ITZY started the year off strong with “Born to Be” in January. While main-vocalist Lia was on hiatus, the other four members continued on performing. After nearly a year, fans were ecstatic to hear about her return in their new release.
ITZY’s ninth mini album, “GOLD”, released on October 15. It features six new songs, along with five re-recorded songs.
The title track GOLD brings a new sound to ITZY that I haven’t heard before. The song starts right off unexpectedly with electric guitar and drums. It calms down, then an interesting string sound is played. I knew it was definitely an ITZY song right after that. I still listened with concern, but I ended up really liking the rock aspect of this song. It’s not my favorite title track of theirs by any means, but it’s not the worst.
Not mention the music video complemented it perfectly. The gold concept was a feast for the eyes. As music videos can sometimes do, it made me like the song more. Also fitting the concept was Chaeryeong’s hair. When the first teasers released, her blonde locks broke the internet. She rarely colors her hair, and after three years of keeping it natural, I think it was perfect timing for the look. Overall, this was such a beautiful theme to welcome Lia back.
The second track, “Imaginary Friend”, has a bit of a sombre tone. I really do love these songs that aren’t necessarily sad but have a bit of an emotional tinge. However it is a song I would potentially skip when listening.
“FIVE” is one of my favorite tracks in this album. I love the pop vibe. The chorus is very catchy, and pretty symbolic of their group. One of the lyrics is “Four lucky clover, but nothing is better than five”. This is a reference to Lia’s place in the group. As a group of five, they were still great on their own, but the group is incomplete without her.
I also particularly liked “VAY”. I had no idea what to expect as it features Chang Bin of Stray Kidz. To my surprise, it really works. He doesn’t sound out of place. It has a bit of a rap vibe, and I think their voices really go well together.
In addition to six new songs, the mini album includes five songs from the previous one. These are all the songs that Lia missed while on hiatus, and they re-recorded them with Lia’s voice on the tracks. This is why they have “Final Version” in parentheses in title. Although I’m happy to hear Lia’s voice officially on the songs, I feel indifferent about the lines she covered.
I think most of the swaps were tasteful. Her voice fit in perfectly without standing out too much. She doesn’t necessarily take the spotlight in these new covers, but it’s a bit bittersweet. As much as she fits the parts, some lines were so much more memorable hearing the other members sing them.
“Mr. Vampire (Final Version)” had the most notable differences to me. Most notably was Lia covering Yeji’s lines in the second verse. In the original version without Lia, I personally loved hearing this part of Yeji’s range. She belted the notes which were very high for her. Although a minor part, I think it was signature to the song and was her spotlight moment. Meanwhile, Lia covers it here with a different, more delicate approach. It does suit her voice and we get to hear her falsetto instead. Although I do feel more nostalgic about the original, and wish Yeji kept her part, I do think Lia does that line justice.
I think her re-records were as tasteful as they could be without completely changing the color of the song. If she were to re-record the first verse or first chorus, that would be a different story. Conveniently, Lia often sings parts in the last chorus of their songs. That being said, she sang parts of the last chorus in “Untouchable”, “Born to Be”, and “Mr. Vampire”. All of which sound great with her voice finishing the song.
One change I did really like was that she covered the high note in the bridge of “Untouchable”. Although Chaeryeong did it justice, it was perfect for Lia. If there was a single note in that song for her to sing, it was right there.
All in all, GOLD was an excellent album. Lia was welcomed back with the perfect concept. In such a big season for k-pop, this EP does not fall short. I’m excited to hear more from ITZY with the five reunited.