Ive‘s ‘Rebel Heart’ Hot Response “We Want to Show Our Growth Musically as Well”

Group Ive is off to a great start in their comeback.

On the 13th, Ive held a comeback countdown live to commemorate the release of ‘Rebel Heart’, the pre-released track from their third EP album ‘Ive Empathy’, through their official YouTube channel.

After greeting Dive (official fan club name) whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, Ive explained why he decided to pre-release ‘Rebel Heart’ out of the two title tracks before starting the talk in earnest. Jang Won-young said, “It was a song that touched my heart from the first time I heard it. “I chose this album because it seems like it would provide comfort and empathy to those who are making new resolutions or steadfastly pursuing what they were doing, as January is the month when a new year begins.”

Ive then began talking about the album in earnest. Regarding the new album, Ray said, “As the name suggests, it’s about empathy. In my previous album, I focused on myself by talking about ‘self-love,’ but in this album, I wanted to talk about empathy from various perspectives.”

Ga-eul added, “I wanted to show that Ive has grown as much as I have, through my music. It contains content about growing from ‘me,’ looking around, empathizing with the wounds and pain of those around us, and growing together through empathy.” The members added, “Please don’t forget the release on February 3rd. We’ll be coming out again on February 3rd. Wait for us, Dive. They also unanimously urged everyone not to think that everything is over on New Year‘s Day.

Ive also had a colorful talk about concept photos, concept films, and trailer videos. In particular, Liz, who was talking about individual concept photos, confessed, ”We took all the photos with a film camera. We weren’t able to monitor them,“ and Gaeul revealed that she would wear a crown during promotions like she did in the concept photos.

They also didn‘t forget to communicate with fans during the talk. The members directly checked the fans’ reactions and created a friendly atmosphere, and when fans asked them to spoil the new song‘s choreography, they revealed a choreography where they clenched their fists and punched the air to the lyrics, ”Hate me.“

The members finally talked about the behind-the-scenes of the music video filming, raising expectations. The members briefly introduced that the music video was filmed entirely on location in Japan, and that each member played a rebel with their own story. Autumn emphasized, ”This album is a story about empathy. That’s why not only us, but also many ordinary performers will be appearing. It contains the meaning that this album is one that not only us, but everyone can empathize with.“

Ive, who gave a special time to fans right before the pre-release, concluded the live by expressing their feelings and determination one by one. Ive said, ”We are preparing to run hard this year as well. We‘ve filmed a lot of content, and there is so much that will be revealed,“ raising expectations, and said, ”I hope you give ’Rebel Heart‘ a lot of love, and please look forward to the title song on February 3,“ giving another request.

‘Rebel Heart’, which was pre-released on the 13th, is a song that depicts the solidarity march of rebels with various narratives. ‘REBEL HEART’ swept the top ranks of major domestic music charts, including #1 on Bugs real-time chart, #1 on Melon HOT100 (30 days after release), #1 on Vibe domestic rapid rise chart, #5 on Melon HOT100 (100 days after release), #16 on TOP100, and #13 on Genie real-time chart, signaling a smooth start.

Meanwhile, Ive pre-released the title track ‘REBEL HEART’ of his third EP ‘IVE EMPATHY’ on the 13th. After warming up his comeback by appearing on various music shows and diverse content, Ive plans to make an official comeback with his new album ‘IVE EMPATHY’ on February 3rd.

Jeong Hee-yeon, Donga.com reporter shine2562@donga.com