i-dle’s YUQI is turning 27 with a new solo chapter. On September 22, the K-pop idol announced her second mini album, 27, which is scheduled for release October 8 and arrives more than two years after her official solo debut with Yuq1.
The announcement came on YUQI’s 27th birthday, with the project introduced through a concept built around the contradictions of growing older. “Twenty-seven—the age when the brightest smiles often hide the deepest worries, like a sunflower growing toward the sun while leaving its shadow behind,” reads the album’s description, framing 27 as a project about the emotions that exist beneath a confident exterior.
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The new mini album marks YUQI’s return to solo music after Yuq1, her April 2024 debut EP and the first project officially positioned as the beginning of her solo career. Released April 23, 2024, Yuq1 followed her 2021 digital single album A Page and established a more personal creative identity for the i-dle member, who had already contributed lyrics and compositions to the group’s catalog.
YUQI promoted Yuq1 with two key singles, beginning with the pre-release “Could It Be” on April 5. The EP’s title track “Freak” arrived alongside the project and its music video on April 23, giving the singer a distinct solo sound that leaned into her songwriting and performance style.
The project also represented a major commercial milestone. Yuq1 surpassed 500,000 pre-orders before release and sold 550,170 copies during its first week, setting a record at the time for the highest first-week sales by a K-pop female soloist’s debut EP. The mini album debuted at No. 2 on South Korea’s Circle Album Chart.
The announcement currently leaves much of 27 under wraps, including its tracklist, title song and promotional schedule. With the album arriving October 8, the coming weeks should reveal how YUQI translates the “sunflower” concept into music, visuals and a new chapter of her solo identity.
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