Last month, i-dle’s Soyeon pre-released her track Star off her upcoming full length solo album. Today, that album finally materializes alongside title track I’m Gonna TOESA (퇴사할게여). For those curious, “toesa” is a romanization of the Korean slang for “quitting a job.” In my line of word it sounds like “TOSA,” a acronym for “teacher on special assignment.” I don’t suppose that would have made much sense.

I’m Gonna TOESA comes along with narration from popular webtoon artist turned TV celebrity Kian84, which is enough to earn a slight smile from me. I love Kian. This cameo also gives an indication of the market Soyeon is targeting. From sound to context, this is pretty directly targeted toward Korean audiences. This is probably a smart move given i-dle’s tremendous success with 2024’s Fate — the last time the group really held the center of culture.

Because of this approach, I assume I’m Gonna TOESA has a more localized appeal that I won’t fully grasp. To my ears, it’s a perfectly nice pop/rock ditty, sprightly and enjoyable but also lightweight and forgettable. It’s nice to hear Soyeon sing, freed from the posturing stance she must adopt for her more attitude-focused music. She’s got a quirky performance style that isn’t quite for me but will likely find its fan base on a track like this.

Grade: C