Band Ex member Lee Sang-mi has personally stepped up to address similarity controversy surrounding i-dle member SOYEON's solo title track "I'm gonna TOESA".
On the 11th, Lee Sang-mi posted several photos taken with SOYEON on her social media account and offered a direct explanation. Lee Sang-mi stated, "Everyone, please stop making groundless speculations," revealing that the day they filmed the challenge was August 26, which was SOYEON's birthday. She added, "We filmed it back in August. We prepared a cake just right for SOYEON and celebrated her birthday all at once."
"I'm gonna TOESA", written and composed by SOYEON, is a track based on analog band sounds that deals with office workers' daily lives and the idea of quitting. Immediately after its release, it drew reactions of similarity to "Take good care of me" by the band Ex, which won the grand prize at the 2005 MBC University Song Festival. It turned out that "I'm gonna TOESA" was created as an homage to "Take good care of me".
Appearing on the MBC variety show "Radio Star" broadcast on the 9th, SOYEON shared the working process for her first solo full-length album "What a Wonderful Life", released on the 7th, and its title track "I'm gonna TOESA". She shared, "I have done various styles of band music so far, but this is my first time challenging a domestic band. I wanted to pay homage to Ex, so I contacted them directly and got permission."
She went on to explain the intention of the song, saying, "I'm not actually quitting my job. Everyone thinks, 'Should I just quit?' when things get hard at work. It's a song containing the romance of office workers." Previously, revealing the phrase "I'm gonna TOESA" in front of the agency building sparked rumors of an actual split, but it was confirmed to be a solo album promotion.
This album "What a Wonderful Life" is SOYEON's first solo full-length album in about 5 years and 2 months since her 2021 EP "Windy". As a producer, lyricist, and composer who has led i-dle's music, she tried various genres such as rock, hyperpop, and disco in this album.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)