XG: The New Revolution of Empowerment and Self-Confidence
Xtraordinary Girls, most commonly known as XG, are a 7-member Japanese girl group formed by a subsidiary of Avex, XGALX. Consisting of the members Jurin, Chisa, Hinata, Juria, Cocona, Maya, and Harvey, the group debuted in March of 2022 with their first English single titled “Tippy Toes.” XG’s debut brought something new to the industry as a Japanese girl group singing in English, who chose to do their music promotions within the competitive market of South Korea.
While this brought the group a lot of attention, it has ultimately been the group's message of self-appreciation and female empowerment that has made them a group to beat. They have even stated this on their debut track, in which they present to the music industry that their mission is to “defy stereotypes and create new power structures.”
The group made their first comeback with “MASCARA” in June of 2022 together with their first ever music show performance on MNET’s M Countdown. “MASCARA” is an all-English track much like their first single. It started receiving lots of attention online not only due to the catchy raps and incredible vocals but also due to the fact that the lyrics were again embedded with a confident and positive message towards women’s empowerment.
Their popularity only grew when a viral clip of Cocona’s freestyle rap garnered over 26 million views on YouTube in the group’s GALZ XYPHER, an extra series of videos and covers the group started doing to showcase all the member’s individual skills. Cocona’s incredible ability to rap in three languages, with incredible flow and pronunciation, all at the age of 17, had the entire internet looking forward to what XG would do next.
Given the quick rise to popularity, they started releasing a lot of extra content for fans to get to know them better, since they did not have the same opportunities a K-Pop group would have, beyond music show appearances during promotional periods. One of the YouTube series they began, titled XTRA XTRA, showed how the group was formed and the intention to be a one of its kind, truly global group. This had fans and the general public even more intrigued and keen to listen more about them as they preached the importance of confidence, independence, and overall self-love.
This translated extremely well for their “SHOOTING STAR” and “LEFT RIGHT” releases in January of this year. The songs went extremely viral across various social media platforms, but mainly TikTok, where various challenges were created for both songs. The tracks also created immense waves due to the Y2K styling the group had started adapting not only within their wardrobes, but also the production and overall vibe of their music videos as well. It became evident that XG had dominated the trend.
The success and hard work of the members allowed for XG to be invited to perform in multiple festivals and events, such as 88rising’s festival HEAD IN THE CLOUDS, both in Los Angeles and New York, and KCON 2023 in Los Angeles and Japan, which became their first ever performance in the girls’ home country. All these activities geared up for XG’s first ever EP titled NEW DNA, which was released this past September. They released three tracks before the drop of the EP, including “GRL GVNG,” — which topped the Billboard Hot Trending Songs Chart, — “TGIF,” and “NEW DANCE.”
The common link between all the tracks and the entire EP, which featured three new songs and a music video for “PUPPET SHOW,” was the clear message that in a man’s world, they too are just as important, strong, powerful, and can make all of their dreams a reality, because they are deserving of that and so much more. “PUPPET SHOW,” which is the lead single off their new EP, demonstrated that message the strongest, not only with amazing visuals, creative direction, and choreography, but especially with lyrics stating: “Imagine a world, where we can play different roles, where girls be taking control.”
XG has begun to claim their rightful place within the industry, collaborating with other artists within music shows and outside of them as well, which can be seen in the “LEFT RIGHT REMIXX” featuring Jackson Wang and Ciara. The septet has begun to redefine and break boundaries of what it means to be a girl group. With only one year under their belt, it seems like they continue to take the world and industry by storm. XG’s music is a mix of different styles and genres, with something for everyone.
Their positive and confident energy is infectious and there is no doubt that their lyricism has made so many girls feel extremely confident and empowered. They demonstrate that ultimately, this is what music should do — bring out the best side of ourselves and make us feel like we truly can do it all. We can’t wait to see the next chapter for the group and hope they can go on tour to spread all that positive and confident energy further!