XG Brings Fashion to the Front in New Single ‘GALA’

Clear the runway for XG. The global girl group is ready to strike a pose with the first single “GALA” from their highly anticipated debut full-length album. 

Since we last caught up with the seven members in 2023, they’ve dominated stages on their world tour,
“The first HOWL,” made their Coachella debut at the Sahara Tent, and achieved a career milestone by selling out the world-famous Tokyo Dome. It’s a lot to take in over the course of two years, but the members are taking it in stride to prepare for their upcoming release. “The tour helped us experience and explore a lot of new things, whether it’s fashion or music,” MAYA says in our interview over Zoom. “I think that made us connect to our new identity in this new full album. Through that, I hope [our fans] ALPHAZ, could really see a different side of XG.”

“GALA” ushers in a new era for the group, and one that’s packed with a fashionable punch. The song is sprinkled with vibrant 80s-esque house synths and lyrics that are overflowing with self-confidence. The whole concept also champions uniqueness, with the members scoping out outfits that feel true to themselves, while also being out of this world. In the middle of the music video, magazines are lined up with the members plastered on the covers, and paparazzi camera flashes flood carpeted stairs that are super similar to the Metropolitan Museum of Art steps, where celebs usually pose for their innovative outfits for the Met Gala. However, XG truly takes everything to a level that’s beyond our wildest imaginations as they flaunt it all by rapping, “I just turned the Met Gala into an X-GALA.”

Related: BINI Shares Their ‘Must-Have’ Tour Essentials—Including 1 That Makes Them Feel ‘Reborn’

Below, we talked to the members about the song, their fashion inspirations, and what they look forward to for their debut album.

How has seeing ALPHAZ on your world tour inspired your own fashion sense?

CHISA: While we were doing the world tour, we noticed a lot of our ALPHAZ were taking inspiration from our music videos in what they were wearing. It actually came full circle and inspired us. And for the new album, we’re really looking forward and feeling confident to bring that new sense and spin of XG. Hopefully, we can continue to inspire our ALPHAZ around the world.

What was the creative process like when making “GALA”? What were your first impressions of the track?

JURIN: When we first heard it, we were like, “This is new! Wow!” But at the same time, it feels so XG. There are so many elements of hip hop, pop, and very diva-esque parts to the music, which created the sense of diversity and cultural layers that stay true to the XG brand and XG’s signature style.

I really enjoy that the lyrics embrace everyone’s individual style. Specifically, the rap “Everything I wear is a masterpiece.” How does your own fashion allow you to be confident in your music and endeavors?

HARVEY: Each outfit [in the “GALA” concept] reflects our own thoughts, and you can see the seven of us expressing the version of ourselves we want to be. We shared the looks we wanted to try with our company, and later with our stylists to make them even better. It’s actually the styles we would love to wear if we ever get invited to a fashion show someday.

How did each member choose their outfit?

JURIA: I really wanted to do a princess-inspired dress, but with an alien and robotic futuristic twist as well. So I added some mechanisms and accessories to fuse the two images together.

JURIN: For me personally, and for all of our members as well, we wanted to incorporate the question, “If we were to rock the runway, what would we wear?” My spin on my outfit was to be elegant, dressy, and mystical. But, I wanted to keep the XG taste, so I also put that futuristic and alien type of element in there as well.

HINATA: There’s a lyric in the song that goes “Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto.” I wanted to play off of that and create this cute Japanese robot outfit.

CHISA: I actually had a conversation with my stylist, and I asked her to create a look that resembles the lyric in the song, “Glamor me gold.” So, I asked her to make two different kinds of looks. One is just all-out gold everything, and the other one is more of a natural, simple, elegant kind of beauty.

HARVEY: My main theme is the conductor and instructor. So, I really wanted to create a look that was all white with black accent weights.

COCONA: When I first listened to “GALA,” I thought I wanted to do something chic, or something that resembles an outfit that I would wear for a fashion show if I were to come to Earth from outer space. So immediately, I thought of two things. The first one was very chic, which was an all black alien. For the second one, it was inspired by the first time that I challenged myself to do break dancing.  I wanted to contrast it with a black and white look.

MAYA: I feel like this song had a lot of confidence in the lyrics and the choreography. I really wanted to go for a more edgy and tighter fit. I told my stylist that I thought those components would show off my style, and I was more into a diva look. I also went for a short haircut. I was in my bob era, and I loved it.

How do you think “GALA” kicks off this new era for XG?

MAYA: “GALA” is more than just a song. It makes you feel like you’re stepping onto a surreal stage. For us, “GALA” is a gateway into XG’s identity and universe, and also the prologue to our first full album. We tried out so many different styles in this album. I feel like it allows our ALPHAZ and listeners to experience a fresh side of our music and to get an even deeper glimpse into our world, or what we call XG World. 

Has there been anything other than fashion that’s been deeply inspiring you in the process of music and choreography?

MAYA: We received a lot of inspiration from R&B artists. Some of the tracks we have in this album, we have a fun, easy-going song, and we can’t say what just yet, but those are definitely inspired by those individual artists. We’re really excited for the reactions to it. 

JURIN: Ah, voguing! [Making vogue gestures] We learned that voguing was actually a form of self-expression back in the day, and knowing that we wanted to express that through “GALA”, and we wanted to express our own individuality throughout this album. We really wanted to create an impact with our performance, choreography, and music. We hope people feel inspired by this to embrace their own individuality. 

Is there anything you learned about yourself while making the album? Were there any epiphanies that made you understand yourselves better?

COCONA: This is the first time I challenged myself to break dancing. All the other members were doing other forms of dancing, like voguing or acrobatics. I’ve never had the opportunity to teach and challenge myself to break dance. I was a little nervous at first, and I really only had one month to pull it off. But I really put my mind to it, and in the end, I was able to successfully do it.

It taught me that no matter how challenging or how impossible something might feel, if you really put your mind to it and believe in yourself, you can make anything a reality. It was heartwarming to see the other members also practicing beside me, and that we were all in the same unit together and doing something new. That really taught me a lot about putting my mind to something and believing in myself.

MAYA: There’s no end to discovering new versions of ourselves. We always say we want to try new things, but I feel like there’s no end to it. We just keep discovering more new versions of ourselves, and new styles. That’s the one thing I learned about us — is that we love to keep trying, keep challenging ourselves, and going for more. 

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.