By Tiffany Xu, Staff Writer
If you’re a K-pop fan like me, you might have seen the latest comeback of Itzy, a fourth generation girl group. Consisting of five members, Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, and Yuna, and debuting in February 2019, they have gathered many fans and have become very popular both in Korea and internationally. They are known for their outstanding and unique concepts that have not been seen before. Itzy released their fifth comeback, and second full album on September 24, titled “Crazy in Love”, and containing 9 songs, 6 instrumentals of all their comebacks including their debut song, and an English version of their title track, “LOCO.” For their first studio album, they have not one, but two music videos for two of their songs in this album: lead single, “LOCO” and album track “SWIPE.” Itzy has 7 b-sides called, “Sooo LUCKY,” “#Twenty,” “B[OO]M-BOXX,” “Gas Me Up,” “LOVE is,” “Chillin’ Chillin’,” and “Mirror.” They also have the instrumentals for debut song “DALLA DALLA,” and comeback title tracks, “ICY,” “WANNABE,” “Not Shy,” “In the morning,” and their newest, “LOCO.”
From my personal perspective, I think this might just be their best album in Itzy’s discography so far. All of the songs in this album are amazing. “ICY” used to be my favorite title track, but after listening to “LOCO,” it has since changed. Parts that stand out most to me in the music video is Yeji’s kitty tree house scene. Her voice fits so well with the segment and with generally the whole song, resulting in her having the most lines. Lia’s vocals were also on point, and her dancing has improved greatly. Ryujin’s rap was amazing as always and charisma blew everyone away. Chaeryeong got lots of lines in this album and her dancing was unbelievable. Yuna’s visuals were astonishing, and her rap was main rapper material. Everyone was amazing but who I think “owned” this era might just be Yeji. Her new hairstyle of a strip of pink hair on one side and her visuals were stunning. Yeji’s vocals and raps were good and had a really charismatic stage presence. With all the unique songs in this album, I’d say this would be really worth listening to.
For ranking songs, many people will have different opinions, so this is just my own. I think every song is really good and I would listen to all of them on repeat, everyday. Starting from the bottom of the list to the top, I’d say “Mirror” and “Gas Me Up” would be placed at number 7. Both of these songs are amazing, but it doesn’t draw me into the song as well as the others. In “Mirror,” I don’t lean towards slower songs as much as other tempos. The melody sounded angelic, but my first reaction was that it wasn’t exactly my favorite in the album even though this song is good. For “Gas Me Up” the pre chorus and chorus was a little surprising for me at first, but the verses are smooth. At number 6, I put “Swipe” and “B[OO]M-BOXX.” “Swipe” was pretty good, but the chorus was lacking a little bit to me. Rapping had good flow in this song, but the song didn’t come to me as easily. There was also a music video for “Swipe” which was edited nicely. I really liked the chorus in “B[OO]M-BOXX” because of the beat. It sounded unique and something I haven’t heard before. Right in front of these two songs is “LOVE is.” This song has a very sweet melody and the high notes in the song are hit perfectly. At number 4 is “Chillin’ Chillin’” with it’s rich vocals and Ryujin’s rap that ties in the song. Entering the top 3 is “#Twenty.” I was surprised with Yuna’s fast rap which was followed by Ryujin’s smooth flow of rap. Yuna really shined in this song and her rap was my favorite part which really brought this song to third place in this album. Ryujin’s deep voice also made this song very enjoyable to listen to. In second place is “Sooo LUCKY.” This song gives me nostalgia for no reason which makes me connect to the song. The chorus is also quite catchy making it even better. It may even be one of my favorite songs because of the wave of nostalgia I get every time I listen to this song. At the top of this list is, of course, the title track, “LOCO.” The harmony in this song was outstanding and all of the edits and details put into the music video were put together perfectly.
The album “Crazy in Love” was wonderful overall. All the vocals and raps were executed nicely. The choreography in the songs seem complicated, making it even more professional. Every single song was good and there was not a single one that needed changes. I play this album over and over for hours non stop. With Itzy being a fourth generation group and debuting only two years ago, they are already very successful and talented. All members did very well in this comeback, and hopefully they do amazing again in the next comeback also.
