ICHILLIN was formed in late 2021 by KM Entertainment, as their first kpop group, with eight members: Jiyoon, Chaerin, E.Ji, Jackie, Joonie, Yeju, Chowon, and Sohee, the last of which left the group soon after debut. The name is a combination, but not of English words “I” and “chilling” like I thought, but of Irish word “Aisling” (dreaming) and Korean word “Chillin” (seven). Or, seven members to give you good dreams.

Here are my credentials: very few. As mentioned, ICHILLIN are their company’s first kpop group, so I don’t have any roundabout way of knowing them like I do with a lot of newer groups. I’ve heard a grand total of one song of theirs before this, and that’s it. This is the least I think I’ve ever known about a group and I’m honestly kind of excited about this! Let’s get into it!

(P.S: ICHILLIN makes nearly all of their songs singles, but if I tried to write a paragraph about each one, we’d be here all day, so I went with two per EP; forgive me :) )

Single #1: GOT’YA

As GOT’YA began, I was reminded of that tweet that says “we love to see women excelling in a male-dominated field” and in this case, that’s the kind of anti-drop heavy “boy group” music that has me wincing. But…then it’s not. Because where I was anticipating—even resigned to—an unsatisfying anti-drop, GOT’YA instead had a fairly sprawling chorus that’s a pretty decent pay-off for its pre-chorus. It’s not the greatest song of 2022 by any means, but it’s honestly pretty solid. Alright, ICHILLIN. Kudos. You have my attention. And the MV is also a lot of fun, opting for a down-to-earth 2000s social media look a la TripleS’ Generation that’s a good fit. It’s one of those videos that doesn’t just pair well with the song but improves on it, injecting some pops of color and mediating the confidence of the performances. Overall, not a bad start!

EP #1: Bridge Of Dreams

Play Hide and Seek starts up where GOT’YA left off, in this interesting middle ground between the kind of cutesy solid bubblegum that kpop girl groups have built careers off of for years and this off-kilter trappy sound that’s a bit more boy-group esque. Each softens or sharpens the other, and though there’s a couple moments where it veers a bit too far in one direction or the other for me, like the rap section in the second verse, it mostly works well. My favorite part would have to be the bridge, and especially that great high note (which I think was Chaerin; correct me if I’m wrong) before the final, altered chorus. I’m not usually a fan of a transition that simple, but in a song that sometimes veers towards the overwhelming, paring it back a bit was a good decision.

From the EP, though I enjoyed the lovely vocals of 1 + 1, my hidden gem was always going to be La Luna. La Luna was actually the one song of ICHILLIN’s I knew before this deep dive, and I may like it even more now than the first time I heard it. It’s got this very specific, unapologetically magical synth sound that always makes me think that if Sailor Moon needed a Korean transformation sequence song, this one would win first place. Go listen to it yourself and you’ll see what I mean. Until this deep dive, I had no idea that it had choreo or that they’d performed it, so that was a nice surprise.

Single #2: My Time

While the last two songs did a pretty good job of pairing bubblegum and trap, I confess that Draw got on my nerves from the first second. There are good parts to this one too, absolutely, like the mostly melodic first verse, and the sunny central hook, but they don’t seem to meld together. It feels a lot like four separate songs—-the pre-chorus, the chorus, the rap verses, and the opener—especially when we get to the chanty pre-chorus, which is probably supposed to be anthemic but to me is a lot more reminiscent of a nursery rhyme that teeters a bit too close to creepy horror movie opener. I know that sounds harsh, and I’m sorry; the song really isn’t that bad, it’s just the specific kind of song that pushes a red button in my brain. Next!

EP #2: I’m On It

Kick Start had my attention from the first second, with that great rock edge and irrepressible energy. It doesn’t sacrifice the pop-trap combo either, but builds on it, making what I’d consider the first single from them that I’ve genuinely really liked. I found myself head-bopping along from the first verse, and I never really looked back. My favorite part would have to be that guitar hook in the pre-chorus, and though I wish it had continued on, I do think the chorus stands well on its own too. The best compliment I can give it is that it sounds like something that would play over a montage of you and your best friends getting ready for a fun night out. I know I’ll be mouthing the words along in my bathroom mirror, at least. Here’s hoping they continue this sound in future releases.

From the EP, I enjoyed the dramatic, funky sound of Meme (though the chorus made me laugh every time), and the punchy, surprisingly melodic Alarm, which was my hidden gem.

Single #3: Demigod

As a certified 2000s child, my first thought upon hearing the title for “Demigod” is: oh my god Percy Jackson it’s been so long. I’m only half kidding. But once the MV started, I was actually thinking more of Stray Kids’ God’s Menu, since it takes place in a kitchen and has trappier influences. I confess that I actually really loved the MV. It’s ridiculous, that’s for sure, showing the members cooking in a restaurant while being evaluated, and shenanigans ensue. Imagine the Bear if it was actually a comedy. As for the song itself, the first verse and build-up are actually pretty good, but when the chorus hit I admit to being a little disappointed at the anti-drop; the second half is much stronger and I think the song would have been better served by either combining them a little more or by really committing to one. If I had my way, of course that’d be the more expansive one, but unfortunately, I cannot always have my way. It really is a tragedy for us all.

EP #3: Feelin’ Hot

On My Lips opens with a brassy, funky opener that had me excited for what comes next. The pre-chorus especially is great, but again the chorus doesn’t live up to it, which seems to be becoming a theme here, unfortunately. Also, I normally don’t nitpick with English lyrics, but what exactly is the “hot sauce, hot sauce, I’m saucyyyyyy” hook supposed to be? It just sounds childish, I’m sorry. Let it be known, though, I’m always here for Shenanigans In A Huge Fancy Building: The Music Video, and this MV did not disappoint, showing the girls write on mirrors in lipstick, run through the hallways with abandon, and drink what’s definitely not grape juice in some very cute party dresses. It’s fun, definitely, but I don’t think I’d go back to it just to listen to without the music video to pair with it.

From the EP, I enjoyed the pre-chorus and vogue-worthy hook of Bite Me. Still prefer the original La Luna, but I won’t object to listening to it a second time here.

Single #4: Prequel

Official has a sound tailored to the runway from the get go, with a solid underlying beat and a fritzy, synthy one on top. Even before I saw the music video I could imagine someone doing a full turn, purse over the shoulder to this. Again we have the issue of the pre-chorus eclipsing the chorus, but I honestly don’t mind it as much here as I did in the other songs. Though it wouldn’t be my first choice, the chorus is a very good fit for the song, not feeling out of place or shoved in for a hook. And though it does rely on a bit of a catchphrase line, it builds on itself the longer it goes on. By the end of the song, it had won me over, and I thought I probably wouldn’t search it out, I could see myself listening to it if it came up on shuffle. If I need some extra incentive to get out of bed in the morning, I’ll know who to ask.

From the single, I enjoyed the bombastic sound of the intro and the laid-back synths of Miami.

Verdict: TL;DR

I’m glad I did this! I knew practically nothing about ICHILLIN before this deep dive and that’s definitely not true anymore. As mentioned, I watched them perform La Luna (several times, if we’re being honest), but I also saw some of their covers, including The Spice Girls’ Wannabe and Stray Kids’ Maniac. My favorite would have to be Lee Hyori’s 10 Minutes, which they totally aced. While I was editing, I watched their intro interview film, which has no right to be so charming, and I gained a soft spot for E.Ji. I also saw their appearance on Awesome World attempting to pronounce French word, which was a lot of fun.

My Top 5 songs were La Luna, Kick-Start, Alarm, Official, and Bite Me, with Miami as an honorable mention. ICHILLIN gets an 8 out of 10 from me. I confess I didn’t have high expectations for this review, but though a lot of their music isn’t something I’d necessarily go searching for, I thought that overall it was pretty good. They do a good job of standing out from their peers in a very competitive industry, keeping a core sound but building off of it in different ways. An 8 seems fair to me because it balances out the issues I have with their songs while still acknowledging that there’s a lot of good there too. And though I have these issues, there weren’t any songs I actually disliked. ICHILLIN have so much potential and though I know it might not seem like this rating reflects it, I’m going to keep an eye out for them, and I’m genuinely excited to see where they go next!

Next time, we’re onto another round of soloist rankings and a long deep dive into one soloist I should’ve covered years ago. Tschüss!