It‘s difficult to think of YG Entertainment’s latest boy band iKON as just another rookie group.

After topping the charts with their warm-up single “My Type” released Sept. 15, they enjoyed another hit with hip-hop track “Rhythm Ta” on their debut half-album released Oct. 1. Now they’ve hit No. 1 again with the single “Apology,” released Monday. 

Even before coming out with their first full album, the group already had a debut concert at the Gymnastics Arena in Olympic Park, a venue usually reserved for top established names like fellow label stars Big Bang. At the recent Melon Music Awards, they took home the trophy awarded to the best new act.


But in a group interview at a Seoul cafe Monday, the iKON members remained cautious when speaking about their success, repeatedly pointing out their lack of experience.

According to member Donghyuk, the group believed they have been able to enjoy so much attention and success because they “were able to show a fresh, young image” that only rookies could pull off.

“Each one of our songs -- from ‘My Type’ to ‘Rhythm Ta’ and ‘Apology’ -- has its own style and concept, and with each track we were able to show a different side of our team while highlighting the strengths of each member,” he said.

“Apology” was released Monday alongside another single, “Anthem,” a duet between rappers B.I and Bobby. The two singles were released instead of a full album originally slated for a Nov. 2 release. According to YG Entertainment, head producer Yang Hyun-suk decided to delay the album until December in order to give the team more time for preparation. IKON also received the help of YG’s top producers, Teddy and Kush.

“We had mostly worked within our group until now. We don’t have that much experience, so we were in our own little bubble. Working with Teddy and Kush, who have a lot of know-how, as they gave us a lot of help and made our music definitely better,” said leader B.I.

“They’re very detailed in their music, and they maximized the potential of our individual strengths and style,” he continued. “They also paid a lot of attention to our music video and our styling. It was an upgrade.”

As a boy group with hip-hop as its musical base, it was inevitable that iKON would be constantly compared with fellow YG group Big Bang. B.I said that while they had the utmost respect for Big Bang, iKON would work hard to find their “own color.” 

“I don’t think Big Bang would want us to hear that we’re similar to them, either,” he said. “It’s something we have to keep working on.”

For now, iKON said their unique identity is still in the making. “For now, we’d like to be known as a mischievous, boyish group,” said B.I. “We prefer a friendly image.” 

“We want to stay humble and create music for as many listeners as possible.” B.I said about the group’s mindset going forward. 

“To be honest, we sometimes ask ourselves if we deserve to be No. 1, or get the best new artist award ... we think that creating high-quality visuals and music performances to touch and delight our fans will be the best way to repay those honors.”

IKON’s double-single “Apology” and “Anthem” was released Monday.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)