ILLIT was formed in 2024 by HYBE subsidiary BE:LIFT (which also created Enhypen), through the survival show R U Next? Fun fact, which I didn’t know before this review: their name is pronounced “I’ll It”, not “ill it”, supposed to represent making your own decisions. They have five members, Yunah, Minju, Wonhee, Moka, and Iroha, who at time of writing range from ages 17 to 21. (*cries in old*)

Here are my credentials: I know next to nothing about ILLIT, to be honest with you. The reason I put “New Jeans” in the title is because, having been following their legal struggle through the last couple years, I honestly first heard of ILLIT through the plagiarism allegations leveled by New Jeans’ former creative director Min Heejin.

I want to be clear right upfront, because I know it’s going to make some people angry: I am not pitting the girls against each other, I am not trying to downplay New Jeans’ court case, and I am not claiming that the allegations have any merit. I genuinely do not have enough information to have an opinion yet (though I hope to change that). I have no interest in exploiting the pain of teenage girls who already go through enough on a daily basis.

With that out of the way, I’m really looking forward to seeing what ILLIT as a group have to offer. Let’s get into it!

EP #1: Super Real Me

You might have to be living under a rock to not immediately burst into the choreo of Magnetic the moment ILLIT breaks into “This time I want you, you, you, you, like it’s magnetic…”. (I actually didn’t know they were saying you until much later, funnily enough.) Despite its completely inescapable fame, I’m not the biggest fan of the rest of the chorus, to be honest; I wish it had done a bit more with their voices instead of relying on catchphrases. The music video is simple but fun, its goofiness a good fit for the girls’ ages and the song’s bubbliness. For a debut, it does a pretty good job at establishing a solid identity for the group: a little weird, pretty fun, and very catchy.

From the EP, I enjoyed the ethereal sound of both intro My World and Midnight Fiction, but my hidden gem was definitely Lucky Girl Syndrome, which blends that ethereality with a solid beat and a fun poppy sound that really elevates it. In all three, though, their voices really suit the sound.

EP #2: I’ll Like You

Cherish (My Love) often gets filed into the category of Magnetic Part 2, which I think does it a disservice. It’s still into that laid-back, minimalistic sound, but elevates it, with a plucky acoustic guitar, a handclapping-led background, and a more sprawling chorus. The vocals have more depth to them this time around, and definitely more emotion. And the music video is adorable, managing to be undeniably charming and absolute bizarre at the same time. (Why are we planting our magical teeth in plant pots? Because.) I know this wasn’t as instantly viral as Magnetic was, but I honestly prefer it.

(Fun fact: I was confused about why the music video is centered around teeth, until I did some digging and found out that apparently the concept was created by Yunah after she got her wisdom teeth out, because wisdom teeth are called “love teeth” (sarangnee) in Korean. With that in mind, I rewatched the video and liked it so much more.)

From the EP, I enjoyed the bright, bubbly I’ll Like You and the interesting instrumental and somewhat funny lyrics of Pimple (my hidden gem).

Single #1: Baby It’s Both (Tick-Tack)

(I wasn’t entirely sure how to cover the song Tick-Tack to be honest, because while its original Korean version is a single, the English version is the one with its famous feature, Ava Max. In the end I decided to focus on the Korean one, for consistency’s sake).

Tick-Tack takes the undeniable talent ILIT have for crafting catchy hooks and take it up to 100. It’s tough to walk that line between what’s fun and what’s annoying, but Tick-Tack aces it. It also helps that the rest of the song is much meatier than the hook in a way that Magnetic isn’t, meaning that they manage to balance each other out. Together, they make a song that’s chiptune to the max, reminding me of a mix of Billlie’s BYOB (Bring Your Own Best Friend) and Red Velvet’s Russian Roulette. It and Cherish are definitely my favorites so far.

Single #2: Almond Chocolate

Almond Chocolate is also in that nebulous area of “do I cover this, do I not”, not because it’s not a single but because it’s originally in Japanese, which I don’t usually spend time on. But ILLIT doesn’t have a lot of material to cover, and I’ve been recommended this song a good amount, so I thought I might as well.

Even though I listened to the Korean version of it, I can definitely tell that the song is intended for a Japanese market. There’s the swirling classical background, the cutesy delivery, and that specific sense of drama tailor-made for an anime intro. And that build that finally comes to fruition at the end is just pitch-perfect. I happened to have almond chocolate at home while watching the music video, so of course I had to run to my pantry and grab it.

EP #3: Bomb

Do The Dance, despite being a Korean release, builds on the orchestral sound of Almond Chocolate, with a cutesy sense of humor all ILLIT’s own. There’s a fluffy cat, a lot of rhymes between Korean and French, and a five person bike, so what more do you really need? Though I have a couple little gripes—I’m not the biggest fan of the heavy aegyo at the beginning, and there are parts that feel a bit disconnected–the song has a really great sense of fun, and the kinks smooth out a bit as the song goes on. I’m also glad they’re utilizing the chiptune more in title tracks too and not just b-sides.

From the EP, I enjoyed the off-kilter sound (and especially the “I don’t wanna know” hook) of Little Monster, and the solid beat of Oops!.

Single #3: Jellyous

Jellyous could perhaps be best described as “pop to the max”, still keeping the bubblegum chiptune sound ILLIT have been cultivating, but adding to it with more hip-hop led moments and more rap than I was expecting. Neither are necessarily bad, they’re just not my style, so my enjoyment is a little muted compared to Cherish or Tick-Tack. That being said, this music video is one of my favorites, melding video game effects with a frenetic choreography and a cute storyline that made me chuckle more than a few times. I think it’s pretty good, all in all.

Single #4: Not Cute Anymore

“Being cute doesn’t define who I am. There’s a lot more to me than that,” is how ILLIT’s Not Cute Anymore starts. And then we pan to a sparkly pink gravestone bedazzled with the words “CUTE IS DEAD” and you start to realize that you’re in for a ride. The verses are light in both vocals and instrumentals, but heavy in the wink-wink-nudge-nudge lyrics. The choruses continue on that line, missing the solid hook that’s made a lot of their past singles so powerful, much to my chagrin. I’m in two minds about the song, to be honest. Is it a smart takedown of the restrictions placed on idols that stymie their growth? Or is it a somewhat messy attempt by the adults on their team to transition them into a more mature image? I’m not sure.

Verdict: TL;DR

I’m glad I did this! I didn’t expect to have this much fun with my review, but I think ILLIT’s specific brand of poppy fun was exactly what I needed while writing this review. I watched their What’s In My Bag video with Vogue Korea and them playing around with multilingual tongue twisters on Hello 82, both of which were a lot of fun. I think I can tentatively call myself a casual fan, but I’m not laminating anything yet.

My Top 5 songs were Cherish (My Love), Tick-Tack, Jellyous, Billyeoon Goyangi, and Pimple, with Little Monster as an honorable mention. ILLIT gets an 8.5 out of 10 from me, which is higher than I was expecting. I like the way they use distortion, and vocal emphasis to make fairly simple songs more engaging. And to their credit, I think they do something new with a sound I’m not normally drawn to. I’m excited to see what they do with their sound next. Nice job proving me wrong, ILLIT. Credit where credit is due.

Next time, we’re onto a boy group, that may or may not be kpop, but are definitely going to be fun. Tschüss!