Korean Pop has made a huge impact in the states throughout the past few years and we can thank groups like BTS, BLACKPINK and more for paving the way. They have opened the door for other groups in the industry but what will happen when these groups stop making music or grow out of their younger audience? A new upcoming girl group, ITZY, is making their way to the top step by step and could eventually take over America in the next couple of years.
The quintet from JYP entertainment, with an average age of 17, consists of Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, and Yuna. They made their debut with their mini-album It’z Different including title track “Dalla Dalla” in February of 2019. Their debut music video, “Dalla Dalla”, reached 10 million views after 18 hours and set a record of the most views in the first 24 hours with 14 million views, which was later beat a few months later by Blackpink’s “Kill This Love” (56.7 million views).
In Korea, artists promote their songs each week for around a month on music shows such as Music Core, MCountdown, Inkigayo and Music Core. To win an award, you must fulfill several categories: Live voting, digital sales, physical album sales, youtube video views, and pre-voting. What makes getting a win so difficult is when groups go against more popular groups but even when going against popular artists like Mamamoo’s Hwasa, G-Idle, and Monsta X, ITZY was able to gather 7 music show wins between all music shows. By doing this, ITZY also broke the record for the most music show wins won by a rookie group in the shortest amount of time.
On July 29, ITZY had their first comeback with a mini-album, “It’z Icy.” A summer song about being confident. In 24 hours, their music video received 18.1 million views, beating their previous record with “Dalla Dalla.” They sold around 77,000 albums in 3 days and received 12 music show wins, 5 more than before. Their achievements don’t stop there though. By December, “Icy” reached over 100 million views. Additionally, they won the “Female Rookie Idol of the Year Award” at the Brand of the Year Awards, the “Rookie Award” and “Female New Artist Award” from Soribada Best K-Music Awards and Genie Music Awards, “Rookie of the Year” from Asia Artist Awards and Melon Music Awards’ “Best New Artist” all in the same year.
Barley being a year-old group, ITZY kicked off 2020 with ITZY’s showcase tour, “ITZY? ITZY! In the USA” Including shows in Los Angeles, Houston, Washington, Minneapolis, and New York. “It was a very meaningful time because we were able to meet our overseas fans,” said Yuna, the youngest member of the group. In March of 2020, ITZY released their second mini-album, “Wannabe.” The song trended #1 Worldwide on Youtube Music Videos, trended over 57 countries and debuted at #18 on Itunes US albums. They sold 34,269 albums on first day sales, received 8 music show wins and are currently the 4th Korean Artist with the most monthly listeners on Spotify. Between “Dalla Dalla”, “Icy” and “Wannabe”, they achieved 29 music show wins in total.
As months go by, ITZY continues on its road to success step by step. With their amount of success in only short of a year, they can take over America soon. ITZY might even be the ones opening doors for other groups in the industry, “We hope ITZY will become an artist who has a very good influence on many people. We will work harder so that we can achieve our dream,” mentioned the leader of the group, Yeji.
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