| “ | A red flower 'HWAA' that bloomed through the cracks of a scar [I burn], (G)I-DLE's fourth album of the 'I' series |
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–Album description | ||
I burn is the fourth mini album by (G)I-DLE. It was released on January 11, 2021.
The physical album is available in three versions: Winter, Flower, and Fire.
It is their last release with Soojin preceding her departure from the group on August 14, 2021.
Description[]
| “ | "(G)I-DLE is releasing their 4th Mini Album (I burn) and signal the start of their return. Followed by 'Oh my god' that heated up 2020 with its formidable performance, and 'DUMDi DUMDi', (G)I-DLE's style of catchy summer song, this time they are back to show the change of scenery with a heart-aching breakup song on top of Eastern instrument sounds.
The album [I burn] began with a thought: 'Breakup is not over until it's completely forgotten'. It depicts a story of mixed emotions one may go through in the process of parting and finding happiness again. As 'my' story begins with burned heart by painful breakup, the album ends by showing although these scars may hurt me, they make me to glow and bloom a red flower. As the name and the lyrics of the title track 'HWAA' depict, (G)I-DLE sings the pain of love by using blazing fire and beautiful flower as metaphors. The listeners will picture a frosty, white snowfield, a flame blazing up from a distance, and a radiant flower blooming underneath in front of their eyes as they listen to the track. Another collaboration from the group's leader Soyeon and composer Pop Time, 'HWAA' catches the ears by its addictive hook and lyrics with dramatic emotional changes. Three versions of visual concepts portraying the emotional shift from the scars of a separation to returning to a state of full bloom reaffirm (G)I-DLE as 'Conceptual queens'. Using 'Winter' as a metaphor for the pain from separation, the pain is burned by the 'Fire', and blooms a 'Flower' at the end, these conceptual keywords and stories are blended to create overall vibe for visual pleasure. Not only did (G)I-DLE drew enthusiastic responses from the audience for perfectly pulling off the freezing and lonesome image of winter, the swaying and spreading image of fire, and beautiful yet stinging image of flower, but they also revealed refined acting skills in the music video as a pleasant surprise. (G)I-DLE participated in lyrics and writing of all tracks of this album and established themselves as incomparable, self-produced artists with their own unique music and concept. Join in on (G)I-DLE's journey for 2021, as they will stir up a hype and continue paving the way to a genre of their own. |
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Track list[]
- HANN (Alone in winter) / 한 (寒) - 2:55
- HWAA / 화 (火花) - 3:17
- MOON - 3:20
- Where is love - 2:57
- LOST - 3:01
- DAHLIA - 3:10
Audio[]
Spotify[]
Background and promotion[]
On December 9, Newsen reported that (G)I-DLE would be making a comeback in mid-January. Cube Entertainment confirmed the news, stating, "(G)I-dle is preparing for a comeback with goals for release in mid-January. Please look forward to their return." On December 27, Cube released a visual film announcing their comeback through the official YouTube channel of the group. The video features various elements of nature such as rain, fire, flowers, and butterflies. On December 28, the group confirmed the album title in a post across all the group's social media accounts, and that I Burn would be released on January 11, 2021. On December 31, (G)I-dle revealed the album's track-list on their social media. On January 2, 2021, the concept preview video of the album was released. On January 6, the group released the highlight medley for their new album. On January 11, the group held an online media showcase for the release of I Burn hosted by broadcaster Oh Jung-yeon, who appeared in I'm a Survivor with Yuqi. During the showcase, Yuqi described the intro song "Hann (Alone in Winter)" as a song that connects with the digital single "Hann (Alone)" and the title song "Hwaa". "It's similar to "Hann" but it gives a different feel to it."
Commercial performance[]
According to Hanteo Chart, I Burn debuted at No. 1 on the daily album chart with 75,510 copies sold. This is higher by 19,147 copies compared to (G)I-dle's Dumdi Dumdi album released on August 3, 2020, which recorded 56,363 copies in first-day sales. The album also debuted at No.1 on Gaon Retail Album Chart with 59,086 copies sold. On January 13, it was reported that the album charted on iTunes Top Album charts in 52 regions around the world, including the Netherlands, New Zealand, Canada, Russia, Brazil, Italy and Finland. Moreover, on iTunes I Burn spent 3 days atop the summit of the iTunes Worldwide Albums Chart, beating out the record of their previous EP, I Trust. In Melon chart, (G)I-dle not only charted "Hwaa", but also all the songs from I Burn. This is the first time that the group has made such achievement since its debut in 2018. On the chart issued January 10–16, 2021, I Burn debuted at number 3 on South Korea's Gaon Album Chart, and Gaon Weekly Retail Album Chart. It also scored their best one-week sales with 115,500 copies. Moreover, all songs in the EP entered the Gaon Digital Chart. The US-released on April 30, 2021, the album debuted at number 10 on the US Billboard World Album, number 20 on the US Billboard Heatseekers Albums, and rank at number 22 on the Billboard Top Current Album Sales chart. They also charted at number 54 on Billboard Top Album Sales chart, making it their first entry on the chart, and peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Emerging Artists Chart since the released of I Trust (2020)
Accolades[]
Music program awards for "Hwaa"[]
| Program | Date (10 wins total) |
|---|---|
| Show Champion | January 20, 2021 |
| M Countdown | January 21, 2021 |
| January 28, 2021 | |
| February 4, 2021 | |
| Music Bank | January 22, 2021 |
| Show! Music Core | January 23, 2021 |
| January 30, 2021 | |
| Inkigayo | January 24, 2021 |
| January 31, 2021 | |
| The Show | January 26, 2021 |
