Up & Coming Global Girl Group: XG (Xtraordinary Girls)

Welcome Back!

Hello, dear readers. It feels like it’s been ages, but I know it’s only been about a month since my last post as I’m writing this. My goal for the new year is to do at least one post a month, hopefully two a month on average. I hope everyone had a good holiday, whatever you may celebrate! I wanted to find something fairly short and easy to write for this month so I could get a post up before the end of the month. Therefore, I’m writing today about a global girl group called XG. Before I get into it, though, don’t forget to check out my other posts, linked at the end of this one. Let’s get into it!

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Who is XG?

As I mentioned before, XG is a global girl group. Their name stands for Xtraordinary (a stylization of the word “extraordinary”) Girls, and they’re under the label XGALX, a sub-label of AVEX. They debuted on March 18, 2022, but they’ve been preparing for their debut since 2017. Their fandom name is ALPHAZ.

As most of you know, my favorite genre of music is K-Pop. However, XG is not a K-Pop group. They are considered a global girl group, meaning they don’t aim to please the K-Pop audience, but various audiences around the world. All of the members are at least half Japanese, the group is based in South Korea, and their songs are all in English. Every member is fluent in Japanese, and the majority of them are also fluent in Korean and/or English. Nearly all of the information listed in this post comes from XG’s KProfile page, their official website, or their company’s website.

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Members

There are 7 members of XG, ages ranging from 17 to 20. Because the group is still less than a year old, there isn’t too much known about each member yet. I will, however, share with you the basics of each member that are currently known. While I don’t know Kanji, or the Japanese alphabet, I do know Hangul, the Korean alphabet. Because XG is based in South Korea, they each have Hangul versions of their names, so I will be including those in parenthesis as well.

Asaya Jurin (아사야 주린)

Jurin was the first member of XG to be revelaed by the company. She was revealed as a member on January 29, 2022. Jurin was born in Chigasaki, Kanagawa, Japan on June 19, 2002. Here are a few other facts about her:

Full Name: Asaya Jurin
Stage Name: Jurin (주린)
Age: 20
Birthday: June 19, 2002
Hometown: Chigasaki, Kanagawa, Japan
Nationality: Japanese
Position in Group: Leader, Lead Rapper, Main Dancer, Vocalist
Other Skills/Hobbies: former model, former professional snowboarder, choreographer for XG

Jurin has said before that a few of the artists she listens to and has been inspired by are TLC, Destiny’s Child, and Willow Smith.

Kondou Chisa (콘도 치사)

Chisa was the second member of XG to be revealed on January 30, 2022. She was born in Osaka, Japan on January 17, 2002. Some more facts about Chisa:

Full Name: Kondou Chisa
Stage Name: Chisa (치사)
Age: 21
Birthday: January 17, 2002
Hometown: Osaka, Japan
Nationality: Japanese
Position in Group: Sub-Leader, Main Vocalist
Other Skills/Hobbies: former actress, former model, former reporter

Some of the artists that Chisa listens to and has been inspired by are Kehlani, SZA, and Madonna.

Sohara Hinata (소하라 히나타)

Hinata was the fourth member to be revealed on February 1, 2022. She was born in Aichi, Nagoya, Japan on June 11, 2002. The basics about Hinata:

Full Name: Sohara Hinata
Stage Name: Hinata (히나타)
Age: 20
Birthday: June 11, 2002
Hometown: Aichi, Nagoya, Japan
Nationality: Japanese-Korean
Position in Group: Main Dancer, Sub-Vocalist
Other Skills/Hobbies: rumored former YG Entertainment trainee

Hinata has said before that she listens to and has been inspired by artists like Madonna, Kehlani, and SZA.

Amy Jannet Harvey (에이미 자넷 하비)

Harvey was the seventh and final member of XG to be revealed on February 4, 2022. She was born in Tokyo, Japan on December 18, 2002. More facts about Harvey:

Full Name: Amy Jannet Harvey
Stage Name: Harvey (하비)
Age: 20
Birthday: December 18, 2002
Hometown: Tokyo, Japan
Nationality: Japanese-Australian
Position in Group: Main Rapper, Sub-Vocalist
Other Skills/Hobbies: N/A

Harvey enjoys listening to TLC, Rihanna, SZA, Michael Jackson and has also said that some of these same artists have also inspired her.

Ueda Juria (우에다 주리아)

Juria was the sixth member to be revealed on February 3, 2022. She was born in Osaka, Japan on November 28, 2004. Fun fact, Juria is about eight months younger than me. Some more facts about Juria:

Full Name: Ueda Juria, formerly Yanou Juria
Stage Name: Juria (주리아)
Age: 18
Birthday: November 2, 2004
Hometown: Osaka, Japan
Nationality: Japanese
Position in Group: Main Vocalist
Other Skills/Hobbies: previously starred in commercials

Juria has not mentioned any artists she listens to or has been inspired by.

Kawachi Maya (카와치 마야)

Maya was the fifth member to be revealed by the company on February 2, 2022. She was born in Japan on August 10, 2005. Maya is nearly a year and a half younger than me. Some more facts about her:

Full Name: Kawachi Maya
Stage Name: Maya (마야)
Age: 17
Birthday: August 10, 2005
Hometown: Unknown (Japan)
Nationality: Japanese
Position in Group: Lead Vocalist, Rapper
Other Skills/Hobbies: N/A

Maya has not mentioned any artists she enjoys.

Akiyama Kokona (아키야마 코코나)

Last but not least, we have Cocona. Cocona was the third member to be revealed on January 31, 2022. She is the youngest member, as she was born on December 6, 2005 in Kanto, Japan. A crazy fact to me is that Cocona is nearly two years younger than me. More basic facts about Cocona:

Full Name: Akiyama Kokona
Stage Name: Cocona (코코나)
Age: 17
Birthday: December 6, 2005
Hometown: Kanto, Japan
Nationality: Japanese
Position in Group: Main Rapper, Youngest
Other Skills/Hobbies: N/A

Cocona enjoys listening to and has been inspired by artists like Lauryn Hill and Keyshia Cole.

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Discography

While XG only has four official tracks, they have other covers and performances under their belt on their YouTube channel. In fact, one of these performances was how I found the group. There’s a performance by the rap line of XG (Jurin, Harvey, Maya, and Cocona) on their YouTube channel titled [XG Tape #2] GALZ XYPHER (COCONA, MAYA, HARVEY, JURIN). As far as I know, the girls wrote their own raps in the video. I originally saw a clip of the video in a YouTube Short where someone was reacting to Cocona, who was 15 at the time of the video, rapping in three different languages. After seeing that, I decided to check out the original video, which then led to me to discovering XG as a group. I will say that even now, after becoming a full fan of XG, the Galz Xypher video never ceases to amaze me.

Now, enough about my discovery of these girls and on to their official tracks. They have four official tracks, the first of which was their debut single. About three months after their debut, they released another single. However, it took seven months after that for them to release any more music, not including the Music Video for the Galz Xypher video and some vocal and dance covers occasionally.

Debut Single

As mentioned before, XG debuted on March 18, 2022, releasing their first ever single titled Tippy Toes. This song is a Hip-Hop/R&B-style song with “strong vocals and dynamic rap” as well as “powerful energy”, according to the group’s website. This song also has a very interesting choreography with a lot of footwork and fluid movements, which makes for a very interesting performance. The Official Music Video has gained about 22M views as of the time I’m writing this, which is very impressive for a rookie group in the K-Pop and similar industries.

Lyrics- 8/10
Vocals- 8/10
Rap- 8.5/10
Pre-Chorus- 8/10
Chorus- 6.5/10
Verses- 7.5/10
Bridge- 8.5/10
Ending- 6/10
Backing Vocals- -/10
High Note- 7.5/10
Adlibs- -/10
Instrumental- 7.5/10
Average- 7.5/10

2nd Single

XG had their first comeback on June 29, 2022, releasing their second single titled, Mascara. Mascara is arguably the more popular of the group’s songs released in 2022, racking up nearly 39M views between its release and now, over 15M more than the group’s debut single. According to XG’s website, this second single is a Pop/Trap song that is meant to be “an anthem for the next generation.” I can confirm, this song is definitely an anthem for the girls of today.

Lyrics- 9/10
Vocals- 8.5/10
Rap- 9/10
Pre-Chorus- 8.5/10
Chorus- 8.5/10
Post-Chorus- 8/10
Verses- 8/10
Bridge- 8/10
Ending- 7/10
Backing Vocals- 6/10
High Note- 8/10
Adlibs- -/10
Instrumental- 7/10
Average- 8/10

3rd Single (Album)

The girls’ most recent release was actually their first single album, them having released two songs on said album on January 25, 2023. The songs are titled, Shooting Star and Left Right. Shooting Star is the title track between the two songs, meaning the group has been and will continue performing the song on Music Shows until the promotion period is over. This song, despite having been released barely over a week ago, has already gained 10M views on the Official Music Video.

Shooting Star

According to the Official XG Website, this song is another Hip-Hop/R&B track with “powerful raps and emotional vocals”. The song gives off both a very energetic and a very unreal/dreamlike sound and vibe. It’s an interesting combination, but it works surprisingly well together.

Lyrics- 8/10
Vocals- 9/10
Rap- 7.5/10
Pre-Chorus- 8.5/10
Chorus- 9/10
Verses- 7.5/10
Bridge- 8.5/10
Ending- 7.5/10
Backing Vocals- 8/10
High Note- 9/10
Adlibs- 8/10
Instrumental- 8/10
Average- 8/10

Left Right

Left Right is the first b-side track that XG has released. I didn’t know they had planned on releasing two songs this time around until after the single labum had come out and my best friend told me about this track. I have to say, though, I’m very glad they released two songs. XG’s music is very addictive, and I already can’t wait until they release new music.

Lyrics- 6.5/10
Vocals- 8.5/10
Rap- 7.5/10
Pre-Chorus- 6.5/10
Chorus- 8/10
Verses- 7.5/10
Bridge- 8/10
Ending- 7.5/10
Backing Vocals- 7.5/10
High Note- 9/10
Adlibs- 8/10
Instrumental- 8.5/10
Average- 8/10

Noteable Lyrics

XG has a lot of really meaningful and encouraging lyrics in their songs, so I thought I’d list a few of my favorites here. If I feel the need to, I’ll explain my interpretation of the lyrics below the quote.

Tippy Toes

This being XG’s first song, it’s essentially about how they’re going to make it big in the music industry.

“Watch the way we lead, the way we work, the way we glow. They ain’t ready for us, we about to wreck the game.”

“We major league, everything we do is worthy of a gallery. We gon’ whisper to ya super super quiet, ’bout to show ’em who’s in charge, taking over, we’re the pilots.”

“We’re on the rise, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

“Gonna keep ya on your tippy toes. In the zone, try to stop us when we’re on a roll. Hard to match, ain’t nobody got our energy. We a pack, every part of her is a part of me.”
The girls of XG stick together no matter what, almost like a wolf pack. They’re unpredictable, keeping everyone around them on edge with anticipation of what they’re going to do next.

“We owning it, coming in boss mode, take control of it. They can’t compete, we gunnin’ for the crown, group masterpiece.”

“We ’bout to take flight, up a level. When we step on the scene, we superbeam. Understand that we didn’t come to play, babe, here to dominate.”

Mascara

Honestly all of the lyrics of Mascara are worth reading/listening to, they’re such an anthem, to young girls especially.

“Baby girl, don’t be wasting your good energy, he ain’t even worth it.”

“What goes around comes back around, and when it do, better fix your crown.”
XG is telling the listeners of this song not to worry if someone has done them wrong because what goes around comes back around. They’re telling everyone to straighten up and fix their crowns because everyone is royalty in their eyes, and royalty doesn’t falter.

“Are you gonna let him pay? (No) Are you gonna let him stay? (No) Ladies, what we gonna say? ‘I’ll never let another boy ruin my mascara.’ “

“I can cry when I want to, cry when I want to. Don’t mess with my mascara.”

“Go girl, you know you a stunner.”

“And when I find me another baby who treats this lady good, you’re gonna cry me a river, baby. But I won’t waste another single minute on you.”

Shooting Star

The lyrics to this song have a similar meaning to the lyrics of Tippy Toes. Shooting Star talks about how XG is living their dream, doing what they love, and rising up in the industry.

“Everything I do, I do it A1, flawless, make ’em go insane.”
They know they’re talented, and they aren’t worried about making mistakes.

“Head to my toe, shinin’ like canary diamonds.”

“We dem cool kids, nothing to it.”

“We a movement, never losin’.”

“Baby, if I give it my all, will it pay off? Working overtime, no days off.”

“All these shooting stars in the dark, make a wish.”

“Taking off from the ground it’s amazing. So outta this world, I’m in space now I’m going up, headin’ to the stars. Wouldn’t trade it out for another life.”

“I’m lookin’ so lavish. I put in work like it’s a habit.”

“It’s a big move, everyday’s like a dream, makin’ big moves, we do it for our team.”
They’re living their dreams being idols, and every step they take, they do it as a team for their team.

“I’m lookin’ so lavish, I bet you can’t imagine.”

“You couldn’t run up on me, I’m too outta this world.”
You can’t catch up to them, they’re too far ahead of you, talented and successful at such young ages.

“I know they watching me, I’m what I want to be. Nobody touching me, I’ve got this energy.”

“You rockin’ with a dream team, comets droppin’ when we hit the scene. You rockin’ with a dream team, we shootin’ from another galaxy.”

“We take it all the way. Lights and camera action, it’s just how we live. Don’t get it twisted, this ain’t child play. Just know that XG’s going all the way.”
Making music and being successful isn’t an easy game. It’s hard work, a lifestyle.

“Makin’ big moves, as I should ’cause I’m a queen.”
The girls know they’re queens, successful and making it big.

Left Right

This song has lyrics that are more about a relationship than self-love, but if you pay close attention, I think it’s meant to be about XG’s fans.

“I got what you want, I got what you need.”

“We don’t, follow anything.”

“I wanna see you left, right get in my zone.”
I see this lyric as being the girls telling their fans to get in their zone and strive to be successful and follow their dreams just like them.

“We don’t want no oops, want no drama queen.”

“Just follow my flow.”

“You keep me up.”
This is a way of the girls telling their fans how much they mean to them, essentially saying, “You keep me going,” or, “You motivate me.”

“If you’re down with me, then let’s ride. Can’t nobody stop it, that’s right.”
I see this as the girls telling their fans to jump on board with their way of doing things, as it’s an efficient and strategic way to succeed. Because the girls are so powerful and charismatic, nobody can stop them from getting what they want.

“Now we on to something. Drop the fit, we killed it. Don’t we all deserve it?”
The girls are asking their fans, almost saying, “Don’t we all deserve success?”

“You know that I’ll be there for you if you’re down.”
The bond between fans and artists in the K-Pop industry is a very special one. The artists are there to encourage and inspire their fans just as much as their fans are there to do the same for their idols.

“Are you down? Let me take you to the other side.”
The girls are checking on their fans in this one, saying they’ll take them to the other side of being sad and cheer them up.

“Alpha, we gon’ ride or die.”
The bond between XG and ALPHAZ is a forever/ride-or-die type of bond.

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The Future of XG

As of right now, the only thing I can say for sure about XG is that they will definitely continue to rise in popularity. They’re a one-of-a-kind group with so much talent and potential, and I truly hope they get the recognition they deserve. I know I’ll continue to support them and their career in the future, and I strongly suggest those of you that enjoy Hip-Hop/R&B type music check the girls’ songs out.

It’s speculated that, once the girl group Kep1er disbands after their contract ends, member Ezaki Hikaru will join XG. I’m not sure if this rumor has any trth behind it, but I honestly hope it does, because Hikaru would fit so well in XG. She has the charisma, stage presence, rap skills, dance skills, and even vocal skills to fit right in. The reason people think Hikaru might end up joining XG is because she’s under the company AVEX, which is the parent company of XG’s company XGALX as mentioned above. To me, this actually gives a little credit to the rumor considering they’re all under the same company.

However, a similar rumor happened with the group Everglow and former IZ*ONE member Choi Yena. Everglow and Yena are both under the company Yuehua Entertainment, and Yena was on the survival show Produce 48 along with Everglow members Sihyeon and Yiren. Produce 48 is actually the show from which IZ*ONE was formed, so they trained together at the company and went through the show together. Despite this rumor and its credibility, after IZ*ONE disbanded in April of 2021, Yena ended up debuting as a solo artist about 8 months later. So, that being said, even though this rumor seems credible, it’s unclear whether it will come true after Kep1er’s disbandment or not.

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Until Next Time

That’s all for today’s post, unfortunately. I really hope you guys enjoyed it at least a little bit because I know I did. I’m going to try to post at least once a month or so now, so hopefully you guys won’t have to wait as long between posts. I will say, though, that the ideas I currenlty have for future posts are all K-Pop related. My favorite author recently published a new book, so I’ll definitely review that sometime in the future, but I’m not sure how long it’ll be until I’m able to buy and read the book. Stay tuned for more posts this year, though! Don’t forget to check out my Spotify for song recommendations and my own monthly favorites playlists!

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Freshman in College
Book-Lover, Writer, Music-Lover, K-Pop Stan
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