There have been a few discussions about JYP Entertainment's rookie girl group and their status the label's first girl group to fail in the whole history of JYP. However, many fans and netizens came into the girls' defense when the accusations were made.
JYP's latest girl group, "ITZY," is just beginning to adjust with their lives as idol rookies having stepped into the limelight over a year ago. The girls debuted on February 12th, 2019, with their hit debut single "Dalla Dalla." Billboard, an American entertainment media brand, published an article on March 9th, 2019, confirming that ITZY's "Dalla Dalla" holds the record for the most viewed MV debut on YouTub.
The MV reached 17.1 million views in the first 24 hours of its release and snatched the No. 2 spot on World Digital Song Sales. After "Dalla Dalla" they returned a few months later with their "ICY" comeback on July 28th. Immediately their EP "It'z Icy" entered the Billboard World Album Charts on August 7th, rising as far as the 11th spot in rankings and rose to No. 7 by August 28th, 2019.
These accomplishments are impressive and rare for rookie groups, especially since the Kpop industry is a tight competition when it comes to local music charting and more recently charting on international music platforms as well. However, why are netizens posting negatively on online forums with titles? Some of which are "ITZY is the girl group that failed for the first time in JYP's history?" or "Could ITZY be JYP's first flop girl group?" when they aren't doing that bad on local charts.
After seven months of waiting, ITZY has finally returned with a comeback! On March 9th, the girls' label released their new single "WANNABE" and mini-album titled "IT'z ME" at 6 pm KST. The MV garnered 11.5 million views and 1.1 million likes on YouTube in the first 24 hours. It is almost 6 million views less than with their debut song "Dalla Dalla" (this is due to the changes YouTube made in their sites algorithm that affects the aspects of a video).
Their album "IT'z ME" also became part of Ktown4U's 100th best-selling album as of March 8th. "WANNABE" is currently charting well up in the charts, maintaining No.1 on Genie, Bugs, and Soribada, and rising to No. 5 on FLO and to No. 19 on MelOn (these are the statistics as of March 12th at 3 pm KST).
The netizens who came into their defense reasoned out that the girls are doing fine for certain circumstances that are affecting their place on Korean charts.
These circumstances include the overlapping schedule with other senior groups like BTS, IU, and Zico on the charts, so it's evident that ITZY, a rookie group, wouldn't do as well as before but still maintaining a safe place on the charts. Others argue that although ITZY can be considered as a monster rookie, the expectation for them is too high that it's becoming unrealistic. Let us know your thoughts about this matter and your reaction to ITZY's new song "WANNABE"!
