Lion ((G)I-dle song)

On October 24, a day before release, Mnet released a preview of the final episode of Queendom which showed the contestants reviewing and describing other teams' song.[8] The next day, Mnet shared a sneak peek for each track from each group to the viewers.[9] At noon KST, the six teams of the show including (G)I-dle released their final songs on various music streaming sites.

Before the final episode, Mnet showed a clip of Jeon So-yeon introduced "Lion" to the members. Soyeon commented, "We don't receive the song, so we have to move quickly." She revealed she received inspiration from live-action The Lion King that was on theaters when she started writing. "A lion is a king, we are kings."[10]

The song was released as a digitally on October 25, 2019, through several music portals, including Melon and iTunes,[11][12] followed by Spotify the next day.[13]

The song is in the key of E minor. It is 110 beats per minute running 3:30 minutes.[14] "Lion" was described as a song that has a strong drum and an impressive 808 bass sound. In particular, the lyrics, that compare the natural dignity and charisma of a queen to a lion after all the battles, endurance and wounds from taking the throne and defending it, provides a feeling of desperate and cold but also beautiful, strong and sacred.[15]

Member Shuhua, who usually had the least lines, showed a powerful performance, and embodied the theme of the song "the coronation of a young lion". Minnie's unique voice, Soojin's rich expressions and Miyeon and Yuqi's beautiful voices adorned the chorus. While Soyeon's ferocious rap was the song's climax. One by one, they proclaim the phrase "I'm a queen like a lion" and bestow themselves a crown on their heads.

Billboard described it as fierce, yet lo-fi dance track from the six-woman act to declare their dominance amid a powerful beat and bluesy melodies. The lyrics contain empty spaces for their domineering verses and bold raps to shine in between the chant "queen like a lion" of the chorus.[16] The lyrics, "Now turn up the cheers // everyone looked up // the young lion takes its crown"

On November 7, 2019, (G)I-dle performed "Lion" as a special stage on M Countdown.[17]

(G)I-dle performed "Lion" for the first time in the Queendom final live broadcast on October 31, 2019.[18] The group started with the story of 'Lion' with Minnie's narration announcing the beginning of the grand welcome ceremony and followed by a solo dance by the youngest member, Shuhua. They appeared in golden robes ornately decorated with lion's mane. In particular, the choreography represents the movement of a lion and hand gestures symbolizing the crown. The stage performance finished with a herd of lions [dancers] following (G)I-dle to the six thrones.[19] AOA members watching the stage said, "I felt like seeing six lion queens. I was amazed. It was wonderful."[20] Queendom's PD Cho Woori compliments the group for their groundbreaking performance and their solid concept building process for Lion.[21]

The stage was described as "world-class stage" and "a legend stage".[19][22]

On 1 November, the video exceeded 1 million views at 11 am. In particular, it was ranked No. 1 on YouTube's fast-growing video, and overwhelming views compared to the stage videos of other contestants that were released together.[3] On November 13, the video has surpassed 8.8 million views.[23]

Popular music critics of Korean web magazine IZM, included "Lion" on their list of 'Top 10 singles that represented 2019' explaining "...in the music world that's rampant with lyrics of love and soulless electronic sound, they showcased the dignity a Queen can have on the stage." The article also mentioned, "There is no reason to skip this song."[4] Kaitlin Miller from Seoulbeats described the track and music video as "spot-on metaphors to their ascendancy in the K-pop scene."[24]

Writing for Billboard, L.S described the song as "every part of this anthem is brimming with untamed, frenetic, self-assured power that's channeled into its booming rhythms, more appropriate for a battlefield than a stage".[6] The song was also listed in Idology's best song, best music video, songs that has impressive lyrics and best performance in 2019.[7] [25][26][27]

"Lion" did not enter Gaon Digital Chart when it was first released, but debuted at number 77 on the Gaon Download Chart.[28] "Lion" gained popularity and went viral after Queendom's final episode aired. It re-entered the real-time charts of various music sites and started the reverse chart.[3]

As of December 2019, on the chart issue dated December, 2019 the song has received 43,915,024 digital index points on Gaon Digtal Chart.[29]

Three weeks after release, "Lion" rose eight spots from the thirteenth to fifth place in the Billboard's World Digital Songs Sales chart.[23] The single also moved up eighty-nine spots on the Gaon Digital Chart, from number 101 to its new peak at number 19.[30] It peaked at number seven on the Gaon Download Chart.[31] "Lion" peaked at number 2 at KKBox Kpop chart and topped the QQ Music Korean Song chart for two consecutive weeks.[32][33] The song debuted on the Billboard's K-pop Hot 100 at number 45 and peaked at number 5 on November 9.[34][35]

After releasing the track "Lion" on music streaming sites on October 25, (G)I-dle unexpectedly released a music video teaser of the track on November 3. The music video was released on November 4 at midnight KST.[36]

The music video was created by Digipedi and choreographed by Star System who had previously worked with them for "Uh-Oh".[37][38] Visual effects for Soojin's lion claw scratches were done by students from Hoseo University with guidance from Prof. Cho Hyung-jun.[39] "Lion" music video starts with Minnie's calm voice and the sound of the low drum in the calm of darkness and tension. IZE Magazine describes the second half of the video as shaking up the gender hierarchy. The members are standing upon the altar while the male lions are at the stairs below them and end with a framed picture of a male lion bathing fire. Soojin standing in front of the portrait with a tattoo "Self-love is the best love", shows that this is liberation based on self-esteem. The narrow framework that was often imposed on mostly girl groups for a certain concept is powerless towards (G)I-dle.[40]

Credits are adapted from Melon.[11]