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 |
Grade: C
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
my only issue with this song is that its so short (2:10, watch the next song be less than 1:30 lol)
Otherwise, its solid
8.25/10 for me
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We’ve already heard that all 8(?) songs on the album are under 3 minutes 😭 so you’re not exaggerating that much.
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Not all songs. “7Days” is 3 minutes and 18 seconds.
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I’m not into this kind of music at all so I don’t like it.
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This is undoubtedly a 0/10 for me.
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This sounds exactly like SNL (and later, SNL Korea)’s “I broke my arm” skit.
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“I wipe your shit ass” 💀
That’s all I keep hearing. Tbh I can’t consider this a song, unlike Nick I certainly don’t appreciate this existing.
Very unfortunate I need to now acknowledge this exists in Gidle’s discography
0/10
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I thought I was the only one who heard “I wipe your shit ass”…
Song’s a 3/10 for me.
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Your not the only one lmao!!! I had to recheck the lyrics to make sure that if “I clean your room twinkle twinkle” was actually a lyric.
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It was a fun track , they perform it well. Im still unsure of the lyrics so I can’t comment on what the approach was. However, given their history , I wouldn’t be surprised if this a failed attempt at feminism
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not my style and not sure about the lyrics either. I’ll give it more time but just from watching the mv I’m not sure what concept or message they’re trying to get across
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Today I’ve learned that Nick is very lenient (at least for this… song).
It doesn’t do much for me, if other k-pop songs were “it’s a bunch of noise, I can’t remember how it sounds”, this belongs to the “I know I listened to it and the only thing I remember is “I cook I clean” (and I’m not even sure if those are the actual lyrics) and the beat was nonexistent” joint, which is a first for me. So congrats to whoever (its probs Soyeon but again) cooked this, never let them in the kitchen ever again.
With this newly discovered leniency, I’ll be checking which songs you have given below 7 to see if they’re worse than this. Thank you Nick.
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With the reception this song is getting in the comments I feel like I need to listen to it again to see if I was too generous!
I’ve not been the biggest (G)I-DLE fan over the past few years so I try to check my bias at the door a little (ironic, given the title of the blog), but maybe I overcorrected? Time will tell.
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I’m placing my bet that by the time we get to this month’s risers and fallers we’re dropping to at least a 6.5 or somewhere in the D (ranking) area
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As someone who’s been hard on (G)I-DLE in the past (not helped by some of their more obnoxious stans), I actually don’t hate it. It’s a little cringe, ngl (idk what the actual lyrics are, but what it sounds like makes me wince a bit), but this is a lot more fun than their worst, most tedious material. Rating is about right, I’d almost say low 8s but it lacks the hook to take it there.
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I don’t think it is horrible either. It’s just not good.
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Its been a long time since I had to pull out the lyrics grading scorecard. But it does not matter here, as the lyrics are shih-izz mmm mmm. I really did look it up to confirm that, yes, the first line of the refrain is “I cook cream soup, taste is coco loco”.
My daughter told me this joke this very morning: “I went to a lousy zoo today, it only had one animal in the whole zoo which was one little dog, which made it a shih tzu.”
Coincidentally, my only miss from my dear beloved Jonghyun is his song “She is” which also sounds like “Oh Shizz”.
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Ah, the trusty lyrics rating board <3. How I' ve missed cooky lyrics! It feels a bit forced in this song though, trying too hard to be funny on purpose. I have the same problem with 'She is' which I could never unhear as 'oh shiz' either. I do like the song, though, I think the way he sung that line makes 'oh shiz' sound very plausible and funny.
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I loved it! Yes, it is short however, I think it’s a fun and good song because the bop of a beat, the cool raps from all members, and the unapologetic delivery. 8/10 for me.
I doubt Soyeon has an ounce of respect for the English language. She wields it like a fun tool (or maybe a chainsaw?) and I support her efforts to make an irreverent banger to twerk/smash the patriarchy to. Why are the majority of commenters here so serious? 😛
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exactly!! to each their own but idk this is so camp and fun for me and unlearning the english language is always valid lmao! i love the way you put it as soyeon having 0 respect for it. for me everything gidle does is so different and distinct. id rate this 8.5 out of 10, hell even round it off to 9 off of fun and unique factor alone
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Not a fan of the song but I absolutely love the feminist lyrics and M/V!
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I am sorry, but I don’t think feminist material just about that kind of vibe, nowadays. It’s so old-style thinking.
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What old-style thinking? All they’re doing is making a mockery of expectations men place on ‘wives.’
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LMAO could’ve been a perfect IELTS reading or listening task because of how boring and repetitive this song is.
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It’s a no-no for me, would not listen to it again.
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not gonna expect smthing from g idle again…
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My God, this is bad bad. Disband this group already.
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I totally disagree with 7.5; I think it will be less than 6! Because what? It’s giving me an AD/COMMERCIAL song on TV. And the lyrics are so not catchy and less repeatable. I am sorry G-IDLE I have to critique this song so much.
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I like g-idle for their unpredictable concept and marketing style, and I find their songs pretty interesting and unique… But this song really screams tiktok music! Few good parts and the rest are sh*t! The only thing I can remember is coco loco! Also, the styling reminds me of Atarashii Gakko; don’t know if that’s a good thing? The song and MV is fun, but too repetitive and forgettable 2/10
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I disagree… no catchy hooks to be heard here. Major disappointment after queencard.
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This sounds like Fergulicious. I’m sorry but no.
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I’m not going to come down as hard as other people on the overall style of the song. If I tune out the part of my brain that registers all that terrible English in the lyrics, there’s definitely something there that could be fun and infectious if done right. I can think of several J-pop acts off the top of my head who could have nailed something like this and be on my replay list.
But Soyeon’s execution these days is not doing any favors. She may be tackling “important issues,” but things like this chorus, NxDE’s intro/first rap, ping pong/TikTok, and “my boob and booty is hot” is making it seem as much of a joke as Young Posse’s macaroni song. Imho it’s detracting from what she’s trying to do. The songs can be fun without being nonsensical.
And the great feminist message people are seeing in this is lost on me this time thanks to the baffling English in the chorus and outro.
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“my boob and booty’s hot” still haunts me til this day. It’s almost worse because Queencard was such a great song otherwise.
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I am all for some cooky crazy corny concepts and lyrics. Go bonkers! Pentagon That’ s Me. Orange Caramel’ s discography.
The issue is that the aforementioned work so well because they’ re fun and infectious. This is trying to be that, but there’ s no soul in it. I don’ t feel the fun. This song is loudly telling a joke it heard somebody else tell with more flair a few hours ago. A no from me.
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May I add Banana Allergy Monkey to the list too. It was for a while the highest selling single in Hanteo history, selling over 2 billion copies.
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You certainly may, I love that song! It’ s so earnestly fun and quirky.
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i like gidle and i think this is a very fair review. i, too, am glad this exists but don’t want to ever hear it again.
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Feminist message and sexual innuendos aside, I think it’s a fun song performed well by the members. Maybe an 8/10 for me?
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A lot of these haters in the comment section, including the author, are actually IVE and NJ stans.. Mediocre vocals that can’t sing live, can’t even rap and most of all they can’t even write their own song and purely relying on a european white dude.
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SONG RATINGS FOR EACH SONG:
2018-05-03: (G)I-DLE – “Latata”: Overall Rating = 8.25
2018-07-14: (G)I-DLE – “Hann (Alone)”: Overall Rating = 8.75
2019-02-26: (G)I-DLE – “Senorita”: Overall Rating = 7.5
2019-06-26: (G)I-DLE – “Uh-Oh”: Overall Rating = 8
2019-11-03: (G)I-DLE – “Lion”: Overall Rating = 8.5
2020-04-06: (G)I-DLE – “Oh My God”: Overall Rating = 7
2020-07-03: (G)I-DLE – “DUMDi DUMDi”: Overall Rating = 7.5
2021-01-11: (G)I-DLE – “HWAA”: Overall Rating = 8
2021-04-29: (G)I-DLE – “Last Dance”: Overall Rating = 7.75
2022-03-14: (G)I-DLE – “Tomboy”: Overall Rating = 7.75
2022-10-17: (G)I-DLE – “Nxde”: Overall Rating = 5.25
2023-05-09: (G)I-DLE — “Allergy”: Overall Rating = 8
2023-05-15: (G)I-DLE — “Queencard”: Overall Rating = 7
2023-07-13: (G)I-DLE — “I Do”: Overall Rating = 8.25
2023-10-06: (G)I-DLE — “I Want That”: Overall Rating = 7.75
2024-01-21: (G)I-DLE — “Wife”: Overall Rating = 7.5
so before you say that, DO YOUR FUCKING RESEARCH
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Not to be that guy, but “Oh My God” fell to a 5.5, but then again this is about the initial review score and not later changes to the score.
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but nick likes infinite more than ive and nj…
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It’s idiotic and kind of irresistible. I like it.
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I think it’s a perfect piece of modern contemporary art. I can see this on an art installation somewhere to confuse people. However, some of the breakdowns for this song has been quite interesting and… (broken English aside) it seems that Soyeon knew that either people will love it or hate it, it will gain traction either way.
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I really don’t understand why CUBE can’t give (G)I-DLE a proper full album, because both “I Never Die” and “2” are 8 tracks long and 8 tracks is not a full album. Their first mini album “I Am” is a few seconds longer than their second full album. Do you see the problem here?
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