The new 12-member Korean-Japanese girl band Iz One, also stylized as IZ*ONE, debuted on the K-pop scene with their first EP, "Color*Iz," on Monday.
The group's nine Korean and three Japanese members were the final winners of the Korean reality talent recruitment show "Produce 48," broadcast by the Mnet cable channel from June to August.
They were selected by live audience voting out of the total 96 Korean and Japanese young women who competed in the show. Iz One is the latest music band formed through the idol competition show after boy band Wanna One and girl band I.O.I made successful debuts through its previous seasons.
(Yonhap)
The band members hold the iconic K-pop girl band Girls' Generation as their role model, the members said, citing the versatility of the senior girl band.
"The role model for all of us is Girls' Generation, who is a wonderful group able to do many various (concepts)," member Choi Ye-na said in a media showcase of the new EP.
Iz One's first EP "Color*Iz" which reads "colorize," is fronted by "La Vie en Rose," the same name as the legendary French musician Edith Piaf's signature 1945 song.
"The album title reflects our determination to 'colorize' the 12 members' dreams toward debut and to feature the color unique to us as Iz One," member Kim Min-joo noted.
Including the trendy, feminine title track with the concept of the color red, the EP has eight tracks, including three songs that were not released during the competition show, "We Together," "We are in Love, Right?" and "As We Dream."
The three Japanese members -- all from the Japanese idol group AKB48 -- are saddened by the suspension of their Japanese group's activities, but will focus on raising their profile within the new girl band, they said.
Iz One was designed as a project group that has a contract to perform in the band for 30 months, a period longer than the one year allowed for the now-disbanded girl band I.O.I.
Through the popular TV show and a number of TV commercials after the show, Iz One has already made their name known to the public, forming a solid fan base.
"Our existence is possible because there were I.O.I and Wanna One. We will do our best to join their ranks," member Jo Yu-ri said. (Yonhap)
