Nxde

On October 17, 2022, (G)I-dle released a track that immediately shifted the conversation around female idols in K-pop. Nxde, the lead single for their fifth EP I Love, blended alternative pop with jazz rhythms and operatic vocals to challenge societal expectations of women. Member Jeon Soyeon took full creative control as the primary writer, composer, and arranger alongside PopTime and Kako. The song famously samples the "Habanera" aria from Georges Bizet's 1875 opera Carmen, repurposing its haunting melody into a modern anthem about rejecting rigid judgments on female bodies.

The music video directed by Sohyun Park reinforces this message through a Marilyn Monroe-inspired aesthetic. Shot in black and white with vintage glamour, the visuals depict the members shedding masks to reveal their authentic selves. Critics praised how the group used this classical foundation to deliver sharp commentary on media hypersexualization while demanding authenticity. The production quality stood out as a major factor in the song's global resonance.

Commercially, the release was an instant success. It debuted at number one on South Korea's Circle Digital Chart, marking the group's second chart-topper there. International momentum followed quickly, with KMVQ-FM in San Francisco playing the track within 24 hours of its release. This made it the first Korean-language song by a girl group to debut on an American radio station. The single eventually reached number 40 on the Billboard Pop Airplay chart, setting a record for any act from an independent label with a non-English song. [edit]