Itzy Shares the Stories Behind Five of Their Favorite Songs

If there’s a K-pop group that’s on its way to having it all, it’s Itzy. Quite literally: The JYP Entertainment girl group’s name is a play on the Korean word 있지, meaning “to have.” And it’s a promise that comes true with each groundbreaking performance, brand deal, and new content they deliver.

Itzy’s five members—Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, and Yuna—started working together in 2019 and have built their success upon their debut single “Dalla Dalla,” which peaked at number two on Billboard’s K-pop Hot 100 and was certified platinum by Korea Music Content Association for having over 100 million streams. The song was about finding confidence through love—a theme that continues to be found in each of the group’s musical eras.

Now, with their latest single, “Sneakers,” just released last week, the group is celebrating their fifth EP Checkmate by spilling some personal stories, thoughts, and impressions about their discography for Glamour’s 5 Songs, 5 Stories.

“Dalla Dalla”

“Dalla Dalla” kicked off Itzy’s career as part of their first album, It’z Different. Chaeryeong indicates it took four months to prepare for the debut; little did they know at the time that this single would land them a Digital Bonsang (Grand Prize) at the Golden Disk Awards.

“We were not sure if it was going to be a hit,” says Lia. “That was also our first song performed when we went on TV in New York [in 2020].”

“The song was a little bit weird,” leader Yeji says of her first impression about the track. “I’m not the type of person in the lyrics of the song because the tone is not very kind. Especially my parts where I go, ‘So what,’ ‘I don’t care what they say,’ ‘말리지마!’ [‘Don’t stop me!’].”