After what seemed like an eternity waiting for Itzy’s comeback from their February 2019 debut with their multi-award winning debut single “Dalla Dalla”, these five fierce females; Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong and Yuna are back with “ICY”, the lead single to their debut EP of the same title.
In the “ICY” music video, the girls dance and strut fearlessly through iconic Los Angeles landmarks. Sporting colourful attire and new hair colours (except for Lia who has kept her classic black long locks), Itzy’s visuals scream ‘girl power’ and female empowerment as they sing about being cool, confident and not caring to listen to their haters. The choreography and the dancing skills these girls display in the music video look incredibly impressive and complex. I also liked the added touch of the animated text popping up during the video appearing like comic-book style commentary.
While the girls all look cool and confident in their own little segments of the music video; Yuna being carefree and enjoying the Californian sun, Chaeryeong freestyle dancing on the streets of LA, Ryujin going rogue in what appears to be a job interview, Lia in a red elegant gown grabbing the attention of every customer in a diner and Yeji catwalking through what appears to be a marketplace, I can’t help but think that the video, despite showing that these young ladies are unapologetically different, also has another meaning.
On the first glance of the music video, I kept looking at the members of Itzy parade around LA, wowing the general public with their presence. But upon a second look, I noticed more the reactions of the people in the background. The people of LA are shown to be captivated by the members of Itzy, but more in a shocked kind of way – as if they don’t understand. This is much like K-Pop today gaining global attention. It’s great K-Pop is getting the attention it deserves, but it is also very frustrating that those who are unfamiliar are judging what they do not understand nor care to understand. But it’s clear from the lyrics of the video, Itzy are happy to rise above from all the attention, and regarding the negative noise they’re receiving – they really don’t care, quite literally with lyrical hook ‘They keep talking, I keep walking’ .
Is Itzy’s comeback better than their debut? I would say no, but I do believe this comeback is just as solid as their debut and one that must not be overlooked. I really like Itzy a lot. They seem different compared to other K-Pop girl groups and I personally find them really refreshing. Considering these girls only have a handful of songs, have only just debuted at the beginning of this year and still have gained so much attention already – it would be foolish to think they don’t have more tricks up their sleeve. ICY is unique, catchy and if Itzy aren’t on your K-Pop radar already, they damn well should be.