Some MIDZYs and K-pop fans are claiming that ITZY's popularity is "declining," but the quintet's performance and growth domestically and internationally prove otherwise.
Here are reasons their latest comeback "CHESHIRE" is not a flop.
ITZY's 'CHESHIRE' Is 'Flop'? 3 Reasons Group Actually Has Skyrocketing Popularity
Following the release of ITZY's sixth mini-album, "CHESHIRE," on November 30, the girl group sparked discussion in various online communities and social media platforms regarding their popularity.
There are K-pop fans who criticized the team for failing to create a buzz digitally with their album, and called the comeback a "flop."
Netters continued to compare the success of the team's previous hits such as "Dalla Dalla," "Wannabe" and "Loco," both in terms of the members' appearance, concept and sound source and implied that ITZY's popularity is already declining.
ALSO READ: ITZY Declines Digitally In 'CHESHIRE'? Here's What People Are Saying
Amid these criticisms, the group's achievement in music charts and the response from K-media refuted the claims and proved that their influence is actually getting stronger.
First, in terms of physical album sales, it was announced on December 7 that ITZY recorded a first-week sales of 633,248 copies with its new album "CHESHIRE," breaking its personal best record.
Based on the album's aggregation site Hanteo Chart, this is the girl group's best performance ever, beating the 472, 392 first-week records of its fifth mini-album, "CHECKMATE" released in July by more than 160,000 copies.
Secondly, The new album "CHESHIRE" is also doing well on various charts at home and abroad.
Following its release, "CHESHIRE" topped the Worldwide iTunes album chart for two consecutive days from November 30, and domestically, it topped the Circle Chart's weekly retail album chart (2022.11.27-2022.03) and the monthly retail album chart in November 2022.
ITZY's "CHESHIRE" also proved global attention by maintaining the No. 1 spot in the MV Trending Worldwide chart on YouTube for two days on Dec. 1 to 2, a huge indicator to measure a group's growing popularity. A week after its release, the music video already amassed 44 million views.
Third and last, the team is gaining favorable reviews from Korean media outlets, giving them various honorific titles which established their position in the K-pop industry.
Aside from being a "4th Gen Representative," the K-media named ITZY as "Z Generation Wannabe Icon," thanks to their "unique sophisticated and hip-girl crush aura who stood out after putting on a chic styling on top of their already gorgeous visuals.
Media outlets also introduced ITZY as "K-pop Performance Queen," showing off their reputation for having outstanding singing and dancing skills.
ITZY To Embark Asian Tour in January 2023
The "4th-Gen K-pop Queen" is expected to continue their first world tour, "CHECKMATE" in Asia from January 2023.
In particular, the group opened its world tour with a two-day performance in Seoul, South Korea last August, followed by a U.S. tour from October to November.
Their Asian leg tour, ITZY will be held in Manila, Philippines on January 14-15 next year and will continue to visit other stops including Singapore, Jakarta, Indonesia, Chiba, Japan, and Bangkok, Thailand.
READ MORE: ITZY Earns 'K-pop's 4th-Generation Queens' Title from K-Media
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KpopStarz owns this article.
Written by Eunice Dawson.
