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| Members of K-pop girl group IVE pose during an online press conference, Tuesday. Starship Entertainment |
By Dong Sun-hwa
Rookie girl group IVE seeks to solidify its presence as the next leader of K-pop, rolling out its new EP, "Love Dive," only about four months after making its debut last year.
The six-piece act, which burst onto the K-pop scene in December with the tune, "Eleven," has been basking in early success from the outset. With "Eleven," the Starship Entertainment act nabbed the No. 1 spot on Korean music shows 13 times and reigned atop multiple music streaming charts including Bugs and Flo, positioning itself as a super rookie group. Its music video has surpassed 100 million views on YouTube as of Wednesday, too.
The sextet aims to extend its winning streak with its fresh EP, "Love Dive," that dropped Tuesday afternoon. According to the members, their new lead track is a modern pop song with a catchy chorus and energetic melodies, which highlights their confidence. Through the lyrics, the singers tell people to dive into love if they can muster up the courage.
"Listening to the chorus of our lead single, 'Love Dive,' might allow people to feel like they are experiencing a cool breeze," member Yujin said during an online press event, Tuesday. "Just like our song, we also want to create a fresh breeze in the K-pop scene."
Gaeul elaborated, "We tried to broaden our musical spectrum with our new release and display our confidence and identity."
Wonyoung added, "We poured a lot of effort into showing our unique vibe, so that we can meet people's expectations."
Asked whether they were pressured by their own success, Liz nodded.
"It would be a lie if we were not pressured at all," she said. "When we made our debut, we were mostly worried about whether people would be fond of our music and performance, but this time, we had a different concern. So we strived to showcase a better version of ourselves and pay back the love we received."
IVE, which is a short form of "I have," consists of six members: Yujin, Wonyoung, Gaeul, Rei, Liz and Leeseo. Among them, Yujin and Wonyoung were part of the now-disbanded project girl group IZ*ONE that was created on the third season of Mnet's audition show, "Produce 101" (2018). The 11-member group disbanded in 2021 after unleashing a series of hits such as, "Violeta" (2019).
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