I Am (EP)

I Am
Digital cover
EP by
ReleasedMay 2, 2018 (2018-05-02)
Recorded2018
Genre
Length21:14
Language
  • Korean
  • English
LabelCube Entertainment
(G)I-dle chronology
''I Am''
(2018)
I Made
(2019)
Singles from I Am
  1. "Latata"
    Released: May 2, 2018

I Am (stylized in sentence case) is the debut extended play by South Korean girl group (G)I-dle. The album was released digitally on May 2, 2018, and physically on May 3, 2018,[1] by Cube Entertainment. The album contains six tracks including the lead single, "Latata", which was composed by Big Sancho and member Soyeon, and is a blend of several different genres.

Background and release

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On April 5, 2018, Cube Entertainment revealed the name of their upcoming girl group, (G)I-dle.[2] The agency revealed the group's lineup by pairs of members: Miyeon and Yuqi, Shuhua and Soojin, Soyeon and Minnie on April 8, April 10 and April 12, respectively.[3] On April 18, Cube Entertainment announced via SNS that the group would debut with the mini-album I Am on May 2 of the same year.[4] The following day, a debut schedule was released.[5] Concept images featuring each of the members were released from April 23–24.[6][7]

On April 26, the group unveiled the track listing of the EP, with "Latata" revealed as the lead single.[8] On April 29, an audio snippet video was released, showcasing a short teaser of every song on the album.[9] On April 30, six individual music video teasers for "Latata" were released, as well as a group teaser.[10][11]

Soyeon described the album I Am as "an album containing six different personalities." She continued, “I wrote the lyrics for the title song "Latata" while thinking about each member."[12]

Promotion

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(G)I-dle held a live showcase at the Blue Square iMarket Hall on May 2, where they performed "Latata" along with "Maze".[13]

The group started promoting their title track "Latata" on May 3. They first performed the lead single on Mnet's M Countdown, followed by performances on KBS' Music Bank, MBC's Show! Music Core and SBS's Inkigayo.[14] They received their first-ever music show win since debut on May 22, 2018 on SBS MTV's The Show.[15] Two days later, on May 24, the group received their second music show win for "Latata" on M Countdown.[16]

Commercial performance

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I Am debuted and peaked at number thirteen on the Gaon Album Chart issued on April 29, 2018.[17] The album also debuted at number seven and has since peaked at number five on Billboard's World Albums issued on May 9, 2018.[18] The EP has sold 1,000 copies in America as of August 2018.[19]

The album placed at number 13 on Gaon for the month of May 2018, with 15,288 copies sold.[20] The album has sold over 21,916 physical copies as of July 2018.[21]

I Am ranks No. 11 on Billboard's Best K-pop Album of 2018.[22]

In April, 2020, I Am achieved 34,000 album-equivalent units, making it (G)I-dle's biggest-selling album in the United States.[23]

Track listing

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No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Latata"Soyeon
  • Big Sancho
  • Soyeon
3:22
2."$$$" (달라 / Dalla (Dollar))
  • Le`mon
  • Soyeon
  • Yoon Jong Sung
  • Le`mon
Yoon Jong Sung3:31
3."Maze"
  • Son Young-jin
  • Ferdy
  • Soyeon
  • Son Young-jin
  • Ferdy
  • Son Young-jin
  • Ferdy
3:20
4."Don't Text Me"
  • Big Sancho
  • Park Hae-il
  • Jerry Potter
  • Soyeon
  • Big Sancho
  • Park Hae-il
  • Jerry Potter
  • Big Sancho
  • Park Hae-il
3:36
5."What's in Your House?" (알고 싶어 / Algo Shipeo)
  • Arin
  • Vincenzo
  • Fuxxy
  • Any Masingga
  • Soyeon
  • Arin
  • Vincenzo
  • Fuxxy
  • Any Masingga
  • Vincenzo
  • Any Masingga
3:27
6."Hear Me" (들어줘요 / Deuleojwoyo)
  • Son Young-jin
  • Noh Kyung-min
Son Young-jin 3:56
Total length:21:14

Charts

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Certifications and sales

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States 34,000[23]

Release history

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Region Date Format Distributor
Various May 2, 2018 Digital download
South Korea
CD

References

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  1. ^ "I Am". Twitter. Cube Entertainment. April 23, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  2. ^ "큐브 새 걸그룹 '(여자)아이들' 공식 로고 공개! 전소연 포함 상반기 데뷔 목표". eNews (in Korean). April 5, 2018. Archived from the original on April 7, 2018. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  3. ^ "Update: Cube Entertainment's New Girl Group Reveals Full Lineup Including Jeon Soyeon". Soompi. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  4. ^ "(여자)아이들 1st mini album [I am] 2018.05.02 18:00 (KST) Coming soon 🔮". Twitter. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  5. ^ "(여자)아이들 1st mini album [I am] Scheduler 🔮 2018.05.02 18:00 (KST)". Twitter. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  6. ^ "(G)I-DLE 1st mini album [I am] 🔮 Concept image 1 #MIYEON". Twitter. Retrieved 23 April 2018. "(G)I-DLE 1st mini album [I am] 🔮 Concept image 1 #MINNIE". Twitter. Retrieved 23 April 2018. "(G)I-DLE 1st mini album [I am] 🔮 Concept image 1 #SOOJIN". Twitter. Retrieved 23 April 2018. "(G)I-DLE 1st mini album [I am] 🔮 Concept image 1 #SOYEON". Twitter. Retrieved 23 April 2018. "(G)I-DLE 1st mini album [I am] 🔮 Concept image 1 #YUQI". Twitter. Retrieved 23 April 2018. "(G)I-DLE 1st mini album [I am] 🔮 Concept image 1 #SHUHUA". Twitter. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  7. ^ "(G)I-DLE 1st mini album [I am] 🔮 Concept image 2 #MIYEON". Twitter. Retrieved 24 April 2018. "(G)I-DLE 1st mini album [I am] 🔮 Concept image 2 #MINNIE". Twitter. Retrieved 24 April 2018. "(G)I-DLE 1st mini album [I am] 🔮 Concept image 2 #SOOJIN". Twitter. Retrieved 24 April 2018. "(G)I-DLE 1st mini album [I am] 🔮 Concept image 2 #SOYEON". Twitter. Retrieved 24 April 2018. "(G)I-DLE 1st mini album [I am] 🔮 Concept image 2 #YUQI". Twitter. Retrieved 24 April 2018. "(G)I-DLE 1st mini album [I am] 🔮 Concept image 2 #SHUHUA". Twitter. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  8. ^ "(여자)아이들 1st mini album [I am] 🔮 Track list 2018.05.02 18:00 (KST)". Twitter. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  9. ^ "[📽] 1st mini album "I am" Audio snippet 2018.05.02 18:00 (KST)". Twitter. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  10. ^ "(여자)아이들((G)I-DLE) - 'LATATA' : 미연(MIYEON) Teaser". (G)I-DLE (여자)아이들 (Official YouTube Channel). YouTube. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018. "(여자)아이들((G)I-DLE) - 'LATATA' : 민니(MINNIE) Teaser". (G)I-DLE (여자)아이들 (Official YouTube Channel). YouTube. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018. "(여자)아이들((G)I-DLE) - 'LATATA' : 수진(SOOJIN) Teaser". (G)I-DLE (여자)아이들 (Official YouTube Channel). YouTube. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018. "(여자)아이들((G)I-DLE) - 'LATATA' : 소연(SOYEON) Teaser". (G)I-DLE (여자)아이들 (Official YouTube Channel). YouTube. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018. "(여자)아이들((G)I-DLE) - 'LATATA' : 우기(YUQI) Teaser". (G)I-DLE (여자)아이들 (Official YouTube Channel). YouTube. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018. "(여자)아이들((G)I-DLE) - 'LATATA' : 슈화(SHUHUA) Teaser". (G)I-DLE (여자)아이들 (Official YouTube Channel). YouTube. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  11. ^ "(여자)아이들((G)I-DLE) - 'LATATA' M/V teaser". (G)I-DLE (여자)아이들 (Official YouTube Channel). YouTube. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  12. ^ ""걸크러쉬 카리스마"..(여자)아이들, 6人6色 매력 화보". eNews. 2018-06-25. Archived from the original on 2021-05-04. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
  13. ^ "[포토] (여자)아이들 슈화 '만화 미모'". Sports Chosun (in Korean). May 2, 2018.
  14. ^ "'엠카운트다운' 여자친구·아이즈·헤일로·(여자)아이들 등 무대 준비". Asia Today (in Korean). May 3, 2018.
  15. ^ "'더쇼' (여자)아이들, 첫 1위 '눈물'..엔플라잉 컴백·NCT 제노X김용국 새 MC[종합]". OSEN (in Korean). May 22, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  16. ^ "[종합] '엠카' (여자)아이들, 데뷔곡 '라타타'로 2관왕…무서운 신인" (in Korean). Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  17. ^ "2018년 18주차 Album Chart". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). April 29 – May 10, 2018.
  18. ^ "World Albums: Top World Albums Chart". Billboard. May 19, 2018.
  19. ^ "(G)I-DLE Hit New Peak on World Digital Song Sales Chart With 'Hann (Alone)'". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  20. ^ "국내 대표 음악 차트 가온차트!". gaonchart.co.kr. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  21. ^ "국내 대표 음악 차트 가온차트!". gaonchart.co.kr. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  22. ^ "The 20 Best K-pop Albums of 2018: Critics' Picks". Billboard. 2018-12-17.
  23. ^ a b "(G)I-DLE Hit New Peak on World Albums, Earn Best U.S. Sales Week With 'I Trust' EP". Billboard. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  24. ^ "I Am". May 20–26, 2018.
  25. ^ "第23 週 統計時間:2018/6/1 - 2018/6/7". 5music (in Chinese). Five Music. Archived from the original on October 8, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  26. ^ "I Am". Billboard. May 9, 2018.
  27. ^ "Gaon Album Chart – June 2018". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  28. ^ "Gaon Album Chart – February 2019". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Retrieved November 23, 2019.
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