Song Yuqi

Song Yuqi (, 송우기; born September 23, 1999), known mononymously as Yuqi (우기), is a Chinese singer-songwriter, dancer and record producer. She is a member of the South Korean girl group (G)I-dle, which debuted 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 single album A Page.

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, Song attended the Cube Star World Audition Beijing Station, performing CLC's "High Heels" and G.E.M.'s "Bubble". She passed her audition and became a trainee of Cube Entertainment. In February 2018, Song appeared in a YouTube video where she introduced herself as an idol trainee and asked passersby to listen to her singing. The video received attention after she made her debut with (G)I-dle.

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 album, I Am.

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

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

In May 2020, Song debuted as a songwriter and composer with "I'm the Trend," a song dedicated to (G)I-dle's fanbase. On May 29, Song was cast alongside WJSN's Exy and Yeoreum in 1theK Originals' game show The First Date. For (G)I-dle's first single album, Song was credited for "Dumdi Dumdi" Chinese lyrics and guide alongside Z King. On September 17, KakaoTV launched an original entertainment program hosted by Song, Learn Way. In October, Song 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 Song 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, Song 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, Song 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 extended play I Burn, on which Song 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 Song.

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


For most of 2021, Song focused on promoting as a soloist in China. On May 6, 2021, Cube Entertainment announced that Song 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, Song participated in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games theme song "Salute to the Heroes". Throughout 2021, Song also participated in multiple Chinese variety shows including Keep Running, Let's Fall In Love (season 3), 2060 (TV program), and ''Shine! Super Brothers''.

In late 2021, Song 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, on which Song 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, Song's (G)I-dle groupmate Cho Mi-yeon released her debut extended play My on which Song co-composed the track "Rain." In October, (G)I-dle released their fifth extended play I Love, on which Song co-composed the tracks "Reset" and "Dark (X-File)."

In February 2023, Song 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 extended play I Feel, on which Song participated in writing and composing the tracks "All Night" and "Peter Pan." In June, Song 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, Song 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, Song collaborated with Alan Walker and Jvke on the single "Fire!" off of Walker's fourth studio album Walkerworld. On January 29, 2024, (G)I-dle released their second studio album 2, on which Song co-wrote and co-composed the tracks "Doll" and "Rollie". On February 27, Song released "Bad Liar", a special track from the tvN series Marry My Husband.

On March 22, 2024, it was announced that Song 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.

Personal life
Song 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, Song is also fluent in English.

In the media
She 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. Song 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".

Fashion and endorsements
Aside from various endorsements with her group, Yuqi has promoted various products and 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, Song was introduced as Vivlas new beauty brand model.

In 2021, Song 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 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, Song was announced as a brand spokesperson for Chinese cosmetics brand Into You. On January 8, 2024, Song 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.

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

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