Interesting! K-pop solo artist Yena is set to release an Olivia Rodrigo-inspired single titled “Hate Rodrigo,” featuring (G)I-DLE’s Yuqi. Keep reading for details, lyric breakdown and more.
When Is Yena’s ‘Hate Rodrigo’ Being Released?
Yena will release her upcoming single “Hate Rodrigo” on June 27, 2023.
The K-pop artist’s music video appears reminiscent of Olivia’s 2021 music video for “deja vu.” Following the release of the track’s title name and the music video teaser on June 20, fans were curious as to what the relation between Yena and Olivia was.
According to Stone Music Entertainment (Yena’s agency), ‘”Hate Rodrigo,’ is a song that expresses the cute jealousy of ‘I hate all the kids who are better than me!’” That being said, we can guess that the single will express Yena’s admiration for the Grammy-winning songstress.
Yena’s ‘Hate Rodrigo’ Single: Lyric Breakdown
The song describes how Yena idolizes Olivia so much, that she’s become jealous of her.
“Love this song, good for me,” she sings in the chorus, a play on Olivia’s song “good 4 u.”
She continued, “Hate you, call 9-1-1. It’s not even a crush, seriously. Oh my God, you’re my star, I’m not jealous, Rodrigo.”
Who Is Yena?
Yena, 23, first got her start after winning fourth place in the South Korean reality competition show Produce 48, which formed K-pop girl group IZ*ONE. The 12-member band was active from 2018 to 2021.
The K-pop artist made her solo debut on January 17, 2022, with the release of her first EP Smiley, making her the third ex-IZ*ONE member to have debuted as a soloist. Other members include Le Sserafim‘s Sakura and Chaewon, IVE‘s Wonyoung and Yujin, Eunbi, Hyewon, Chaeyeon, Minju, Nako Yabuki, Hitomi Honda and Yuri.
“The name of the group was actually created by our fans, WIZ*ONE [pronounced weeze-One],” Eunbi explained during an interview with Billboard in 2019. “It refers to the moment that we, 12 stars, come together as IZ*ONE [pronounced Eyes-One] like the 12 astrological signs, which is why there’s a star.”
When Yena was younger, she was diagnosed with lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system.
“When I was young, I had lymphoma. I was really sick to the point where the hospital told us that there was no hope,” she explained on a South Korean reality series in 2018. “Our family wasn’t very well off, and because of the hospital bills, my parents went to sell kimbap (Korean seaweed rice rolls) every day early in the morning.”
She is the younger sister of singer and actor Choi Sung-min, who debuted in 2010 in the mixed group Coed School. The group disbanded in 2013.
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