Super rookie group Ive sings of self-worth and confidence through its first full-length album, "I've Ive."
Ahead of releasing the album on Monday evening, the six members -- An Yujin, Gaeul, Rei, Jang Wongyoung, Liz and Leeseo -- held a media event in Seoul that evening. Rei took pictures only and sat out of the press conference due to poor health.
The album marked the group's comeback in eight months since the release of its third single, "After Like." It is also the group's first album since its debut single, "Eleven," dropped in December 2019.
"We're finally dropping our first full-length album since our debut. We've shown diverse sides of ourselves through the past three singles, but with this album, we've worked especially hard to show more of our charms," An Yujin, the group's leader, said on Monday.
The 11-track collection portrays messages of self-love and confidence, values that have identified Ive through its songs.
"It portrays the bold and confident attitude and values that identify Ive," Yujin said, adding, "It embodies our strong ambitions to enjoy the ups and downs of life."
Fronting the album is "I Am," a song through which the group continues its message about self-love. But unlike its past songs, this time, the focus is not about being confident when in love but living an independent life itself, the group explained.
"The title song sings about an independent attitude in life to have faith in the steps we take. It renders out a powerful message about discovering a new side of myself today," Jang Wonyoung said.
Such message is also portrayed visually in the music video, Gaeul said.
"We tried to visually emphasize the contrast of ups and downs in the music video to depict our message of confidence and not being afraid of the rise and fall, but rather enjoying them, and that it will be us, Ive, who will stand at the pinnacle, shining brightly," Gaeul explained.
Also listed on the album are "Blue Blood," "Lips" -- a song in which girl group WJSN's Exy took part as the lyricist -- "Heroine," "Mine," "Hypnosis," "Not Your Girl," "Next Page," "Cherish" and "Shine With You."
The members took on new challenges with the new album, with Yujin, Wongyoung, Rei and Liz taking part in writing the lyrics. Yujin contributed to writing the lyrics for "Heroine," and Wonyoung writing them for "Mine" and "Shine With Me." The group's rappers, Rei and Liz, together worked on making the rap lines for "Kitsch."
On March 27, the group pre-released "Kitsch," which shot to the top of local and global charts upon release. The song swept the top spots of six major domestic music charts, while peaking at 9th on the Billboard Hot Trending Songs chart. The song's music video also stayed atop YouTube's Music Video Trending Worldwide chart for several days.
"'Kitsch' has this suave twist unique to Ive's music. The song will captivate listeners with a never-before-seen charm from us," Gaeul, the song's rap maker, said.
About her experience in writing the lyrics for "Heroine," Yujin said, "I wanted to take part more actively in the album, as it's our first full-length piece. I remember I felt exuberant when my lines were selected. It's such a meaningful moment for me. And watching the members sing my lines was also very special."
She continued, saying, "I took care in writing lines that the members would not find difficult singing, and Liz complimented just that. I felt gratified."
Wonyoung, who wrote the lyrics for the two songs, "Mine" and "Shine With Me," said, "I wanted to bring out Ive's identity through my talents and creativity beyond the group. 'Mine' sings of the bold attitude of a girl in love while 'Shine With Me' conveys my love for our fans."
Ive also voiced hopes to hold a concert soon. The group recently held its first-ever fan concert event -- a mixture of a fan meeting and a live performance -- in Seoul and Japan.
"It was a meeting that we've all been awaiting for a long time. It was a blissful time and we hope to have more moments like it in the future," Wonyoung said.
"With the 11 new songs and the past singles, we now have quite a few songs out. Hopefully, we'll be able to hold our own concert," Leeseo said.
"I've Ive" and the music video for its title song, "I Am," were released at 6 p.m. on Monday.
