Ive is stepping into its next phase with its second LP “Revive+,” positioning the release as an expansion of what the group has built so far.
The six-member act unveiled the album at a media showcase in Seoul on Monday, describing it as a moment of “re-ignition” ahead of the global leg of its “Show What I Am” tour.
“Revive+” follows Ive's August 2025 EP “Ive Secret," and is its first full-length album since “I’ve Ive,” which came out in April 2023. Ahead of the release of “Revive+,” Ive unveiled “Bang Bang” on Feb. 9, which has since gained strong traction on music charts.
“It feels special to be back with a full album after three years,” said member Gaeul. “We worked hard to show a more grown and evolved Ive. ‘Bang Bang’ has been receiving a lot of love already, and we want to ride that energy into our promotions for ‘Revive+’ as well.”
Yujin explained that the album title points to “rekindling” rather than starting from scratch.
“‘Revive+’ means ‘to rekindle’ or ‘to reignite,” she explained. “It carries our hope to let the flame that burns in the name of Ive to spread farther and wider.”
The idea behind “Revive+” connects to what the group described as the album’s biggest thematic shift: a move from a message centered on “I” to one that expands toward “we.”
“The message we held with our previous songs leaned more toward the idea of me, self-confidence, self-love and subjectivity. But with this album, we wanted to expand that message to focus on us and our growth as artists in performance and vocally,” explained Liz.
Wonyoung added that the shift is meant to include “not only the members but also listeners who have grown with the group.”
“Revive+” features 12 tracks and is led by dual title tracks “Bang Bang” and “Blackhole.” The members described the two title tracks as contrasting in tempo, mood and scale — one direct and propulsion-driven, the other cinematic and inward-pulling.
Wonyoung described “Bang Bang” as an electronic-leaning track carrying the message to “move forward without hesitation.”
“It’s an EDM and electronic-sounding song, carrying the ambition to keep walking confidently without being shaken by what others say around you,” she explained. Mentioning that she took part in writing the lyrics to “sharpen the track’s attitude,” Wonyoung added that the song carries more meaning to her, as she “wanted to bring out Ive’s confident charm through her lyrics.”
Yujin introduced “Blackhole” as a contrasting track that leans on atmosphere and the scale of a large-scale dance performance rather than speed.
“It has a cinematic mood that reminds listeners of the film ‘Interstellar,’” Yujin said. “It’s very different from ‘Bang Bang’ and when performed onstage, it can really feel like being pulled into a black hole.”
“Revive+” also includes a solo track from each member — each first unveiled during the group’s “Show What I Am” concert in October 2025 — including Wonyoung’s “8,” Gaeul’s “Odd,” Leeseo’s “Super Icy,” Liz’s “Unreal,” Rei’s “In Your Heart” and Yujin’s “Force.”
“While preparing for our concert last year, we were thinking about how we could show a new and diverse side of Ive and thought our solo stages would have an impact,” explained Gaeul. “It felt good that many people loved what we demonstrated then, so we’re looking forward to finally releasing our solo tracks to the world.”
Though Ive’s comeback overlaps with releases from other girl groups — including rookie act Hearts2Hearts’ new single “Rude!” and Blackpink’s upcoming album “Deadline” — Yujin said she sees it as an “honor” rather than competition.
“Regardless of timing, I hope our album will be able to speak for itself, and I want this to be an album that proves our own skills,” she added.
“While we’ve often shown a more princess-like image, I hope we can become artists who make people curious about what comes next,” Liz said, echoing the group’s determination. “We’ll continue to take on new challenges and show we’re capable of more than what we’ve shown through this new album.”
lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com
