The Core - æ ¸ is the debut full-length studio album by Japanese vocal group XG. It was released on January 23, 2026, through Xgalx. The album is fully in English.
The album is described to be a declaration of "X-Pop", a blend genre of pop, hip hop and R&B, that crosses genre boundaries.
On November 6, 2025, the title and release date for XG's debut album was revealed, with the track list being revealed on December 23, 2025.
Musically, the album is diverse with genres spanning from pop, house, hip-hop, R&B, and pop-punk.
The Core contains ten tracks, with the opening track "Xignal" being a spacey, synth heavy instrumental intro. "Gala" is a ballroom inspired house and rap track that features the members of XG rapping braggadocious lyrics about their style and high fashion. The lyrics describe members turning the a "Met Gala into an 'X-Gala'". "Take My Breath" is an upbeat dance-pop track taking the electronic direction of "Gala" and softening it with a bubbly sound and lyrical contents of romantic love. It features a French house leaning production with elements of funk.
Staying true to the group's self-described roots, "Rock The Boat", "No Good", and "Up Now" are R&B and hip-hop songs. "Rock The Boat" has lyrics revolving around sensuality and romance. It includes references the R&B singer Aaliyah, who shares a song with the same title. "No Good" is a "silky" track featuring with lyrics of confrontation. "Up Now" is a "laid-back" pop and R&B song with sounds of 2000s similar to Doja Cat.
The sixth track, "Hypnotize", is a house and dance track with production featuring rhythmic piano lines. Lyrically, the song talks about enchanting the listeners into a dreamy, hypnotic state.
"O.R.B. (Obviously Reads Bro)" is described as a "bratty" pop-punk song that echoes sounds of the 2000s. The title references the term of endearment the members call each other and the bond it has represented since their training as idols.
"4 Seasons" and âÂÂPS118â separate the group into fully vocal-led and fully rap-led songs. The ninth track, âÂÂ4 SeasonsâÂÂ, is a laid back R&B song featuring an acoustic guitar The song consists of vocals from Chisa, Hinata, and Juria. The final track, âÂÂPS118",is an "old-school" boom-bap rap song. The song was originally a solo debut of Jurin, the group leader, featuring Rapsody. It was later included in the final track list. The album version includes the Jurin and the groupâÂÂs main rappers, Maya, Harvey, and Cocona.