At 27, pop stars are often asked to look polished, invulnerable, and hyper-curated. But for Yuqi, a multi-hyphenate artist and member of the hit K-pop group (G)I-DLE, turning 27 is an invitation to embrace friction, vulnerability, and unfiltered self-love. Marking her solo return after one year and one month, Yuqi releases her second mini-album, 二十七 (27), Thursday. Fully written and composed by Yuqi herself, the six-track Chinese-language project uses the sunflower as a central metaphor: a bloom that holds unspoken anxieties beneath its bright face, yet persistently turns toward the sun. Prior to the full release, the pre-release track "I Like You" signaled strong international momentum, topping YouTube’s daily trending music video charts in Singapore and Hong Kong while entering charts in over half a dozen countries, including Canada and Australia. Ahead of the release, Yuqi sat down for a Q&A to discuss her personal evolution, musical experimentation, and what it means to be unapologetically yourself.\Q: It has been a year and a month since your last solo outing. How does it f