Yuqi

Yuqi (우기) also known as Sòng Yǔ Qí (宋雨琦) is a Chinese singer signed under Cube Entertainment. She is the lead dancer, vocalist, rapper and face of the South Korean girl group (G)I-DLE.

Early life
Yuqi has enjoyed listening to music from a young age. Whilst her mother was pregnant with her, she would often use MP3 players and let her listen to all kinds of music. This may have influenced her to gain an interest in music as a child and even go on to pursue a career as a singer. As she started singing, she wondered if more practice would allow her to sing even better. This inspired her to sing every day, which would also give people a chance to hear her voice. She also learnt Chinese dance at a young age, more specifically the Daizu dance. The Daizu dance is not particularly well-known, however Yuqi has performed it previously in a video that can be watched here.

K-Pop became an important part of Yuqi’s life during her secondary school years. She began watching more and more K-Pop dance videos online and was very interested in K-Pop songs and choreographies. In fact, she would spend lots of time watching these dance videos in order to learn the choreography herself. At home, she would often imagine herself standing on a stage and holding a pen, practicing her singing and dancing, and enjoying a concert of her own creation. Among the many types of dance, she was mostly into the ‘Girl Crush’ style and was a big fan of HyunA.

She participated in the 2015 Cube Audition held in Beijing and was later contacted by Cube Entertainment for a second evaluation. The process of going alone to South Korea was not easy for her as her parents were strongly against the idea of her becoming an idol. She would try to persuade them daily and eventually they approved of her decision, realising that Yuqi should be able to do what she wanted to. To this day, she is very grateful for her parents’ support in her decision. At the same time, she feels bad due to her mindset that “training was even better than thinking of exams” which she admits was troublesome at the time. During her 2018 debut trailer, she was quoted as saying "This is troublesome...it's not that I'm pretending to study, I've always been a good student...The fact that people say I'm a know-it-all and it makes [me] sad".

She passed her final audition in South Korea and her trainee life commenced soon after. On May 2nd 2018, she has debuted with the rest of (G)I-DLE, releasing high-charting records and winning numerous awards. She is supposedly in charge of the group's aegyo (acting cute).

2018–present: (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.[7] She debuted with the group on May 2, 2018 as the lead vocalist and dancer with their lead single titled "Latata" of their debut album, I Am.[8]

In 2019, Song Yuqi became a cast member for the seventh season of the Chinese TV show Keep Running, alongside Angelababy, Lucas Wong and four other male casts.[9]

In April 2019 Yuqi was cast in a new variety show The Gashinas. The pilot episode aired on May 19.[10][11] In June 2019, Yuqi was confirmed as part of the cast for Law of the Jungle in Myanmar.[12][13] In September, Yuqi sang in a social travel reality show Please Pay Attention Visitors ending song, "Happy Seasoning".[14]

In May 2020, Song debuted as a songwriter and composer with "I'm the Trend" alongside Minnie and FCM Houdini. "I'm the Trend" is a song dedicated for Neverland, and was unveiled during her group's first online concert I-Land: Who Am I, on July 5, 2020.[15] On May 29, Song was cast as the first performer alongside WJSN's Exy and Yeoreum in 1theK Originals' The First Date. The show aim to build new friendship by sharing various games, missions, and quizzes by girl group members who have met frequently on various music broadcasts, but have not had the opportunity to get close to each other.[16] For (G)I-dle's first single album, Song was credited for "Dumdi Dumdi" Chinese lyrics and guide alongside Z King.[17] On September 17, KakaoTV launched an original entertainment Learn Way, a program that captures the process of being reborn as an 'all-rounder' by meeting with expert mentors in various fields with Song as the host. The show was aired on September 20.[18] In October, Song was cast in tvN's I′m a Survivor which features Park Eun-ha as the instructor and 6 entertainers who'll go through a survival training project.[19] On November 9, it was announced that Song would participate in G-Star 2020 with Krafton, an e-sports reality show where celebrities and streamers entered a special school that specialized in battlegrounds conduct episodes and talk related to PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Series 3.[20] On November 22, Song appeared on Play Seoul, a program produced by the Seoul Tourism Foundation and KBS where influential K-stars can share with global fans their experiences in Seoul in real-time. The show aims to promote safe post-COVID19 tourism in Seoul. Song alongside Minnie introduced the hip alley ways in Seoul by visiting Euljiro and Itaewon for their cafes and restaurants.[21] On November 30, Song will also appear in Seoul Connects U, a variety travel show jointly planned and produced by MBC and Seoul Tourism Foundation. The program will show a time slip trip in the same space and at different times to global fans by linking the past and present of Seoul through photos of stars and fans in real-time.[22]