ITZY drops their new mini album ‘CHECKMATE’
MANILA, Philippines – ITZY has finally come back! The K-pop girl group released on Friday, July 15, their newest mini album CHECKMATE along with a music video of the lead single “SNEAKERS.”
CHECKMATE is the band’s fifth mini album and their first album in 10 months since the release of their first-full length album Crazy in Love in September 2021. It contains seven tracks: the Korean and English version of “SNEAKERS”, “RAC3R”, “WHAT I WANT”, “Free Fall”, “365”, and “DOMINO.”
According to member Yeji in The Korea Herald’s report, the album’s lead single is a song which encourages listeners “to run as far as possible without hesitation in sneakers, which make them feel good, to the moment they feel most free.”
The group also said in an interview with their agency JYP Entertainment that they wanted to show that “ITZY is a team that has really diverse charms through the album.”
Before the album’s release, it exceeded 720,000 stock pre-orders, a new record for the girl group.
Starting August, ITZY will be heading off on their first world tour, also named CHECKMATE. It will kick off with a two-night concert in Seoul, South Korea on August 6 and 7, followed by tours in the United States in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, and New York through the months of October and November. This will be the group’s first-ever tour in the US.
Composed of Ryujin, Yuna, Yeji, Lia, and Chaeryeong, ITZY is a girl group under JYP Entertainment that debuted in February 2019. They are known for their tracks “Not Shy,” “Mafia in the Morning,” “Icy,” “Wannabe,” “Dalla Dalla,” and “Loco.” – with reports from Elle Guison/Rappler.com
Elle Guison is a Rappler intern