardless of expectations or labels, set to a groovy hip-pop beat. It also makes extensive use of English lyrics. In i-dle’s music, that has sometimes resulted in phrases that prioritize rhythm or rhyme over conversational English. Here, however, the English is noticeably stronger, sounding natural to a native speaker.
Gimme Dat Love, on the other hand, is an understated expression of flirtation wrapped in a breezy, summery package. Compared to many of i-dle’s best-known songs, it places romantic attraction at the forefront rather than empowerment or theatrical storytelling. That shift may not appeal to everyone, but it gives the song a distinct identity within the group’s catalogue.
The remaining three songs don’t entirely follow the laid-back tone established by the opening tracks. Instead, the EP shifts between bright, uptempo pop (Morning), aggressive rock (Crow), and emotional balladry (Love Is Pain). Thanks to the EP’s concise runtime, those stylistic changes never feel jarring and instead keep the album moving at a steady pace.
Longtime followers of i-dle may be most interested in Crow (also a pre-release single), as Soyeon wrote it in 2021 following Soojin’s departure from the group. While the song stands on its own, its themes of perseverance and moving forward resonate even more strongly when viewed in the context of that period in the group’s history.
In recent years, there has been a growing perception among some fans that i-dle no longer enjoys the same level of public enthusiasm in South Korea as they did during the height of songs like TOMBOY and Queencard. However, We made and its promotional cycle suggest that this narrative may be overstated. The album’s commercial performance and the title track’s chart success demonstrate that the group continues to attract considerable public interest.
From my perspective as someone following i-dle from outside South Korea, the idea that the group is in decline does not entirely match what I take away from We made. More importantly, the album does not feel like an attempt to reclaim past success. Instead, it finds i-dle exploring a different side of their music while retaining enough stylistic variety to keep the EP engaging.
Not everyone will prefer this direction, and that is perfectly fine. The larger point is that i-dle remain willing to defy expectations, making We made feel like another step in the group’s artistic growth rather than evidence of decline.
