Battle of the B-Sides:: i-dle: VILLAIN DIES

 Thank you to whoever decided to submit this song for October. I'm slightly surprised that this one was chosen instead of one of their other Halloween-appropriate songs, but I'm the opposite of upset or disappointed. I actually had an idea to do a similarly titled song by Girls' Generation, but then this landed in my lap from The Form, and I'm perfectly fine with swapping it out. 

i-dle debuted in 2018 under Cube Entertainment as a six-member group, originally under the name "(G)i-dle". A lot of their songs have been written by their leader, the very fierce Soyeon, and I just have to say that this specific album has a lot of songs I really like on it.

VILLAIN DIES is the third track of their 2022 album, I NEVER DIE. The lyricist and composer is Soyeon (CLC, Baby DONT Cry, Key, Kim Namjoo, and Ravi), and the composer-only is THE PROOF (iKON, Jo Yuri, BVNDIT, CLC, ASTRO, Pentagon, Hyolyn, VAV, Viini, and Verivery).

This is a dark fairytale of a song, and I love it.

But the fun part of this song is that it's not just a passive fairytale where a story is being told, but it's a fairytale where the author is part of the story and knows that it's still being written.

There are two speakers here in the song, which we can tell from the chorus. We have the first speaker, the one who starts off the song using the classic fairytale words "Once upon a time" and the one who seems to be protecting the heroine by speaking directly to the villain and telling them that the villain dying is the villain's sad ending. But the villain responds by saying "I'll never die and that's your sad ending." But think about how much of a tragedy that is, for a moment. In most stories, the villain doesn't normally act like they know they're the villain in the story. Often, they think they're some version of a hero, especially when we have a fallen or a tragic hero. But when you run across one that knows they're the villain and how villains in stories end up, especially in a fairytale, it instantly becomes tragic.

That person is now fighting against their own fate and destiny. 

Y'all almost got a full literature major spiel on the fine line between heroes and villains with regards to destiny and choice, featuring A Lot of Star Wars characters. I made it six paragraphs before I realized I'd completely wandered onto a tangential topic that definitely would have come back to the main point eventually, but also that, as much fun as that topic is, this is not the time for it in full. The main points of the tangent were that a) destiny is what other people decide for you, b) the quote "A man chooses; a slave obeys" from BioShock is actually the dividing line between how many true villains see themselves versus others, and c) heroes living long enough to see themselves become villains sometimes come full circle back to becoming heroes.

We are not at the end of this fairytale, though, and thus we cannot predict what will happen at the end of this story. At the end of the song, though, is a very defiant challenge to the author, proclaiming the ending to be fun with a villain's laugh and a sad last page. The villain living is sad for the author, but fun for the villain.

And, funnily enough, the opening of the song during Soyeon's "Once upon a time" reminds me a lot of the Fable soundtrack, which is something else styled like a storybook and a game series where famously, you play a Hero, but you get a choice whether to be a Good Hero or an Evil Hero. Minnie's next set of lines remind me a bit of Hansel and Gretel as well.

Like I said. This is just a dark fairytale.

And the anti-drop of the pre-chorus? Swoon. Brilliant. 

We've actually got a few performances I can point to for this song, which is really nice for a b-side. This one is from the Mnet PRIME SHOW. 

And the rearrangement with that piano at the beginning? Gorgeous. 

Soyeon's contacts are terrifying in the best way, I just want you all to know this. Maybe it's because I'm watching a Let's Play of Resident Evil: Requiem while I write this, but she kind of has a little bit of a zombie vibe to her with her hair looking like that and the contacts and all of that. But that opening when she's bathed and backlit in red light and tips her chin down while sitting on a throne made of her members is magnificently intimidating.

We don't get a good enough look at their throats for me to verify that the double audio we're hearing through almost the entire song is in fact live vocals, but the fact that the balance is off a little bit occasionally, like one of them is sometimes louder than she should be, is a good sign. 

I don't know what it is about the song. I expect the choreography to have some doll-like sections, but it really just doesn't. Which is fine because instead we've got prowling feline energy and crown movements. Like at 1:14 when Soyeon lowers her hand behind her head with her fingers sticking straight up, like the spikes on a potentially deadly crown. Or at 2:13, when Minnie is singing and the other four are coiled around her like a lioness pride. 

But, really, I'm just happy to hear all the cheering. I love it when we can hear the audience, because that means that the video audio hasn't been messed with too much, and also, because I'm happy that Shuhua is getting so much love at :38. Also every time she shows up, but the big one is her first part.

And then how gorgeous Yuqi sounds at 2:44? Because she's got a little bit of a lower voice, when she comes in right there, it's a bit of a gut punch. Albeit a good one. And immediately after that, Miyeon with her lines has this little bit of an attitude like she's the mean girl chaebol in a drama, and I love it. 

The most watched part of the video is Soyeon's rap when she's staring down the camera with almost feral confidence. 

Next up is the SBS Gayodaejeon performance from 2022. We've got kind of a chess board concept for this stage, which is really cool, and makes for a really cool visual at 1:34 where you've got the black outfits on one side, white outfits on the other, and downstage, the members are alternating black and white. And then there's the formation change at 1:40 where now you have the three members in black in the center flanked by the two in white. I'm not saying that the costuming was done with those particular moments in mind, but they're cool enough that I can see someone coming up with that idea because of the choreography. Whoever it was needs a raise. 

This stage is only part of the song, which is why I didn't do this one first even though chronologically, it happened first. But it's actually really fascinating where the song ended. They could have chopped the song into pieces a little bit and ended with Minnie's very cool ending, but they didn't. They ended it with "Even if it's your sad ending" from I think Yuqi and absolute stillness from everyone, then the camera angle moved to an overhead shot where you can see the floor says "Never Die" with a ticking clock as the only part of the instrumental. I know this isn't a movie, but the implication of the story there is so powerful. The song didn't end when it was supposed to, when it was scripted to end, when it was destined to end. Instead, it pivots into a declaration of survival.

And the dancers that looked like runway models for some sort of gothic dystopia added a very interesting element. It's a really cool dance break at the very end. I don't know how I feel about this as a presentation for the song, but as far as the song goes, this was a good end of year awards show choice.

And I need to take a moment to say that Miyeon at 1:09 has just about everyone in the comments in a chokehold. Vocals. Visuals. The sultry catwalk. Everything about her right there is stunning. 

Next up we have a performance from the I-DOL Tour in 2024 at the KSPO Dome. One of those days was the one where Soyeon and CUBE got into a slight public tiff over her talking about the day that their contracts would be up in her solo performance. Also, the songs immediately preceding and following VILLAIN DIES on the setlist are OH MY GOD, which was the song I would have expected to be put on a spooky submission but still not complaining, and Doll, which is an Olympic swimming pool-sized bucket of sass. I have to applaud whoever arranged the setlist because that is an excellent order.

We've had a little bit of a rearrangement, I assume to use the live band more because the electric guitar is getting a little uppity and joining in with the brass instrument that already lends so much easy attitude to pop the energy up after the pre-chorus. But with the addition of the guitar right there, it gives the song a boost of tension to join the energy. The drums are also a little more active for this rearrangement, which, again, just adds to the tension. 

And I absolutely love Shuhua's little smile at the end of her line "I’m goin’ to hell but not alone no no no" at 1:55. It's teasing. It's playful. It's almost sweet, but the timing makes it completely villainous.

You know a song is good when it, as a b-side, is still being performed four years after it was released. Welcome to Lollapalooza Chicago 2026, where VILLAIN DIES was the third song on the setlist. And this was actually the performance that the submitter gave me as one to look out for because they were there and this was the first time they'd heard this song. (Also, as a side note, Soyeon makes a mistake in the opening song (Super Lady) and smiles when she does, so that's cute). So, last but not least, if the video does not dump you out where I wanted it to go, you're looking for 6:09 of this video.

I have a friend who is going to be completely unsurprised that I immediately fixated on Minnie's coat. I have to get that out first. We recently went to a K-Pop concert together and for one of the stages, one of the members had a magnificent long coat on, and when I turned to her to be excited about it, she was already laughing at me because she knew. And Minnie has a stunning coat.

And I love how Soyeon looks with her slightly tanner skin because the more golden color looks incredible against the white of the coat and her sequin-covered bikini top. And I really love how you can briefly see her sing along with Minnie at 7:39.

In case you've been confused about why this one was included in a Halloween Spookening post, other than the obvious fairytale villain thing going on, the LED screen behind them is very haunted house. It also literally shows one at 8:17.

And you know what? The one-two punch of Miyeon and Yuqi at 7:00 is incredible. You've got the famed Miyeon visuals and her very sweet, higher voice followed immediately by Yuqi's feline confidence and her lower vocals. As much as Minnie owns this song, and that ending proves that she does with her absolute raw stage charisma billowing out from her like her coat as she prowls down the stage, Miyeon and Yuqi team up to be unforgettable in this song because they've got a second one-two punch at 8:54 where we first get Yuqi's lower vocals as she emerges from the midst of the group, and then Miyeon to the side draws attention to herself with her voice. 

If you've ever noticed how I abruptly end the final video on a lot of these posts and don't succinctly wrap it up in a nice conclusion, it's because I'm both bad at endings and I hate restating what I've already said unless I feel like I've been wandering about and y'all need a summary of my tangents or if I need to clarify something. Anyway. Champions! If you've got a song for me to cover, do let me know. You can leave a comment (which can be anonymous but will be visible) or you can fill out The Form, which is always so anonymous that I don't even get your email on purpose. I don't need to know that. And if you've got a bias you want me to focus on, I'll do my best to find a fancam, unless you give me a link address to one.

I hope you enjoyed the song! It's not one of their big, dramatic songs, but I personally really like it and I'm glad that it got dropped in The Form for me to do. See y'all later! Be ready for the Kings of Concepts next time.

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