XG are back with a new EP.
On November 8 (Friday), the global Japanese girl group released their sophomore mini-album AWE, serving as the follow-up to 2023’s NEW DNA. In a press statement, the eight-song release — which will also feature the remix of their game-changing single “WOKE UP” — is described as “designed to evoke” a sense of “awe” found in experiencing a a psychological journey the comes from embracing the new.
The release of AWE was preceded by two new singles “SOMETHING AIN’T RIGHT” and “IYKYK” as well as the aforementioned “WOKE UP” remix. “IYKYK” is described as capturing “XG’s spirit of breaking boundaries with new challenges, depicting the members exploring the endless universe at lightspeed and inviting “listeners to join them on a journey to a new, uncharted dimension.” Featuring “a sample of m-flo’s 2001 track ‘prism’ and rhythmic 2-step beats,” “IYKYK” sees XG elicit “a feeling of drifting through space, building excitement for the adventure ahead.”
The music video for “WOKE UP” was chosen by Billboard Philippines as part of our “10 Best Music Videos Of 2024 (So Far)” list last June. We described it as “pushing the envelope of just how visually stunning a music video can be,” with XG “offering a tasty smorgasbord of colorful, avant-garde optical stunners — complete with fiery explosions, high-speed outer space travel, futuristic sports cars, and more.” Furthermore, we saw it as the 7-member group proclaiming that “defying expectations continues to be the name of the game for [them]”, working alongside their dive into a “fully rap-centric direction with the track.”
Last August, XG held their first show in Manila at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City as part of their first world tour ‘The first HOWL.’ Prior to this, the “LEFT RIGHT” hitmakers notably teamed up with Riot Games to release “UNDEFEATED” – the theme song for Valorant’s Champions Tour Pacific 2024, held last April to May in Seoul, South Korea.
Listen to XG’s AWE below: