Minnie on (G)I-dle's Tour, Her Style, and Her Successful Solo Ventures

Born into a musical family, with her mother and uncle playing the piano, Thailand-born and South Korea-based Minnie was destined to be an idol. She started piano lessons when she was five, and vocal lessons when she was seven, before moving to South Korea in 2015 — four years ago, when Minnie was 20, it was revealed that she had made it into Cube Entertainment’s (G)I-dle as the K-pop girl group’s main vocalist. They were dubbed the “monster rookies” of 2018, and quickly became known as the first South Korean girl group to write and produce most of their own songs. Earlier this year, (G)I-dle scored their first number one single in South Korea, with Tomboy topping the charts. Now, the group is in the midst of their first world tour — just before the Asian leg of the tour, Minnie sat down with L’Officiel Singapore for an exclusive interview.

You will be on the Asian leg of the tour very soon, and you’ll be visiting Singapore in early October. What are you looking forward to most with the Asian leg of the tour?

I’m really looking forward to all of it. I’ve been to Singapore before, and just thinking of seeing all the Neverland fans there makes me feel so excited!

What can your fans in Singapore look forward to?

The Singapore concert will be (G)I-dle’s first exclusive concert, so we are really looking forward to it and putting on the best show for our fans. See you soon!

What’s your favourite part of the Just Me ()I-dle concert or your favourite song to perform?

I’m looking forward to the live performances of songs that I composed, because there weren’t many opportunities before to show the songs that I made on stage. Fans can expect to see and hear songs such as Moon, Already, and Escape for the first time at this concert. We look forward to your support!

Big congratulations are also in order for the success of (G)I-dle’s first full-length studio album, I Never Die, as well as its lead single, Tomboy, which topped the singles charts in South Korea earlier this year. Were you and the group surprised by the incredible reaction to your latest musical releases?

This was our first full album after a long hiatus, and so we really poured our heart and soul into this album. We put all our efforts into the making of this album because we didn’t want to disappoint our amazing Neverland fans who are always supportive of and eager for our next releases. We are so thankful and happy for all the support.

(G)I-dle has always been celebrated for being a “self-producing idol group” — actively conceptualising and involved in all your musical projects. Tell us a bit about the creative process — does it tend to follow a certain structure or is the creative exchange very organic between the members?

Our motto is “let’s have fun” with our music. So we try to express our message and the music that we want to do through our songs, and we want to show our special and unique selves through our music. Also, each member has a unique personality in the music-making process, and so we try to show that by separating the song into unique parts. We do our best to really showcase each member’s unique personality.

How would you describe your style?

I believe that fashion is an art and a way for me to express myself. I personally really enjoy and love fashion, and I try to mix it up based on how I’m feeling. When I’m performing on stage, I tend to be more adventurous with my hair, makeup and outfits. When I’m off the stage, I tend to dress more “street” and “hip” in my everyday fashion. I am obsessed with shoes, so that’s definitely a fashion item that I enjoy the most.

What can we expect from Minnie next?

In the future, we will continue to showcase our diversity and growth for our fans, so we look forward to your continued support. We also look forward to meeting the Singapore Neverland fans at our concert! Please show your love for the L’Officiel Singapore September issue as well!