ITZY is the newest girl group on the block, and they bring some eye-opening pedigree to the saturated K-Pop idol market.
First, they hail from JYP Entertainment, which is reason enough to pay attention. JYP is one of the oldest and most storied agencies in Korea that drove groups like Twice, 2PM and GOT7 to success. All five members of ITZY also come from well-known pre-debut backgrounds; the majority of them has had previous experience with varying degrees of fame from survival programs like Stray Kids or K-Pop Star. Among people that like to keep track of these things, it’s been a journey to watch some of ITZY’s members go through the wringer of the K-Pop trainee cycle and finally earn their debut.
DALLA DALLA (meaning “different” in Korean) is ITZY’s debut track, and it sounds like an eclectic mashup of a mature version of some of Red Velvet’s more esoteric work with Blackpink or 2NE1’s hip-hop-esque aesthetic. It’s not quite as unique as ITZY would like to convince listeners that it is, but DALLA DALLA is a solid opening bell of what is shaping up to be a long and interesting career.