Dumdi Dumdi (song)

(G)I-dle took a shift in their style of music, from dark and sinister "Hann (Alone)" in summer 2018, '90s-inspired hip-hop cut "Uh-Oh" in summer 2019, and charismatic, intense and dreamy for "Oh My God",^[6] to a vibrant and youthful summer song "Dumdi Dumdi" for summer 2020.^[7] The single was released in Korean, Japanese and Mandarin language. This is (G)I-dle's first song to feature a Chinese version in their discography.^[8] Member Yuqi was credited for "Dumdi Dumdi" Chinese lyrics and guide alongside Z King.^[9] Soyeon revealed that she received inspiration for the track from the 2016 Disney's Zootopia.^[10] The members of the group participated in visual concept planning such as photos of hair and makeup, and styling that gives a vintage feeling for (G)I-dle type of summer.^[11] Hours after the release, Soyeon went live on V Live. She revealed the meaning of "Dumdi Dumdi":

"Dumdi Dumdi meaning is youth. I wanted to record who I am in this time, what I can do only at this age. Youth, I think I am enjoying my youth. I especially enjoy my work when everything blazes up [passion]. I think you guys feel this kind of heat and coldness in whatever you are doing too. Whether that be work or love [...] Youth is when even in the most burning passion, the sharp wind blows from time to time. A good feeling that can cool things down or heat things up even more.

— Soyeon on the meaning of Dumdi Dumdi and Youth, V Live^[12]

On November 25, a special section on MBC M's Show Champion aired where Soyeon explained the recording process of "Dumdi Dumdi". She revealed that the song was recorded 7 times and the word 'Dumdi Dumdi' were to replicate sounds of drums and a beating heart.^[13] A Chinese version of the song is available only on NetEase Music.^[8] A Japanese version of the song was released on August 26, 2020, for their 2nd Japanese EP Oh My God.^[14]

The song is in the key of E major, 123 bpm with a running time of 3:30 minutes.^[15] "Dumdi Dumdi" is an upbeat dance pop track song with tropical drum beats and a strong moombahton rhythm with booming percussion.^[16] The song has light latin pop influences and a subtle incorporation of the dependably "catchy" whistle hook and the onomatopoeic refrain of "Dumdi Dumdi".^[17][18]

Soyeon explained several specific lyrics on August 3, V Live. "With the hot sun I’m a little crazy / My cheeks are easily flushed", explaining that the sun was an excuse for her to go crazy — "I’m going crazy because of my passion"; "And then I feel dizzy and flushed / Like swimming I start dancing", explaining that she wanted to express something like, "did this person drink?", "kind of dizzy", “so exciting”; "The wind makes my heart beat / The waves make my heart pound", explaining that her youth is like the summer and the wind and waves are the songs; "Like this I want to close my eyes tightly / Forever even if the sun rises", she commented that she wants to live her youth passionately until 100; "When the moon falls asleep and the summer is cooled down / Sing to me the song of the hot time", explaining that she wanted to tell her fans – "when you feel like your passion is cooling off, you have to listen to this song."^[12]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Billboard	favorable[19]
Forbes	positive[17]
IZM	[20]

"Dumdi Dumdi" was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. Jeff Benjamin writing for Forbes wrote that the song is flirty and fun cut boasting booming percussion, and praised Soyeon for trying out vocal manipulation effects while "simultaneously spitting some of her fastest rhymes to date on the second verse."^[17] One Music PH called the song "an unpredictable and undeniable genre-breaking anthem."^[21] In his review for the Clash, Robin Murray described "Dumdi Dumdi" as "immaculate pop banger that walks in its own lane."^[22] Lee Nam-kyung of the MBN Star concluded that "(G)I-dle were able to highlight their own summer in their hip and unique charm, and show the aspect of a concept craftsman that fits the trend."^[23]

IZM writer Son Kiho opined "the song expresses youthful passion by borrowing the heat of summer, emphasizing the refreshing feeling with the sound of the waves, voice samples, and the moombahton rhythm with a cheerful percussion on the front. Each element of the arrangement faithfully captures the sense of the season by adding the whistle of the chorus, but it is somewhat familiar. The aim of the summer song dilutes the attractiveness of (G)I-dle, who broke away from the existing formula and raised momentum with an independent move, and left a distinctive result as the weight was removed for a more friendly approach."^[20] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard deemed the song "have the potential for a successful viral trend – that hook sounds designed to thrive on TikTok".^[24] Hong Seon-hwa from Biz Entertainment wrote in his article that (G)I-dle "carried on the legacy of summer songs".^[25]

"Dumdi Dumdi" debuted at number 27 on the Gaon Digital Chart with Gaon index of 13,623,261,^[26] number 5 on the Download Chart and number 41 on the Streaming Chart for the week ending August 8, 2020.^[27][28] Additionally, the song debuted at number 15 on the US Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart.^[29]

• Digital download / streaming^[30]

1. "Dumdi Dumdi" – 3:30

• Digital download / streaming – Japanese

1. "Dumdi Dumdi" (Japanese version) – 3:31

Credits are adapted from Cube Entertainment,^[31] and NetEase Music.^[9]

On August 13, 2020, (G)I-dle performed "Dumdi Dumdi" on Soribada Best K-Music Awards.^[33] They also performed on Korea On Stage - Suwon Hwaseong Fortress, hosted by the Cultural Heritage Administration and Suwon City and organized by the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation and KBS Korea Broadcasting Day.^[34] The performance was aired on September 3, 2020.^[35] On September 3, (G)I-dle performed "Dumdi Dumdi" on VENN's Guest House with Chrissy Costanza.^[36][37]

(G)I-dle kicked off promotions by appearing on V Live's LieV on August 4.^[32] Miyeon, Minnie and Yuqi appeared as guests on August 5 episode of TMI News's Best summer songs that must be listened in the summer and performed a preview of "Dumdi Dumdi".^[38] The group appeared as guest on August 6 episode of SBS Power FM's Cultwo Show.^[10] The group partnered up with Makestar to hold a global fan meeting. Fans participating in the video call event, began on August 4–13, was given a limited edition photo card when purchasing the album through Makestar.^[39] On August 4, the group attended the broadcast recording for August 11 episode of Arirang's After School Club.^[40] (G)I-dle promoted the song on various radio shows, including SBS Power FM Lee Jun's Youngstreet,^[41] PlayJ's K-pop star guerrilla,^[42] SBS Power FM Park So-hyun's Lovegame,^[43] Naver Now Ha Sung-woon's Late Night Idol show,^[44] Naver Now Moonbyul's Avengirls,^[45] and KBS Cool FM's Park Won's Kiss the Radio.^[46] On August 22, Miyeon and Soyeon appeared on Amazing Saturday episode 122.^[47] The same day, Soyeon appeared as the first guest on JTBC's Just Comedy new section, I'm Crazy about My MBTI.^[48] On August 30, the group appeared on 2 Days & 1 Night's Special Summer Vacation Mission.^[49]

To promote the song, (G)I-dle launched the hashtag #dumdidumdi and Dumdi Dumdi Challenge, a dance challenge with the song on various social media platforms such as TikTok, Twitter and Instagram.^[50] The group promoted the song with a series of live performances on various music programs starting with Mnet's M! Countdown on August 6.^[51] This was followed by performance on SBS's Inkigayo,^[52] SBS MTV's The Show,^[53] MBC Music's Show Champion,^[54] and KBS's Music Bank.^[55] (G)I-dle has also performed the song live, including during the group's attendance at 2020 Soribada Best K-Music Awards.^[56]

An accompanying music video for "Dumdi Dumdi" was uploaded to (G)I-dle's official YouTube channel on August 3, 2020.^[57][58] It was choreographed by Lee Jung-lee who had previously choreographed Itzy's "Wannabe", Twice's "More and More", Somi's "What You Waiting For" and Blackpink's "How You Like That".^[59] It was directed by director Jang Jaehyeok and Lee Kyeongsoon of Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo production team. The producer is Kim Soohan and assistant director, Lee Hohyeon. Other key personnel were directors of photography Acam Yang Gyunsang and Bcam Kim Deokjung, while the camera crew was Kim Jinhyeong, Seon Hoseong, Hwang Gyoha and Yang Hyeonu. The Gaffer were Park Jaegwang, Jeon Eunyeong as the Art Director and lighting crew Lee Minsoo, Lee Hyeonsu, Jung Mungyun, Lee Seonmin, Jung Yujin and Kim Hamin.^[60] The video featured Yong Yong the iguana.^[61] The members took a style transformation with members in retro style outfits and stand out accessories to emphasize the coolness.^[11][23]

The video begins with a statement, "When the sun strikes the heart of the desert, the wandering souls come across each other at an outdated motel where human vestiges are barely traceable... There is a special life story behind each soul, and together, they end up spending the most burningly compelling day of their lives."^[19] In the background of an outdated desert with exotic elements such as iguanas and parrots, campers and horses,^[62] showing members with different stories meeting at a sleepy motel to hold a summer party.^[63] As the video progressing, the scenes overall change into colourful and vivid colours, giving a contrasting look to the intro part of the film.^[64] It has a little reminiscent of the fashion and vibes usually seen at American summer music festivals like Coachella and Burning Man.^[18] The music video also incorporates summer essentials such as a camping car, bonfire, swimming pool, colorful confetti and fancy outfits.^[64] In the video, Miyeon, an actress on her vacation alone; Minnie the wanderer enjoying her freedom; the homebody Soojin; Soyeon riding a convertible, Yuqi the cowgirl crossing the dessert and a part-time waitress, Shuhua. The video cuts to Soyeon, stood in front of an old motel located in the middle of the desert, carrying a large bag of luggage and was surprised by the discovery of Shuhua in the cafeteria.^[65] Towards the end, they end up becoming friends, having the time of their lives and leaving their troubles behind.^[19]

A dance performance music video was released through the Mu:fully official YouTube channel.^[66][67] A retro-style lyric video was released on August 7, 2020. The video contains party sets and animals that appear in the music video of "Dumdi Dumdi".^[68] On August 11, the dance practice video for "Dumdi Dumdi" was released on both (G)I-dle's official YouTube and V Live channel.^[69]

Reception

The music video surpassed 10 million views in 10 hours, breaking its own record which was 2 hours faster than "Oh My God". The music video garnered 17.6 million views on YouTube in 24 hours, surpassing their previous record with "Oh My God" which gained 17 million views. In addition, the music video ranks on YouTube real-time trending in 35 regions around the world, including 3rd in South Korea, 2nd in Paraguay, 3rd in Chile, and 5th in Brazil.^[70] It later went on exceeding 18 million views in Sina Weibo in 18 hours, and ranked 25th in Weibo's real-time search query. The related hashtag on Weibo has received 130 million interactions.^[71] On August 5, the music video hit 30 million views, becoming the group's fastest music video in 40 hours.^[72]

"Dumdi Dumdi" was featured on August 16, episode 343 The Return of Superman,^[73] and on August 20, episode 8 Flower of Evil. On August 25, a snippet of the song's chorus was played on TV Chosun's Wife's Taste [ko].^[74] On September 1, "Dumdi Dumdi" was played as the opening song for Sporty Sisters (Korean: 노는언니), a variety show featuring South Korean female athletes.^[75]

"Dumdi Dumdi" managed to achieve a total of 6 music show trophies by August 2020 including double crowns (two consecutive wins) on Show Champion, M Countdown and Inkigayo,

• List of K-pop songs on the Billboard charts
• List of Inkigayo Chart winners (2020)
• List of M Countdown Chart winners (2020)

• "덤디덤디 (DUMDi DUMDi)" lyric video on YouTube