Meet ILLIT, the most recent girlies on the Okay-pop scene.
The lady group is made up of 5 members – Yunah, Minju, Moka, Wonhee and Iroha – starting from the ages of 16 to twenty. (There was really a sixth member, however she determined to voluntarily drop out proper earlier than their debut and dissolve her contract with the corporate. Pre-debut drama!)
Like many rookie troupes as of late, ILLIT was shaped on a survival present. The sequence was referred to as R U Subsequent?, and aired on JTBC final yr between June and September, whittling down 22 hopefuls all vying for a spot within the subsequent large lady group. After making it by means of to the ultimate spherical, the six remaining ladies have been signed by Belift Lab, a HYBE sub-label. (You already know HYBE as the large leisure entity behind acts like BTSTXT, NewJeans and LE SSERRAFIM.)
What is an ILLIT, although? So glad you requested! (Spoiler alert: it’s not brief for ILLITerate, though I do hope that’s the official fandom title. I take into account myself an ILLITerate already.)
Through the finale of R U Subsequent?, producers supplied the which means behind the title, explaining that it “represents selecting your individual verb to place between ‘I’ll’ and ‘It,’” which is supposed to signify the members’ talents to decide on their very own future, or one thing. ILLTAKEIT.
With HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk on the govt producer helm (as he’s finished for most of the largest teams), the ladies formally arrived on March 25 with their debut EP, SUPER REAL ME.
With a runtime of simply over 9 minutes (!), ILLIT make a short-but-sweet case for lasting endurance within the Okay-pop house. The 4-track assortment is stuffed to the brim with high Okay-pop producer and songwriters, supplying a continuous array of breezy, dreamy pop gems bursting with charmingly chipper manufacturing and countless hooks – all led by one hell of an immediately addictive lead single, which rightfully leads the pack.
“Child, I’m simply attempting to play it cool, however I simply can’t disguise that I would like you…” Wonhee declares to a crush within the tune’s opening seconds.
The pluggnb and house-inspired, dizzy-in-love burst of flirtatious power is an earworm from the bounce, however turns into particularly sticky as soon as it arrives at that good, caught on repe-pe-pea-peat stuttering refrain. (“You-u-u-u-u-u, prefer it’s magnetic“) It’s endlessly replayable Okay-pop confection, and all however destined to change into a TikTok hit. (With 30,000 movies and counting utilizing the sound, it already is.)
The entire set of songs is strong, from the cool and assured invitation into their soundscape (“My World”), to the dreamy “Midnight Fiction,” to the amusingly titled, aggressively cheerful “Fortunate Lady Syndrome” – a matter that’s change into inescapable on TikTok. “Yeah, I’m a fortunate lady” the troupe declares whereas tossing out lyrics about candy treats, good climate and selfies. Oh, Radical Optimism, get off the ground!
So far as their sonic identification, it’s nonetheless early days with ILLIT. The members actually put an emphasis on the phrase “whimsical” to describe themselves of their debut showcase. Sure, it’s all recent and enjoyable and youthful like NewJeans, to whom they’ll undoubtedly be in comparison with most, but when something, “Magnetic” brings LOONA‘s ODD EYE CIRCLE to thoughts, and perhaps some Purple Velvet circa “Russian Roulette” – a praise of the very best order.
However reasonably than getting slowed down by enjoying the comparability sport (boring!), I’d reasonably wait and see how the group establishes their sound and magnificence over the subsequent few releases. They’ve actually caught the touchdown with their debut. No matter comes subsequent, ILLSTREAMIT.
Purchase the Tremendous Actual Me EP field.
Take a look at the MuuTunes Spotify playlist. You can too subscribe on Apple Music.
Picture credit score: HYBE / Instagram
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