K-pop fans expressed disappointment as ITZY's new song "Untouchable" failed to impress the general public (GP) again.
On January 8, ITZY finally dropped their much-anticipated 2024 comeback with their new mini-album, "BORN TO BE," with the title track, "Untouchable."
Upon release, the mini-album topped the Worldwide iTunes album chart and ranked No. 1 in 23 regions including Brazil, Thailand, France, and Australia.
Domestically, they topped the Hanteo Chart's real-time album and daily album rankings.
The song also entered the real-time charts of MelOn Top 100 and Hot 100, along with their other songs, "Born to Be," "Mr. Vampire," and "Dynamite."
K-Netz Disappointed With ITZY's New Album, Songs Failing to Create K-pop Hit
Regardless of the aforementioned records of the girl group, netizens were not impressed by these achievements and their current performance, compared to their previous releases.
In a viral post, an OP wrote:
"I thought they would be a big hit when they debuted with 'DALLA DALLA.' It's a pity that pretty and talented kids like Ryujin, Yeji and Yuna are now being treated like flopped idols.
Judging from the buzz and performance of this comeback, it seems impossible for them to revive (success)."
The post's writer continued that the album only looks good because of its records on the charts, but popularity-wise, it failed to make an impact, compared to other 4th-gen idol groups like NewJeans and LE SSERAFIM.
ITZY initially raised strong expectations for announcing the release of 7 music videos and self-written tracks. But the reactions are just "so-so" if based on their past MVs.
Even after about two days since its release, "Untouchable MV" only amassed 3.2M views, while "Born to Be" which was dropped 3 weeks ago only has 12M views.
K-Netz Speculate Reasons ITZY Failed to Maintain Status as 4th-Gen Top Girl Group
Following the post, it garnered numerous responses from K-pop fans and netizens, agreeing that ITZY failed to maintain its "famous" era.
First, internet users pointed out the surge of fourth-gen girl groups which somehow overshadowed ITZY.
"The timing wasn't good for ITZY. In the beginning, they had good topical music since they were a big rookie.
But at the time core fans were catching on, they started experimenting, while aespa, IVE, LE SSERAFIM and NewJeans are becoming huge hits one after another. It seems like the whole pie was eaten and there's nothing left for ITZY."
Another reason given by fans was due to the members' lack of appeal as well as their songs to the general public.
- "They called the song boring, but if aespa of LE SSERAFIM released it, it would surely enter the Top 5. So it just means that ITZY is not a hot topic."
- "To be honest, the members are truly talented, but they don't have the star qualities and greed."
- "They don't have a group color. Their comeback didn't follow the teaser, but it feels like aespa kept on doing this and that, it feels like they can't get on the right route. Looking at LE SSERAFIM, NewJeans and aespa, they are all giving variations within one route, but I wonder what ITZY is."
- "It's really unfortunate, but neither of the songs nor the members are 'appealing.' The team colors are ambiguous and do not harmonize well."
Lastly, the fans blamed JYP Entertainment for not being able to utilize and make the members' innate skills and talents shine due to their vague concepts.
For more K-Pop news and updates, keep your tabs open here at KpopStarz.
KpopStarz owns this article.
Written by Eunice Dawson.
