Song Yuqi

Song Yuqi (; 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 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 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." 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. Throughout 2021, Yuqi also participated in multiple Chinese variety shows including Keep Running, , , and . In April, she was cast as a panelist in the TVING web series Zero-Sum Game.

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." The following month, she made her acting debut in the Netflix original series Celebrity as Zhang Wei, a Chinese influencer. Six days later, she was cast alongside Chuu and Billlie's Tsuki in the Studio X+U entertainment show Star of Star Girls. 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 third 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" 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". 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 + List of extended plays, showing selected details, selected chart positions, sales figures, and certifications Title Details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications KOR JPN Yuq1 Released: April 23, 2024 Label: Cube, Kakao Formats: CD, digital download, streaming 2 42 KOR: 701,598 JPN: 1,389 KMCA: 2× Platinum

Single albums + List of single albums, showing selected details, selected chart positions, sales figures, and certifications Title Details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications KOR

As featured artist Title Year Peak chart positions Album CHN KOR "Hate Rodrigo" 2023 — 117 Hate XX "Fire!" — — Walkerworld 2.0 "Drive U Crazy" 2025 — 41 Her "Fly to the Youth" (Chinese version) 84 — Ignition

Soundtrack appearances Title Year Peak chart positions Album CHN KOR "" 2019 — — Keep Running OST "Happy Seasoning" — — Please Pay Attention Visitors OST "VVS" 2021 68 — Stage Boom OST "Sweet Dream" 2023 — — Love to Hate You OST Part 1 "Not Cinderella" — — I Wasn't the Cinderella OST Part 1 "How to Twerk" — 85 Street Woman Fighter 2 OST Part 2 "Making Waves" — — Rising With the Wind OST "Bad Liar" 2024 — — Marry My Husband OST "Circumference and Waning" 2026 81 — A Century of the Palace Museum OST

Other charted songs Title Year Peak chart positions Album CHN USWorld "Gone" 2025 — 9 Motivation "Gone" (Chinese version; ) 28 —

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

Videography

Music videos Title Year Director(s) "Giant" 2021 Tezo Don Lee(Tjoff Koong Studios London) "Bonnie and Clyde" Neo Young(Club Media) "Could It Be" 2024 Jimmy(Via Production) "Freak" Samson(Highqualityfish) "Radio (Dum-Dum)" Jimmy(Via Production) "Gone" 2025 "M.O." Lafic

Filmography

Web series Year Title Role Notes 2023 Celebrity Zhang Wei Cameo (Ep. 8–9)

Television shows Year Title Role Notes 2019–present Keep Running Cast member 2019 Law of the Jungle in Myanmar 2020 I'm a Survivor Play Seoul Tour guide Hip Street Tour 请吃饭的姐姐 Cast member Host 2025 I'm Sunny Thank You

Web shows Year Title Role Notes 2020 The First Date Cast member 2022 Zero-Sum Game Host 2023 Star Girl Cast member

Awards and nominations + Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination Award ceremony Year Category Nominee / Work Result Asia Artist Awards 2025 Popularity Award – Solo Yuqi Tencent Music Entertainment Awards 2025 Influential Dance Artist of the Year Chinese Digital EP of the Year Yuq1 MAMA Awards 2025 Artist of the Year Yuqi Best Female Artist