Girl group Ive gets 4th straight hit with first studio album

K-pop girl group Ive has notched up a fourth straight hit with its first full-length album “I’ve Ive.”

The album’s prereleased song “Kitsch” and lead track “I Am” have shot to the top of South Korea’s largest music streaming platform Melon’s Top 100 chart, occupying the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively, as of 9 a.m. Wednesday.

The songs pushed down recent hits, like girl group BLACKPINK vocalist Jisoo’s “Flower,” and long-running hits, such as girl group NewJeans’ “Ditto,” “Hype Boy” and “OMG.”

The new album sold more than 600,000 copies in the first day of its release Monday, based on a tally by Hanteo Chart, a local tracker of album sales, raising expectations for becoming a million-seller.

In the United States, “Kitsch” debuted at No. 90 on the Billboard Global 200 chart and was 47th on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart this week, rising 105 spots from 152nd last week.

“I Am” is a song about an independent attitude of life, whose explosive high notes in the chorus make listeners feel pleasant. The prereleased song “Kitsch” and the 2022 megahit single “Love Dive” used the opposite strategy of emphasizing mid-to-low notes.

“Self-love,” the theme penetrating all songs from the sextet, seems to have worked well this time, too.

When questioned about any difference between the band’s previous releases and the album in dealing with the theme during a press conference held in Seoul on Monday, the group said “I’ve Ive” explored an independent life without any involvement of romantic relationships, unlike the previous ones.

Team leader An Yujin said the album “carries a message that we should not be afraid of the rise and fall in life, and even enjoy them based on confidence and self-love that comes to mind when you think of Ive.”

Debuting in December 2021 with the single “Eleven,” the group has become a leading fourth-generation K-pop girl group, winning back-to-back successes with all its singles ranging from “Eleven” to “I Am.”