Yuqi

Song Yuqi (Chinese: 宋雨琦; born September 23, 1999), known mononymously as Yuqi, is a Chinese singer-songwriter, dancer and record producer. She is a member of the South Korean girl group I-dle, which debuted as (G)I-dle under Cube Entertainment in May 2018. She has been a cast member of the Chinese variety show Keep Running since 2019 and hosted the KakaoTV reality show Learn Way (2020–2021). In May 2021, Yuqi made her solo debut with a single album A Page.

Life and career

1999–2018: Early life and pre-debut activities

Song Yuqi was born on September 23, 1999, in Beijing, China. She attended Beijing 101 Middle School. In 2015, Yuqi attended the Cube Star World Audition Beijing Station, performing CLC's "High Heels" and G.E.M.'s "Bubble".

2018–2020: (G)I-dle and solo activities

On April 8, 2018, Yuqi was revealed to be an upcoming member of Cube Entertainment's new girl group, (G)I-dle. She debuted with the group on May 2, 2018, with the lead single titled "Latata" of their debut extended play (EP), I Am.

In 2019, Yuqi became a cast member for the seventh season of the Chinese TV show Keep Running.

In April 2019, Yuqi was cast in a new variety show The Gashinas[ko]. The pilot episode aired on May 19. In June 2019, Yuqi was confirmed as part of the cast for Law of the Jungle in Myanmar. In September, Yuqi sang the ending theme for the Chinese reality show Please Pay Attention Visitors[zh].

In May 2020, Yuqi debuted as a songwriter and composer with "I'm the Trend", a song dedicated to (G)I-dle's fanbase. On May 29, Yuqi was cast alongside WJSN's Exy and Yeoreum in 1theK Originals' game show The First Date. For (G)I-dle's first single album, Yuqi was credited for "Dumdi Dumdi" Chinese lyrics and guide alongside Z King. On September 17, KakaoTV launched an original entertainment program hosted by Yuqi, Learn Way. In October, Yuqi was cast in tvN's I'm a Survivor, a reality show where entertainers undergo survival training for natural disasters. On November 9, it was announced that Yuqi would participate in G-Star 2020 with Krafton, an e-sports reality show where celebrities and streamers entered a special school for PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Series 3. On November 22, Yuqi appeared on Play Seoul, a program produced by the Seoul Tourism Foundation and KBS with the aim of promoting safe post-COVID-19 tourism in Seoul. On November 30, Yuqi also appeared in Seoul Connects U, a variety travel show jointly planned and produced by MBC and Seoul Tourism Foundation.

On January 11, 2021, (G)I-dle released their fourth EP I Burn, on which Yuqi co-wrote and co-composed the song "Lost." Later that month, the group released a Chinese version of their lead single "Hwaa", with Chinese lyrics written by Yuqi.

2021–present: Solo debut, China's activities, international collaborations

For most of 2021, Yuqi focused on promoting as a soloist in China. On May 6, 2021, Cube Entertainment announced that Yuqi would debut as a solo artist with single album A Page on May 13, which includes the lead singles "Giant" and "Bonnie & Clyde". In August, she became a contestant in the music talent survival show Stage Boom. On October 27, Yuqi participated in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games theme song "Salute to the Heroes". Throughout 2021, Yuqi also participated in multiple Chinese variety shows including Keep Running, Let's Fall In Love 3[zh], 2060[zh], and Shine! Super Brothers[zh].

In late 2021, Yuqi returned to South Korea to prepare for (G)I-dle's comeback. On March 14, 2022, the group released their first studio album I Never Die, in which Yuqi participated in writing and composing the tracks "Polaroid" and "Liar." In April, she was cast as a panelist in the TVING web series Zero-Sum Game. Later that month, Yuqi's (G)I-dle groupmate Miyeon released her debut EP My on which Yuqi co-composed the track "Rain." In October, (G)I-dle released their fifth EP I Love, on which Yuqi co-composed the tracks "Reset" and "Dark (X-File)."

In February 2023, Yuqi and groupmate Miyeon released the song "Sweet Dream" as part of the soundtrack for the Netflix romantic comedy series Love to Hate You. Later in February, she collaborated with EDM producer team HypeerTime on the song "Not Cinderella" for the KakaoPage webtoon I Wasn't the Cinderella. In March, she was confirmed to return as a main cast member in season 11 of Keep Running. In May, (G)I-dle returned with their sixth EP I Feel, on which Yuqi participated in writing and composing the tracks "All Night" and "Peter Pan." In June, Yuqi was a featured artist on Choi Ye-na's "Hate Rodrigo", the lead single from Choi's second single album Hate XX. The following month, she made her acting debut in the Netflix original series Celebrity as Zhang Wei, a Chinese influencer. On September 5, Yuqi and Miyeon released the single "How to Twerk" as part of the soundtrack of the Mnet dance competition show Street Woman Fighter 2. Six days later, she was cast alongside Chuu and Billlie's Tsuki in the Studio X+U entertainment show Star of Star Girls.

On December 14, Yuqi collaborated with Alan Walker and Jvke on the single "Fire!" off of Walker's fifth studio album Walkerworld 2.0. On January 29, 2024, (G)I-dle released their second studio album 2, on which Yuqi co-wrote and co-composed the tracks "Doll" and "Rollie". On February 27, Yuqi released "Bad Liar", a special track from the tvN series Marry My Husband.

On March 22, 2024, it was announced that Yuqi would be making her Korean solo debut in April. On April 2, it was officially confirmed that she would be releasing her first EP Yuq1 on April 23, with the pre-release single "Could It Be" released on April 5. The lead single "Freak" and its accompanying music video were released together with the EP. On September 20, Yuqi released the promotional single "One" as part of the soundtrack for the Chinese release of Transformers One.

On March 14, 2025, a teaser was released stating that Yuqi would be releasing a digital single "Radio (Dum-Dum)", a medium-tempo boom bap track that compares a broken heart to a record, on March 17. On September 1, Cube Entertainment announced that Yuqi would be releasing her first single album Motivation on September 16, with the lead single "M.O.". The album's release was preceded by the release of a music video for the track "Gone" (아프다) on September 10, which starred Chinese actor Wang Anyu.

Personal life

Yuqi came to South Korea in 2016 and is known to have high-level Korean proficiency. Her Korean Proficiency level was certified in 2020 when she gained Level 5 out of 6 overall in the TOPIK test (222, 8 points below the level 6 score of 230). When asked about her language skills in KBS2's Happy Together 3, she answered, "Kim Soo-hyun was my Korean teacher. I fell in love with him after watching the drama My Love from the Star. I studied Korean with my mother with the drama."

In addition to Korean and her native Mandarin Chinese, Yuqi is also fluent in English.

In the media

Yuqi has appeared on various South Korean entertainment shows such as KBS2 Happy Together 3, JTBC Knowing Bros, MBC Every 1 Korean Foreigners, and SBS Running Man. She was a special MC on SBS MTV's The Show and hosted her own show on KakaoTV, Learn Way. Yuqi was praised for her sense of entertainment and fluent Korean. Korean media has complimented her "Yoo Jae-seok-class sense of entertainment" and praised her "outstanding Korean skills that are different from those from other idol groups".

Other ventures

Fashion and endorsements

Aside from various endorsements with her group, Yuqi has promoted various products and has been featured in numerous advertisements. During her trainee years, she was a model for the local South Korean skin care line Rising Star Cosmetics. On April 28, 2019, Yuqi was introduced as Vivlas new beauty brand model.

In 2021, Yuqi continued to grow in popularity, collaborating with Chinese brands such as Momenten, a sugar-free sparkling alcohol brand, Limeflare, a fashion and jewelry brand, and the cosmetics brand Carslan. On August 6, she was chosen to become the face of luxury sunglasses and eyeglasses Ray-Ban in Greater China due to her "brave[ness] in expressing her true self and full of positive energy."

In February 2023, Yuqi was announced as a brand spokesperson for a Chinese cosmetics brand named Into You. On January 8, 2024, Yuqi was announced as a brand ambassador for Fendi. Later that month, she became a brand ambassador for the online clothing brand Dekavv. In April 2024, she became a brand ambassador for Anessa, a Japanese sunscreen brand owned by Shiseido. In July, she was selected as the model for activewear brand Xexymix. In November, Yuqi was chosen as a brand ambassador for bags and shoes by luxury women's fashion label Tory Burch LLC. In December, she became a brand spokesperson for Adidas.

Ambassadorship

In 2021, Yuqi was appointed as the ambassador for the International Day of the Deaf, jointly organized by Baidu and Listening Foundation.

Discography

Extended plays

Single albums

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Soundtrack appearances

Other charted songs

Composition credits

All song credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database, unless otherwise noted.

Videography

Music videos

Filmography

Web series

Television shows

Web shows

Awards and nominations

Notes

External links

• Media related to Song Yuqi at Wikimedia Commons