i-dle (formerly (G)I-DLE) is back with the title track “Good Thing,” from their 8th mini album We are. Released on May 19, 2025, it’s their first comeback since they changed their name and renewed their contract with Cube Entertainment. Everything about the album marks the start of a new era for i-dle.
Second Gen Nostalgia
The production for “Good Thing” is reminiscent of early 2010s K-pop. Chintzy synths, heavy use of vocoder and autotune, the song evokes the novelty of recession pop without sounding gimmicky.
According to Soyeon, she wanted to “tell a story that I-DLE has never done before. The song narrates a story about confronting a cheating partner.” The lyrics are snarky and confident where the narrator makes it clear she isn’t losing any sleep over her womanizing ex:
“Yo, dear “Dumb and Dumber”
Get lost, even if I got you for free, no, no, no, no
Stutterin’ when you see me, like uh-uh-uh-uh
Yo, hello girl next to boy, what a mess, it sucks
Just take him, I’m over it, kickin’ it boom, boom, boom, boom”
“Hey, boy, you never know what you’re missing now
So, holding until I die, yo
Boy, it is such a good thing for tonight-ight-ight-ight
Goodbye baby, mwah”
The Music Video
The official music video for “Good Thing” is a chaotic fever dream. Half the video shows the members attacking each other in an empty parking lot, a public restroom. Things get even crazier when the members harass random strangers on the subway, which culminates in Miyeon pushing Yuqi out of the subway door; while it’s still moving! Though to be fair, that was probably payback for Yuqi smashing a glass bottle over her head on front of the paparazzi.
Many fans believe the MV is a satire on the duplicity of celebrities. Whether they’re idols, actors, athletes, or an influencer, the way famous people behave on screen is very different from the person they turn into once the cameras stop rolling. How much of their persona is a complete lie or a compilation of genuine characteristics that are conveniently marketable depends on the person in question. But the point is that we’ll never know a celebrity as intimately as their friends and family do, because we’ll never get that close to them.
Throughout the MV, we see i-dle posing for photos in front of a white background, rocking natural makeup while wearing white T-shirts and blue jeans. They look pure and perfect while their picture is plastered on a billboard that reads “STOP HATE, SPREAD LOVE.” However, their real personas don’t match this image at all.
While i-dle enters a new phase of their careers, one thing remains the same. Seven years after their debut, the girls are still using their music and concept to comment on the world around them, in a style that’s theirs alone.
