Itzy Puns

ITZY has always been singing Next Level and high key promoting it better than SM (just kidding, unless...) and we finally have them interacted with each other in Dream Concert. ITZY even bothered to buy them watermelon drinks like ???? us fans of ITZY and Aespa are eating really well even tho this is the first time the two groups ever properly interacted with each other.

I'm just so happy that this happen and hearing that the group bought them drinks even though they never even met the group shows me how kind this group really is.

Now don't be shy JYP and SM.... GIVE US THAT ITZY X AESPA COLLAB!!!!

According to the Gaon Monthly Albums Chart for May 2021, ITZY's 4th mini album 'GUESS WHO' has reached 330,070 physical sales, making this ITZY’s first album to reach 250k sales.

Screenshot

Their albums in order of release:

Congratulations to ITZY!

As a Once, I have no problem with Tzuyu being in Twice at all and I do love her a lot but honestly, I feel as though she could have fit Itzy better.

When Twice debuted, Tzuyu was 16 years old (and underage) and her skills tbh weren't exactly the best. That's not to say that she is untalented but she probably could have trained much more and fully refined some of her skills.

In this scenario, I'm gonna replace Yuna with Tzuyu.

Had she debuted in Itzy in 2019, she would be close in age with the members of Itzy and would even on par with their dancing, but probably not on the level of Ryujin and Yeji. In terms of the concepts, I can easily see her doing Dalla Dalla, Icy and MITM. Vocally speaking, its hard to tell where she would fit in but I would put her around Chaeryeong's level as a sub-vocalist.

She would also be a massive stan attractor due to her visuals and her figure (just like Yuna), which would most likely increase Itzy's overall popularity as a whole.

And since she is Taiwanese, she could boost Itzy's fanbase in China and Taiwan(because the flag incident doesn't happen in this scenario.)

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First of all, no hate to Ryujin whatsoever. I just think this is unpopular because Ryujin is the center and the most popular member internationally. I think she’s an absolutely amazing performer.

But in a group setting, I rarely notice her. The only exception would be in Wannabe when she did the shoulder move, but that choreography really meant to highlight her. I find myself more drawn towards Yuna and Yeji, because their energy onstage is unmatched and they have their own ways of spicing up the choreography.

I think the reason why Ryujin is not someone I tend to focus on is because her dance style is a little more effortless compared to Yuna’s bouncy style or Yeji’s sharp, precise moves. Her facials are always the same when she’s not at the center, she tends to alternate between a half smirk and a straight face. Only exceptions are highlights in the choreography of course, like in Dalla Dalla when they form a line and all need to give good expressions. It all comes to details in the end, like how Yuna tends to lip certain lines or Yeji’s microchanges in her facial expressions. Ryujin’s are definitely more subtle so if you don’t focus on her, she tends to just blend in the background.

I’m not saying this is a bad thing, I think the way she performs is indeed epitome of the effortless cool girl crush concept. She just isn’t the first that comes to mind when I think of stage presence in ITZY. (Also, I didn’t include CY and Lia but they’re great performers as well, Yuna and Yeji are just the standouts of the group imo)

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So a week after MITM’s release, the song didn’t chart on the Hot 100 or Bubbling Under, but the album entered the Billboard 200 at #148. I know a lot of people will say “oh it’s not all about the west” but the way JYP is moving, it clearly is the goal for ITZY.

This was ITZY’s first Friday 12AM EST release and their big western debut, but in the nicest way possible I think it would be clear to say that they (or JYP specifically) blew it. Yes the album entered the Billboard 200, but at #148 with only 8k sales, after all the promotion both for this era and prior to it (ITZY probably has the most western promo out of any group in K-pop right now), it’s quite underwhelming. Compare this to BLACKPINK for example who’s first western debut (D4 & Square Up) charted much more successfully despite at the time not being anywhere near as promoted, and the fact that it was from 2018, where K-pop was at an entirely different place globally. Even LOONA’s recent album placed higher on the Billboard 200 chart than ITZY. Yes LOONA, who have nowhere near the resources or reach as ITZY.

I don’t want this rant to seem like a whole wall of ITZY slander because my frustration is more directed to JYP and just how incompetent they are with the western market. JYP needs to realise that just because this teencrush sound works in Korea, doesn’t mean it will work in America. It seems like they can’t even comprehend that different markets have different tastes. IMO, ITZY constantly having these collabs with channels like hello82 and so on made JYP automatically assume that it would build a western fanbase and it did - barely.

Honestly, I don’t see ITZY ever really blowing up in the west and being the ‘next BLACKPINK’ unless they do a complete 180 on their concept and sound, which is a huge ask.

(i know we don’t know enough to say anything for sure, but the police apparently said that they believe the victim and couldn’t find her story to be false. obviously, that doesn’t mean it can’t be a lie, and i don’t want to send hate towards Lia anyway, even if she is/was a bully.)

i can’t help but wonder if it does turn out to be true, could that affect ITZY’s popularity/future? it’s hard to imagine them going down since they’re one of the most popular groups in 4th gen right now, but it could happen.

it’s interesting to me because of how differently fans and knetz treat different accusations.

in the case of Hyunjin, i’ve only seen people defending him and wanting him back (even before it was proven to be a mutual argument). with Soojin, it’s a little more complicated. i see a lot of fans missing her, but i also see people being mad (maybe because it’s a public figure accusing her).

and (the most notorious) Irene’s scandal, where there’s quite a different reaction from i-fans and k-fans still. however, Lia already gets a lot of hate and she’s the least biased member in ITZY - not like Irene in RV, being the most popular member, and a wildy recognized person in the industry as a whole.

overall, i’m just interested about people’s opinion on Lia’s case and bullying accusations in k-pop as a whole.

Itzy is a brand new gg basically and really hasn’t reached a peak in korea, sure Dalla Dalla was 1 off from a PAK but they still haven’t reached a peak

this here is enough to ruin them in korea it’s way different than other scandals in korea such as twice sana insensitive ig post or irene scandal, both of these idols are very established especially in korea and are one of the most liked members of their groups there but lia is the least biased in a 4th gen group

itzy is now gonna be solely relying on their western fanbase which is not a good thing considering the fanbase in overrun in multistans who don’t ult them and have their own favorite group but like itzy

I really don’t want this to be the end of itzy or a steep decline but we can’t convince knetz to think anything else

Previously, after WANNABE and Not Shy we did a quick poll to see if peoples biases changed, and who new fans were picking for the bias. It's that time again!

WANNABE Era Poll

Not Shy Era Poll

Yes, I know. Picking just 1 is hard, but that's the name of the game today!

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I am holding off any judgment but as a former ITZY stan, I’m quite worried.

Basically multiple articles came out today saying that the police have ruled out defamation against her old schoolmate’s bullying claims. Midzys are saying that this is not enough proof that she really was a bully; it just wasn’t a case of defamation (i.e. harmed her reputation etc). However, others are saying that the only reason why it was ruled out was because there was some truth to the bullying allegations.

Does anyone have a reliable source on this? This is extremely upsetting for me, Lia was my first bias in ITZY and she honestly looks like she would never harm a fly. I’ve stanned some idols who have gotten into similar scandals and it really changed the way I see them, everything really is just an act and all. But with Lia it’s a bit different because she’s always had a goofy personality.

Description of scenario you are in:

•Usually defamation lawsuit is the biggest weapon companies have in their hand to deal will controversies like these but jyp already used that weapon and it ended up failing bad. Police dismissed their defamation lawsuit stating that after investigating both lia and victim they found out what victim shared was just genuine description of her experience and not a slander.

•Jyp released a statement saying its hard to accept what police said and said they will release a statement later.

•Victim also released a statement criticizing unfair lawsuit jyp had put on her and said she even thought of committing _______ because of how much harrasment she had to suffer due to this unfair lawsuit.

Extra information you should consider:

• The victim has accused lia of bullying, stealing money, ganging up on her, cursing her and making her an outcast in school

•knetz are completely against jyp and lia because they are very convinced after police statement that lia bullied the victim and they are also mad because jyp tried to silence victim with a unfair defamation lawsuit

.......................

Now if you are in jyp's position, what will be your next move and how will you handle the situation from here

I mean, Twice had their first concert tour before they were 2 years old. ITZY is already 2.5 yrs.

And BP was doing world tours back then with far less songs than ITZY has now.

(not comparing the groups, just making them as reference on group age and song number)

I won't be surprised if JYPE suddenly announce it soon. Unless they're planning to have 3 comebacks this year, a concert in the next months and a comeback late in the year would be feasible.

Ppl have discussed multiple times on here & other platforms how she doesn’t bring much & they can’t see why she was added to the group but when she’s carrying the vocals I feel like it’s obvious. I guess it doesn’t help that jyp waited nearly 2 years to utilize & showcase her properly but still, every group needs a main vocalist & none of the other girls or Somi is that.

The west doesn’t have crazy high standards for technique but theres an expectation of being a good singer. Now don’t get me wrong the others can hold a note, but thats bare minimum if we’re being honest. A minimum a lot of groups don’t meet so definitely props to them but still, eventually they’re gonna need to do more. I dislike those ppl who say vocal standards are on the ground bc they often overlook any aspect that isn’t technique, but the others also aren’t strong in any of those other aspects & have quite a long way to go before any of them are natural singers.

Then even domestically. W/o Lia they’d be restricted to doing shouty/chanty & would be their entire careers unless jyp properly trained them at some point which is unlikely. I can’t imagine any of the songs on guess who & most the songs on not shy being pulled off without her. & the other girls would probably not be improving like they are without a role model. She is their backbone & probably only source of real vocal guidance they have, they clearly look up to & learn from her. Then finally they wouldn’t have anyone to promote as the singer, on variety shows & certainly not actual vocal based shows like KOMS. Missed opportunities to bring them attention. Not saying those opportunities have been taken at all until very recently but they wouldn’t even be there to not utilize in the first place without her.

So yeah they need her, especially since they’re doing way more singing now & extra especially since jyp is pushing them in the west. & jyp the man himself if no one else definitely probably recognized this. She was sweeping vocals as a trainee & jyp himself is known to appreciate a good singer, & tho she has to work harder she’s still capable of dancing with Itzy so why would they NOT debut her? It’s the thing she’s bringing that the other girls don’t have, & before anyone says English Somi is a native speaker.