K-Pop’s ITZY on Their Evolution as a Girl Group and New Album ‘GUESS WHO’

“I will never forget the wave of light-sticks and the joyous scream of the fans,” Chaeryeong, main dancer of K-pop girl group ITZY, said about their first time attending year-end award shows after debuting in 2019. 

The rising stars are known for positive summer bops; their first three songs — “DALLA DALLA,” “ICY,” and “WANNABE” — are all unapologetic self-love anthems. But now, two years after their first single, the five-member band is ready for a reinvention with their new album GUESS WHO.

“If other albums were like upgraded versions of the previous, this one is a whole new ITZY with a totally new genre,” the group’s leader, Yeji, told VICE. 

Its first single “In the morning,” is a powerful hip-hop-influenced dance song with a dark edge. It starts with ITZY’s main rapper Ryujin saying “Guess who loves you, nayana (it’s me),” as if to hint at the song’s mysterious romance and the band’s return. 

“‘In the morning’ is kind of a love song which is about attracting and capturing others’ heart by showing your unique and different character,” Ryujin said. “The song itself has the theme of the party game, Mafia, so it shows its true color at night but hides in the crowd in the morning.”

The song embodies the excitement of figuring out who the Mafia is in the popular game of social deduction through addictive hooks.

Yuna, the group’s lead rapper and dancer, said the song “expresses ITZY the best,” hinting at a stage performance that maximizes their energy. “We always try to show new sides of us or the music, so ‘In the morning’ has both of those factors to become the title track,” she said.

ITZY is part of what’s known as K-pop’s fourth generation, one that emerged amid K-pop’s rising global popularity. It’s unfamiliar territory and poses new challenges. 

“I was so focused and concentrated on preparing for our debut that I didn’t even have time to worry about anything else,” Ryujin said. “But since the debut, I’m always trying to become a better performer and give our fans nothing but the best, so that’s the biggest mission for me.”

For Yuna, the hardest part about kicking off with this new phase of K-pop was perfecting the performances. 

“We put a lot of effort to start off a new generation with ITZY’s unique color. I trained my vocals, my dancing style, and my mindset so we all worked as a group,” she said. 

It also involved breaking stereotypes of what a girl group should be. 

ITZY tries to straddle multiple genres and concepts. Their debut single “DALLA DALLA,” released in February 2019, is an EDM-pop anthem about loving what makes you different. It’s cute and fierce and empowering.

 Yeji said that there are a lot of artists that sing about love, but she and her fellow members didn’t think there were enough about self-love. 

“We’re constantly putting effort into being a positive influence for our fans and listeners, and it’s rewarding when we see it really works,” Yuna said. 

They didn’t abandon this theme of empowerment on the new album GUESS WHO. Actually, they’ve doubled down on it. Instead of singing about finding the confidence to love themselves, they now encourage channeling this confidence to charm the world. It’s more self-assured, imposing even. 

Apart from “In the morning,” there are five other tracks on the EP, each with a different mood. “Sorry Not Sorry” is playful and laid back, highlighting the title’s heck-care attitude; “KIDDING ME” is about demanding to be taken more seriously; “Wild Wild West” boldly addresses a dangerous, unexpected attraction; “SHOOT!” is a boss-like R&B song about slowly luring people into a lovestruck spell; and “TENNIS (0:0)” is a soft track that compares a crush to a game of tennis. 

“Personally, I think we’ll be able to show our fans a deeper and more mature side of us through this album. This album is not just bright with happy songs, it’s like our own takes and immersions complete the music and performance,” Chaeryeong said. “Compared to the previous ones, I think our expressions and [the] stories we’re telling may be the main point of this album.”

Like other artists, the past year forced ITZY to adjust to unexpected pandemic restrictions. The band held a global fan meeting online and stayed in touch with supporters through livestreams, social media content, and multiple YouTube web series. Now, they want nothing more than to see their fans in person again.

“We’re trying to engage with the fans through various content, and our biggest goal is to practice a lot so that we can show them how much we’ve grown when we finally get to see them again,” Yeji said.

With only six mini albums released, it’s hard to tell what kind of girl group ITZY will turn out to be. But they hope to one day leave their mark. 

“I want ITZY to be seen as the group that’s always clear on the message they’re trying to deliver, and also the group that always goes beyond the expectations, bringing joy and excitement to people,” Chaeryeong said.

Lia added: “I want ITZY to be seen as ITZY and nothing else!”

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