ITZY was formed in 2019, and quickly became a group that was inseparable from the rise of confident girl crush in the 4th generation of kpop. There are five members: Yeji, Lia, Chaeryeong, Ryujin, and Yuna. 

Here are my credentials: I can’t say that I was ever a fan of ITZY, but they had just debuted when I became interested in kpop, and so I ended up checking them out. But I haven’t kept up with them in the last few years, because they kind of lost me along the way, especially after Sneakers came out. So I wanted to see what they’ve been up to since. Let’s get into it!

(Note: this is a re-do of my original review from 2024. Enjoy!)

Single #1: IT’Z Different

Dalla Dalla was ITZY’s debut, and damn is it a debut. It’s brash and in-your-face, firmly establishing their cool, uncaring sound. “I don’t want to be mature; I’m different from the kids. Don’t measure me by others’ standards.” It has its flaws, and thus I have my gripes; while that chorus is great and its verses solid, its raps don’t flow quite as well as they could, and I’m not a fan of the places where it veers into sing-talk. But on the whole, it’s good, and it has a great hook, managing to toe the line between irritating earworm and catchy.

Also, I’m not a dancer by any means, but I do have a soft spot for choreos like this, that manage to combine confidence and fun. That domino effect move right before the final chorus is just so satisfying to watch. And speaking of visuals, I found it very interesting that, while there’s some sexualized parts (this is k-pop, so…) most of them didn’t feel overly male gaze-y, instead catering to a female audience with the confidence behind them.

I loved the single’s b-side, Want It, which pairs ITZY’s teen crush with rock-pop, a combination that works very well. I wish it was a sound they did more often.

EP #1: IT’Z Icy

Icy tends to get forgotten about when discussing ITZY’s early singles run, including by yours truly. It’s not as surprising as Dalla Dalla, or as much of a classic as Wannabe became, or as polarizing as some of their later singles (we’ll get to those, don’t worry). The pre-chorus is honestly one of their best, but it undercuts itself with that anti-drop. It’s not as egregious as other anti-drops, still keeping a bright feeling and solid attitude, most of which is due to ITZY’s charisma, but it’s still not as good as it could be. I like the comic book animations mixed in with real life, by the way, and just how colorful the MV is in general. 

(Side note: I wish I didn’t have to mention this, but why is Yeji wearing braids? This was only five years ago, it’s not like this is a 2nd Gen music video from 2006 with terrible quality. C’mon, JYP. Do better.)

I didn’t have a hidden gem from the EP, but I enjoyed the remix of Want It.

EP #2: IT’Z Me

Wannabe, as mentioned, is probably the ITZY song, the ITZY-est ITZY’s ever gotten, if you will. It has all of the elements that make their songs work, from its mix of vulnerability and confidence to its solid dancefloor beat to that fantastic sledgehammer hook. It’s tailor made for scream singing “I wanna be ME” and badly dancing in front of your mirror, using a hairbrush as a microphone. (Because come on, Ryujin, no one else can do the shoulder dance). It has a full-throated, expansive chorus too, delivering on its buildup perfectly and keeping that momentum going until the song ends. It was, in my opinion, their peak, and it’s a pretty good candidate for one of the most enduring hits of the year.

(But…again, the cultural appropriation. Come on guys.)

From the EP, I enjoyed the ATEEZ-worthy chanting that recurs throughout Ting Ting Ting (though I could do without that chorus), the Latin Pop percussion in That’s A No No, and the forceful beat of Don’t Wanna Dance. My hidden gem was the anthemic Nobody Like You, which reminded me a lot of Taylor Swift’s transitional country-pop years. This is a pretty solid EP!

EP #3: Not Shy

Perhaps knowing that you can’t really beat yourself at your own game, Not Shy chooses to take a slight left turn. It keeps the ITZY trademarks of brash hooks, in-your-face confidence, and flippant delivery, but swaps out their usual glitzy city locations for a Wild West set that’s the backdrop for a bank robbery. I really love the pre-chorus, maybe even more than Icy’s, but that only makes it more frustrating when they again make the decision to do an anti-drop. Despite the instrumental being a bit polarizing, I actually like it. It’s a bit harsh on the ears at times, true, but it’s also unique, working in elements of Latin Pop and Spaghetti Western in a way that I haven’t heard very often in kpop. In my opinion, it’s both underrated and overrated, if that makes any sense.

From the EP, while I enjoyed the incredible electric guitar led Don’t Give A What and the peppy beat of Surf, my hidden gem was the acoustic, percussive Be In Love. Not only is it sweet, showing a somewhat more vulnerable side of ITZY than we usually see, but it was this song that was the first I saw them perform, a long time ago, and it’s had a special place in my heart since.

EP #4: Guess Who

It’s more pressure than you’d think, talking about In The Morning, partly because it was the most popular k-pop song of 2021 and also partly because I hate it. I know, I know, sacrilege. Look, I don’t hate the whole thing; the pre-chorus is honestly pretty good. But. (And here’s where I lock my doors and pray that the stans don’t come for me.) The lyrics don’t make sense half the time and when they do, they romanticize the goddamn mafia like this is a 14-year-olds first foray into writing fanfiction. ITZY has so much stage presence and charisma, but absolutely none of it comes through in this song.

I recognize that I’m a bit harsh on it, and part of that is because, over the years, it’s become my reference point for every k-pop song I don’t like. NCT’s 2 Baddies makes me think of it; Blackpink’s How You Like That makes me think of it, etc etc. So it’s been taking up space in my mind for three years, and God, do I want it gone. Next!

It’s safe to say that I like every song on the EP more than In The Morning, and I can’t imagine why Wild Wild West, which combines spaghetti western with handclap led percussion, or the orchestral Kidding Me, or the throw-everything-at-the-wall extravaganza that is Sorry Not Sorry wasn’t the single. The difficult thing is that so many of these songs have good parts, but none of them are great all the way through, though Wild Wild West comes closest.

Album #1: Crazy In Love

Loco was actually the first song of ITZY’s that I watched come out in real time, and thankfully, is a return to form for them after In The Morning. Working in elements of rock and even a touch of punk, it goes for broke in the best way, not trying to project itself as anything less than, well, crazy in love. There’s something that feels so freeing about it, something that feels momentous, and it’s just so much fun to see. My one big gripe is that its bridge is just a bit lackluster, relying on a simple chant, but the great start to its final chorus almost makes up for it. It doesn’t quite reach the heights that Wannabe does, but it comes damn close.

From the album, I enjoyed the rushing beat and irrepressible energy of Soooo Lucky (my hidden gem) and the by-the-beach sound of Chillin’, but overall, I didn’t think this release was as strong as their others, despite the great title.

EP #5: Checkmate

So, Sneakers caused a bit of controversy when it was announced, not only for its misleading teaser photos but for the abject silliness of the hook. I hadn’t actually sat down and watched the full video until now. I have to say that it’s not as bad as I was expecting—In The Morning is still worse, by far—but it’s still not good. Not even Taeyeon herself could make “PUT my SNEAkers ON” work, I’m sorry. It just sounds stupid, and worse, childish, and undermines the confidence they’re trying to project, the confidence that the ITZY in Wannabe and Dalla Dalla could show us and didn’t have to convince us of. There’s a lot of debate about when ITZY “fell off”, and to that I’d say: they really didn’t. Good pre-chorus buildups without good payoffs, raps that don’t quite fit, and occasional dumb lyrics are pretty common in ITZY’s singles. The difference here is that Sneakers takes all of those flaws and turns them up to 100, leaving out the charisma, the feel-good vibes, and the energizing choruses that made the flaws in those other songs still work.

From the EP, I enjoyed the hopeful pop of Domino (my hidden gem), and the outro of Free Falling, but mostly I thought that this was a pretty weak release.  

EP #6: Cheshire

Boys Like You is Part 2 of the “ITZY fell off” Multiverse, and suffers from similar issues that Sneakers does. I do think that overall, it’s a better song, and considering k-pop’s track record when it comes to English singles, it’s not really bad. Are some of the lyrics cringy? Absolutely. Does some of this song sound like a Disney Channel original single?  Absolutely. But it’s got a solid chorus, a solid beat, and a pretty good bridge. So, all things considered, it’s fun, and it’s fine. I think that, had it not come off of the heels of Sneakers, it wouldn’t be so disliked.

Cheshire, like Loco after In The Morning, feels like a return to form for ITZY, and for better or for worse, is firmly in the middle of their work. It has the confident delivery, the great pre-chorus, and, naturally, an anti-drop that gets on my nerves. I don’t have much to say about it that I haven’t said before, so I won’t bother. I will say, I really enjoyed all the Alice In Wonderland references and the slightly crazy color palette of the MV, but a great MV does not a good song make. 

From the EP, I enjoyed the creepy-meets-Christmas feeling of Snowy, a combination I haven’t heard before.

Next time, we’re onto Part 2. Tschüss!