Popular South Korean girl group, IVE, recently released their latest EP (or ‘extended play’ with 3-7 songs) IVE EMPATHY.
IVE is a six member group composed of Yujin, Gaeul, Rei, Wonyoung, Liz and Leeseo. They debuted on Dec. 1, 2021 with their single album, ELEVEN, under STARSHIP Entertainment. ELEVEN won 13 times for the group on music shows and channels like MBC’s Music Core, KBS2’s Music Bank and SBS’s Inkigayo. Their latest EP, IVE EMPATHY, which was released on Feb. 3, 2025 features five new songs alongside the pre-released single “Rebel Heart.”
The title track, “Attitude”, which was co-composed by member Jang Wonyoung expresses self-confidence in it’s lyrics with some of the Korean and English lines being, “I choose my own mood, I’m that attitude” (translation available on Genius.com) and “I’m that, I’m that girl, I’m that what? I’m that attitude.” With most of their audience being teens and young adults, “Attitude” gives power and strength through the catchy chorus and lyrics.
Their pre-released single, “Rebel Heart,” has that feel of nostalgia to it. Its lyrics also have a deeper meaning to them than just being a song. The words carry the same meaning of “it doesn’t matter who you are, just be yourself.” The MV, or music video, showcases moments of freedom, sadness and loneliness, with the members expressing these emotions in their solo shots, but it all comes together with everybody (and the members) standing as one. The final seconds of the video paint a scene of free spirits, laughing, crying and being together, strangers or not.
The last song in the EP, “TKO,” comes across as women empowerment, going in hand with the commonly known girl-crush concept in K-Pop. The girl-crush concept is the theme in K-Pop songs that many girl-groups have. IVE is a group that embodies this idea with past hit songs being “Love Dive” and “After Like”. This commonly refers to girls that are icons to others, or “it girls”.
The album sold over one million copies in the first week it was released, which is IVE’s fifth album to surpass one million sales. Social media users on Reddit also state, “I think it’s one of IVE’s best releases” and “I loved this album.” This is only a review, so you can’t get the full experience of listening to the actual album. Take a few minutes out of your day to give a listen, you won’t regret it!
