(L-R) Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, Yuna
ITZY (Korean: 있지) is a five-member South Korean Girl Group. They debuted on February 12th, 2019, with inaugural title song "Dalla Dalla". It proved immensely popular and made ITZY the very first Korean Girl Group to earn a Platinum certification in Korea for their debut song.* The group initially drew attention for being "different" from the usual JYPE formula, which later proved to be part of the group's debut concept "it's okay to be different".
They were JYP Entertainment's first girl group to debut since TWICE over three years earlier (October 2015) and its last until NMIXX debuted three years later (February 2022). As all ITZY's members were born in 2000 or later, it is considered to be one of K-Pop's "Fourth Generation" groups.
Like TWICE before them, they eventually moved into the Japanese market in 2021, releasing their first Japanese EP What'z ITZY (their first five Korean title tracks) digitally that September, followed by a physical release compiling Japanese versions of those tracks plus "LOCO" with their original Korean versions (not unlike the #TWICE series) in December. This was followed up in April 2022 with ITZY's first Japan-only single, "Voltage".
In September 2023 it was announced that Lia would take a hiatus due to anxiety, therefore she is mostly absent from recording third studio album Born To Be, as well as promotions.
The members are, in order of descending age (the standard way JYPE lists its group members):
- Yeji (예지) - Hwang Ye-ji: born May 26th, 2000 - Leader, Main Dancer, Lead Vocalist, Rapper
- Lia (리아) - Choi Ji-soo* : born July 21st, 2000 - Main Vocalist, Sub-Rapper
- Ryujin (류진) - Shin Ryu-jin: born April 17th, 2001 - Main Rapper, Lead Dancer, Vocalist, Center
- Chaeryeong (채령) - Lee Chae-ryeong: born June 5th, 2001 - Main Dancer, Lead Vocalist, Rapper
- Yuna (유나) - Shin Yu-na: born December 9th, 2003 - Lead Dancer, Lead Rapper, Vocalist, Visual
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Discography
Studio Albums
- Crazy In Love (2021)
- Ringo (2023)note
- Born To Be (2024)
Extended Plays
- It'z Icy (2019)
- It'z Me (2020)
- Not Shy (2020)
- Guess Who (2021)
- Checkmate (2022)
- Cheshire (2022)
- Kill My Doubt (2023)
Compilations
- It'z ITZY (2021) – Japan-only bilingual EP
Single Albums (all digital-only except Japanese releases)
- It'z Different (2019)
- Not Shy [English Version] (2021)
- Voltage (2022) – Japan only
- Blah Blah Blah (2022) – Japan only
Tropes related to ITZY and their music:
General
- The Baby of the Bunch: Yuna, Lampshaded by the members multiple times as she's the only one who doesn't have a same-aged buddy in the group.note
- Be Yourself: Their songs have consistently been about encouraging young women/girls to be themselves, even if society tries to shame them into conformity.
- Child Popstar: Yuna was only 15 when ITZY debuted. The other girls, while of age or on their way during their debut, were also still teenagers.
- Dancing Is Serious Business: One of their main selling points is hard-hitting choreography, and Ryujin and Yuna also did a dance cover
of Bebe Rexha's "Break My Heart Myself" that went viral to the point of Rexha releasing a new version of the song featuring the two. - Family Business: Chaeryeong's older sister is Chaeyeon, a member of IZ*ONE.
- High-Class Gloves: Used to distinguish Lia's elegant, refined aesthetic in this photoshoot◊.
- Meaningful Name: ITZY, meaning "to have" in Korean, means that the girls can have everything a viewer can want.
- Light Feminine Dark Feminine: They're all quite conventionally feminine but in different ways. Glamorous, princess-like Lia; adorable, smiley baby of the bunch Yuna; and cheerful Chaeryeong represent the Light Feminine side. Yeji and Ryujin represent the more badass side of ITZY, but they're still decidedly feminine, often clad in skirts, and dolled up to emphasize their pretty looks despite their tougher image. Ryujin also had glittery, rose-pink hair for the ICY era.
- Odd Name Out: Lia, the only non-Korean name in the group.
- Promoted Fangirl: Ryujin was cast by JYP when she was participating in a fan sign of GOT7.
- Rose-Haired Sweetie: Inverted with Ryujin for the "ICY" era. She had glittery, rosy hair, but is one of the Dark Feminine members in terms of personality.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Chaeryeong's skin tone is paler than the other members and she went viral for her visuals when she dyed her hair black in 2022.
- What Beautiful Eyes!: Yuna's eyes are big, almost doll-like, and they're considered one of her most charming points by fans and the members alike.
- Xtreme Kool Letterz: ITZY is a stylized spelling of 있지 (issji).
Tropes related to their music
- Breaking Old Trends: Born To Be is ITZY's first studio album to feature solo tracks by every member.
- Curse Cut Short: "Don't Give a What." The song itself rams it home as one member sings, "I don't give a..." before Ryujin responds with "WHAT," confirming that it's an instance of this.
- Female Empowerment Song: All of their singles so far have this theme. Although they incorporate Boastful Raps and generally just have the members bragging about how little they care about what other people think, they also directly call out to young girls listening to their music.Dalla Dalla: KEEP YOUR CHIN UP! WE GOT YOUR BACK!KEEP YOUR HEAD UP! JUST KEEP ON DREAMING!Icy: Yeah, come on, girlsNo one can stop us now
- Gratuitous English: Frequently. A Justified Trope, as all of the members, has made efforts to learn English and speak it well. Lia speaks it most fluently, having lived in Canada.
- I Am What I Am: A recurring theme in their songs is embracing the traits society shames young girls for, e.g. brash confidence.
- Idiosyncratic Album Naming: "IT'Z" being used in place of the English "It's," with it obviously being a pun on their group name ITZY.
- Mesodiplosis: The English version of "Wannabe": "be" to "I'm" to "wanna be":"Won't pretend to be someone I'm not / Yeah I'll be staying true to myself (I wanna be me me me) / I won't change, I'm loving what I got / Cause I know I'm perfect just the way I am (I wanna be me me me) /I don't wanna be somebody / Just wanna be me, be me / I wanna be me me me"
Tropes related to their music videos or performances
- Action Girl: The concept for "Mafia in the Morning," of course. But this is taken even further in their high-profile MAMA performance in 2021, where they perform stunts and act as spies in an extended skit with Heo Sung-tae of Squid Game fame (see Actor Allusion below for more details).
- Actor Allusion: Their 2021 MAMA performance stars Heo Sung-tae as an evil gangster boss, like his breakthrough role Deok-su in Squid Game.
- In Da Club: Yeji in "Wannabe." At first, she's shown being awkward as she's unsure of herself, but starts dancing amazingly as she feels more secure with herself.
- Not Afraid of You Anymore: In "Wannabe," drones hound Chaeryeong. By the end, she stops running from them, staring them down until they malfunction.
- Badass Boast: At archery practice for ISAC 2020, Lia encouraged her teammates: "We're Jumong's descendants!" (Jumong is a legendary archer in Korean history.) Unfortunately so was the other team.
- Visual Pun: In the first segment of the video for SNEAKERS, Ryujin is wearing a fancy stylish outfit with boots and a London bobby helmet, making her literally the fashion police.
