China's major streaming platform Tencent Music has named Yuqi of K-pop group i-dle as Woman of the Year in Music for 2026. The award recognizes her commercial influence and artistic output across the platform and the Chinese music market throughout 2025. It arrives as i-dle continues a record-breaking international tour.
Tencent Music highlighted Yuqi's vibrant energy and expanding creative role in awarding the honor under the theme "Where she is, there is light." The platform stated, "She participated in writing and composing all songs of her first single 'Motivation' last year, showing her talent as a next-generation female singer-songwriter." They added that the lead track "M.O." not only recorded first place in Korea but also achieved good results in China.
Streaming data underscores her dominance: Yuqi landed on the Tencent Music Korea Chart a total of 147 times, placing in the top 20 on 122 occasions. She swept the platform's 2025 year-end honors, taking home Singer of the Year, Solo Singer of the Year, Song of the Year for "FREAK," and EP/Single of the Year for "Motivation."
Her solo tracks "Radio (Dum-Dum)" and "FREAK" secured Tencent Music Gold certifications, denoting 500,000 equivalent sales across downloads and streams. "Radio (Dum-Dum)" has maintained a top 10 position on the Tencent Music Korea Chart for 50 consecutive weeks since its release.
Beyond pop releases, Yuqi recently participated in "Magic Together," the 10th-anniversary theme song for Shanghai Disneyland. Meanwhile, i-dle—comprising Miyeon, Minnie, Soyeon, Yuqi, and Shuhua—held a massive show at the Taipei Dome on Saturday as part of its "2026 i-dle WORLD TOUR [Syncopation] IN TAIPEI." This marked the first time a K-pop girl group performed at the venue, with presale tickets selling out instantly.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.
