The 'MZ Wannabe Icon' IVE (An Yujin, Gaeul, Rei, Jang Wonyoung, Liz, Lee Seo) is continuing its success with the new song 'ATTITUDE' challenge.
IVE recently completed the comeback activities for their third mini album 'IVE EMPATHY'. They achieved significant results across various metrics, including music streaming, album sales, and music broadcasts, successfully wrapping up their activities. The challenge for the title track 'ATTITUDE', known as 'Rushing Guinea Pig', has sparked a challenge boom on global short-form video platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, fueling the ongoing excitement.
The 'Rushing Guinea Pig' part refers to a section in the chorus of 'ATTITUDE' where Rei and the members showcase a time-lagged choreography. The members, with their cute visuals and energetic arm movements, have drawn comparisons to rushing guinea pigs, leading to this nickname trending on social media.
Originally, there were no specific hashtags for this section, but thanks to the enthusiastic response from K-pop fans, IVE has reportedly added hashtags like '#RushingGuineaPig' and '#RushingGuineaPigChallenge' to officially kick off the challenge. IVE started the challenge by featuring Rei, known as 'Captain Guinea Pig', and posted various challenge videos, showcasing their creativity with comments like 'Emotional Guinea Pig', 'Move Aside Guinea Pig!', 'Strawberry Guinea Pig?', and 'Rushing Guinea Pig and the Great Singer'.
Among them, Rei's activities as 'Captain Guinea Pig' have captured attention. Having created numerous trends such as 'Ribon Piece' and 'Kongsooni Pose', Rei has showcased the 'Rushing Guinea Pig' challenge in various locations, including parks, offices, and elevators, once again driving the popularity of 'Rushing Guinea Pig'.
In particular, the spoiler video of the 'Rushing Guinea Pig' choreography that Rei posted on the day of the comeback and in December last year recorded 26.5 million views and 12.1 million views on TikTok, respectively (as of the 9th), surpassing a total of 38.6 million views with just these two videos, proving Rei's status as an 'all-time trendsetter'.
The song 'ATTITUDE', which has gained attention with 'Rushing Guinea Pig', conveys the message that the only thing that can be changed in an unchanging situation is 'one's attitude', reflecting the 'IVE way of thinking' that embraces situations cheerfully. Although the activities for 'ATTITUDE' ended after the SBS 'Inkigayo' stage in February, the 'Rushing Guinea Pig' challenge by Rei and IVE continues to spread through various social media, with many fans requesting the challenge to see their favorite artists' cute sides, leading to ongoing participation from both junior and senior artists.
Fellow groups under their agency Starship Entertainment, including MONSTA X, CRAVITY, and Kiki, as well as Super Junior, SHINee, ZEROBASEONE, NCT WISH, TO1, BOYNEXTDOOR, LE SSERAFIM, Red Velvet, Lee Young-ji, STAYC, Chuu, Xdinary Heroes, Heeve, 82Major, Banner, Izna, and Yudabin Band, have joined in, creating a dazzling lineup. Additionally, Starship's 'Debut Preparation Team' New Kids also contributed by posting challenge videos on the 28th of last month. They added humorous comments using their nicknames like 'Rushing Honey', 'Rushing (Tongue) Guinea Pig', 'Rushing Wish', and 'Rushing Chun Guinea Pig and Rushing Minotaur', bringing smiles to fans.
Moreover, proving the title of 'Super President', popular characters like Bellygom, Jamangloopy, and Tiny Ping from the animation 'Catch! Tiny Ping' have also joined the challenge, and the 'Rushing Guinea Pig' craze continues to thrive among K-pop artists and fans through fan signings and fan meetings. Among fans, memes like 'Rushing OO' and 'OO Guinea Pig' have emerged, drawing public attention to the 'Rushing Guinea Pig' syndrome that is sweeping the challenge market.
Meanwhile, IVE will hold a fan concert tour '2025 IVE Fan Concert 'IVE Scout' in Japan', starting in Nagoya on the 12th and 13th, visiting four cities in Japan. Rei meets fans every Thursday through her solo web entertainment show 'Try Following Me', and she will also serve as an MC at the 'Asia Star Entertainer Awards 2025' to be held in May at the K Arena Yokohama in Japan.
[Geum Bitna, MK Sports Reporter]
