The group ITZY, now in their 7th year since debut, has returned with a girl crush concept.
On the afternoon of the 9th, ITZY (Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, Yuna) held a press conference to celebrate the release of their new mini album ‘Girls Will Be Girls’ at the Grand Ballroom on the 4th floor of the Sofitel Ambassador Seoul in Songpa-gu, Seoul.
‘Girls Will Be Girls’ is the new album that ITZY is presenting about 8 months after the release of ‘GOLD’ in October last year. Celebrating their 6th anniversary this year, ITZY talks about the bond that becomes stronger when they are together through this new album. The five album tracks contain the solidarity and shining narratives that the five members have built over time.
When asked why they chose ‘solidarity’ as the theme of the album, Yeji replied, “As we celebrate our 6th anniversary this year, I thought about what new image we could show and what new message we could convey. Until now, we have been talking about the theme of ‘Love Myself’, but this time I wanted to give a resonance with the name ‘us’.”
She continued, “While preparing for the comeback after my solo album, I realized the importance of the group. As time goes by, I feel that the bond with the members is becoming stronger, and I often feel that they are my only team, my support.”
In the trailer released ahead of the comeback, JYP Entertainment's representative producer Park Jin-young made a surprise appearance, drawing attention.
Regarding this, Ryujin said, “Director Yoo Kwang-hyung suggested it, and I asked Producer Park Jin-young, who gladly agreed to come. The producer gave us a lot of feedback on the songs, choreography, and album. In particular, he said, ‘The song is really good. I hope you show your own energy,’ so we focused on that part while practicing.”
The title track of the album, ‘Girls Will Be Girls’, is an attractive song with a dynamic beat and grand vocal harmonies. The five members focused on the energy they can express under the name ITZY, shouting their determination that “if we can be together, that is enough, and we will gladly hold your hand and move forward together.”
Chaeryeong said, “If we used to mainly talk about ‘me’, this time we included the story of ‘us’. ‘Us’ can be the members or the fans. I feel that our teamwork has strengthened over time, and I hope that this part is well conveyed to the listeners.”
They also shared an episode that occurred while preparing for the comeback. Due to a complicated movement during dance practice, Yuna accidentally hit Lia. Yuna humorously said, “I hit Lia’s elbow with my ribs. Since it’s an album that has ribs in it, I hope you take good care of it.”
Having debuted with their song ‘Dalla Dalla’ in February 2019, ITZY has now reached their 7th year. When asked about the timing of contract renewal, Chaeryeong replied, “It’s hard to believe that we are already discussing contract renewal at 7 years. We are currently coordinating with the company, and I will let you know good news.”
Finally, ITZY expressed their determination ahead of their first comeback in 2025.
Lia said, “I think this album contains a lot of charisma. We will show you the ‘charismatic ITZY’,” and Yeji added, “In addition to ‘Girls Will Be Girls’, we will also show you another album. You will be able to see us as individuals active in various fields, so please show a lot of interest.”
Meanwhile, ITZY's new mini album ‘Girls Will Be Girls’ will be released at 6 PM on the same day.
[Lee Da-kyum, Star Today Reporter]
