ITZY Makes Fierce New Comeback With ‘Mafia in the Morning’
It’s been almost two years since the rookie groups of today debuted into the beginning stages of fourth-generation K-pop. The strongest and most powerful groups of this era were BigHit Label’s Tomorrow X Together (TXT) and JYPE’s ITZY, who continue to dominate Korean pop charts. ITZY is JYP Entertainment’s second active girl group under K-pop superstars TWICE.
The company also has two other popular boy groups, Stray Kids and Day6, following GOT7’s disbandment. However, it seems that ITZY will bulldoze through all music show wins with their title track “Mafia in the morning (마.피.아. In the morning)” for the entirety of their promotional period. When the album was released, the “Mafia in the morning” music video accumulated over 13 million views in the first twenty-four hours on YouTube and since then has garnered almost 40 million more. The song also entered both Melon’s and Genie’s music charts, beat the record for the highest number of streams on Spotify for a fourth-generation group in its first day, and amassed over 260,000 pre-ordered albums. On the following day, popular Korean reality shows such as Idol League and Knowing Bros posted their episodes featuring the girls. Finally, all of ITZY’s stages on Music Core, Music Bank, and MBC have exceeded one million views, plus the group has already been featured on specialized YouTube performance channels Studio Choom and MTV.
The girl group debuted on February 11, 2019, under JYP Entertainment. They were announced to be an “experimental-type” group that would try out different styles. Although they were categorized under the girl crush archetype, ITZY made headlines for delivering a refreshing take on the pop-rock music style. They have also been recognized for paying special attention to their stage presence and performances. Many of the members have had exposure in the industry before, especially Ryujin and Chaeryeong. Ryujin participated in the YG-run idol discovery program “Mixnine” where she won first place for the girls. Both the male and female winners were supposed to debut before the groups were called off.
All participants went back to being trainees, however, many have debuted into successful K-pop groups today: Hongjoong from ATEEZ, Byeongkwan from A.C.E., Hyunsuk from Treasure, and Byounggon from CIX. On the other hand, many of the female trainees never made it big. Another member, Chaeryeong, had a long list of TV appearances including the 2013-2014 season of K-pop Star 3 and an idol-producing show by JYP Entertainment called Sixteen. This show determined the members who would debut in the girl group Twice. Chaeryeong and her older sister, Chaeyeon, both appeared on the show, despite being significantly younger than the current Twice members. She made it to the final episode but was unable to debut. Thus, many of the girls had preexisting recognition prior to their own debut, which contributed significantly to their overflowing support and massive fanbase.
This comeback combined the talents of Yuna’s immense stage presence and Chaeryeong’s dance skill. Both verses are very rap-heavy and so Yuna and Yeji were assigned to fill in those gaps. All of the girls are talented enough to hit the lines perfectly, but Chaeryeong’s pre-chorus and Ryujin’s chorus do wonder’s to the song’s pop-rock energy, which all ITZY tracks manage to bring to the table. Fans also noticed Lia’s newfound confidence on stage. The “Mafia in the morning” performance is less labor-intensive but instead focuses more on blending into the flow of the music, as well as implementing many groove techniques. This song is currently their track with a choreography that includes backup dancers. Key points in the choreography keep the song and its dance memorable, like the head roll during the chorus and their hand motions when they sing, “누구일까 Mafia” which translates to “who is the mafia?”
Many of ITZY’s songs connect at a central point: to spread self-love. Their debut track “Dalla Dalla” was designed to embrace our differences. Since then, the girls have taken a long journey of self-discovery and in turn have motivated their fans, MIDZY, to appreciate themselves a little more each and every day. In an interview, Ryujin told Buzzfeed her interpretation of ITZY’s message: “First off, since the central theme [of our songs] is the message of ‘self-love,’ I think that in itself has sort of broken the mold. I think our style and performances break the usual standards and adjectives/descriptions many people have associated with girl groups.”
ITZY’s success has tied itself to the reasons why BLACKPINK gained so much recognition in the first place: they stood out from the crowd. ITZY is on their way to becoming major global superstars after separating themselves from the image of a common K-pop girl group. And although they want to spread a positive message to their fans, the girls have struggled with self-confidence, too. The K-pop industry is a world infested with many physical and mental stresses. Every day these girls are forced to fit the youthful stereotype. They put on a facade and appear bright and cheerful online. Secrets hidden within these artists are never brought to light, but the leader Yeji addressed how she feels entering the spotlight for the recent GUESS WHO album. “In my case, when I’m on the stage, I don’t care about anything but expressing my feelings, so that makes me confident and comfortable. It also really motivates me to see other people — the members, our fans — getting excitement and energy from me, so it’s like a cycle.”
ITZY is in the midst of their promotional activities and is planned to appear on more music awards shows. The group has accumulated a total of thirty-four wins on all of the major Korean music shows: ten from M Countdown, five from Show! Music Core, five from Music Bank, eight from Inkigayo, and six from Show Champion. These wins range every single title track they have released so far without the recent album, GUESS WHO. As the largest fourth-generation rookie girl group, they are steadily getting their name out into the nomination lists for international awards such as the MTV Europe Music Awards and the BreakTudo Awards, one of the largest Brazilian award shows. Stay in tune with the group’s activities on their Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok where the girls post daily content for MIDZY to enjoy.
Columnist | K-pop Stan | Tweet me @senaho5
