It’s become more common than not for marquee K-pop acts to pre-release material before unveiling their title track. At best, this allows for more left-field songs to gain attention, broadening the sound and texture of an artist’s discography. At worst, it waters down the power of a flawless, all-killer-no-filler singles run.
Wife will be the final track on (G)I-DLE’s upcoming second album and definitely feels more like a curio than a world-conquering single. This is a good approach for the group, who have always been a little quirkier than their contemporaries. Whatever you may think of them (and I’ve had my own critiques in the past), (G)I-DLE are definitely their own unique thing.
As usual with this group, I can’t tell if Wife is some amazing feminist statement or just a bit of silliness. Either way, I appreciate how camp it’s trying to be. I don’t think it quite gets there because you can feel the effort behind the quirkiness, but the dance beat is fun and the hooks are catchy (if a bit repetitive). Paired with a striking music video (I love the wigs!), Wife feels primed for TikTok ubiquity. That means we’re more likely to encounter the song in brief ten second snippets, which is probably the optimal length for a track like this. Whether that’s a strength or weakness depends on your expectations. For now, I’m glad this exists even if I’m unlikely to play it again.
Hooks
8
Production
8
Longevity
7
Bias
7
RATING
7.5