Photo = CUBE ENTERTAINMENT

 

i-dle’s wingbeats have changed.

 

Group i-dle will release its 9th mini album 'We made' on July 6. Ahead of the album, the pre-release track 'Crow' will be unveiled first on June 15. 'Crow' is a song that was first revealed on stage at the Seoul concert of the group’s 4th world tour '2026 i-dle WORLD TOUR [Syncopation]' in February this year. The way a song first shared with fans at a concert venue expands into an official music release clearly shows the current flow of how i-dle is putting out music.

 

i-dle’s report card last year was especially clear in Asia. In 2025, the group recorded annual album sales of 1,837,433 copies and a digital music score of 1,702,108 points on Hanteo Chart. Of the albums sold overseas, 81.7% were counted in Thailand and Greater China. This was the result of the presence of Thai member MINNIE and Greater China members YUQI and SHUHUA directly leading to local fandom solidarity and consumption. YUQI’s solo song 'FREAK' set the first record in chart history by charting for 100 consecutive weeks on Tencent Music’s Korea Chart in China, while 'Radio (Dum-Dum)' achieved 52 consecutive weeks in the top 10. In March this year, i-dle became the first K-POP girl group to hold a solo concert at Taipei Dome, performing for 36,000 spectators.

 

This year, i-dle’s gaze is turning toward North America. In March, the group appeared on NBC’s flagship U.S. talk show 'TODAY' and personally announced its North American tour, followed by appearances on 'The Kelly Clarkson Show' and radio channel 'iHeart KPOP with JoJo.' On July 31, i-dle will take the stage at the major U.S. music festival 'Lollapalooza' at Grant Park in Chicago, and in August, the group will embark on an arena tour across 10 cities, starting in Hamilton, Canada, and continuing to Newark, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Orlando, San Antonio, Mexico City, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Seattle. The group also graced the digital cover of U.S. magazine 'PAPER' and was named to Forbes’ '30 Under 30 Asia 2026.'

 

In Asia, the presence of local members served as the focal point for fandom formation. However, that formula changes in North America. i-dle’s member lineup consists of two Korean members, two Greater China members, and one Thai member. Like most K-POP girl groups, the group cannot use the card of having a local member in the North American market. That is why i-dle has chosen direct media outreach and performance as its strategy. Talk show and radio appearances aimed at the general public, not just fandoms, and a Lollapalooza stage filled with audiences who are not necessarily K-POP fans. If the presence of familiar local members opened the door in Asia, in North America, the music and stage themselves must play that role.

 

The new album 'We made' sits on top of that flow. The album title continues i-dle’s own narrative with a name that recalls both the group’s 2nd mini album from early in its debut, 'I made,' and its 8th mini album released after rebranding, 'We are.' Regarding the pre-release track 'Crow,' the members said, “Crows are often regarded as symbols of bad luck, but they are birds that survive until the end in any environment,” adding, “Like that crow, the song contains our determination to fly in our own way without being shaken.” U.S. magazine PAPER commented on the song, saying, “It is a being that survives while enduring the narrative surrounding it until the end, and that strength is what makes the firm mood of i-dle now stand out even more.” i-dle, having dominated Asia, is now flying toward North America.