Yuq1

Yuq1 is the debut extended play (EP) by Chinese singer-songwriter Song Yuqi. The EP was released on April 23, 2024, and was promoted with its two singles, "Could It Be" and "Freak".

Background
After releasing her digital single album A Page in 2021, Song announced her new  album Yuq1 on April 2, 2024. Although Song had previously pursued solo music, Yuq1 was declared to be the official beginning of her solo career, making Song the third member of South Korean girl group (G)I-dle to debut as a soloist. After her participation in composition and lyrics for (G)I-dle's songs, the EP also marked Song's first time composing her own album.

Promotion and release
Revealing a preview for Yuq1, Cube Entertainment posted a concept trailer on YouTube, showing Song playing a guitar while reminiscing about her past before investigating the sudden whispers and screams around her. To promote the EP, "Could It Be" was rolled out as a pre-release single on April 5, 2024. Yuq1 was released on April 23, 2024. Its lead single "Freak" was released alongside an accompanying music video on the same day.

The following month, Shinsegae Centum City, in collaboration with IPX (formerly Line Friends), opened a pop-up store that featured a themed photo zone, as well as a variety of clothes and merchandise, to commemorate the release of the mini-album.

Title and artwork
The EP's title, which used Song's given name, aimed to capture the essence of who Song Yuqi is as a solo artist; the inclusion of the number 1 to replace the letter I visually expressed her confidence in both the album and her future career. Design-wise, a red rabbit was featured on the EP's concept photos, cover art, and tracklist as a "main character", which Song stated to represent herself, explaining: "I was born in the year of the Rabbit, and my favorite color is red!"

Commercial performance
Yuq1 accumulated more than 500,000 units in pre-order sales. The mini-album then sold a total of 550,170 copies during the first week of its release, breaking the record of the highest first-week sales made by a K-pop female solo artist's debut EP. In South Korea, it debuted at number two on the Circle Album Chart for the week of April 21 to 27, 2024.