K-Pop Group ITZY on Halo-Halo, Boracay, and Their Comeback Plans

The members of ITZY have already made a huge impression in the Philippines and across the globe with their catchy tunes, distinctive style, and vibrant stage presence. This only goes to show how much anticipation there is for their upcoming Manila concert. ITZY has gained global fame since their debut in 2019, with songs such as “DALLA DALLA”, “Icy”, and “WANNABE” topping local music charts.

On January 13, 2023, the five-member girl group brought their charm to Glorietta’s Activity Center Stage, sending MIDZYs (their fans) into a frenzy. The members of ITZY shared their excitement in meeting the Philippine media and their beloved fans, as well as giving a glimpse into what they have in store for the future. Here’s how the press conference went:

Q: How do you guys feel seeing that you are warmly welcomed by the Filo MIDZYs?

Yeji: [in English] so amazing! [via translator] We’re really really thankful that you guys came out here to see us!

Ryujin: [via translator]  It’s been 2 years since we visited and 2 years ago, the Philippines were so passionate like today so we have very great memories and we were excited to come back and perform in front of you guys, so thank you for coming here too!

Q: What are your plans for 2023?

Yeji: [via translator] So for 2023, we are very happy that we are able to start the year with all of our fans. And as much as the love you’re giving us, we are going to make haste so we can do our comeback. And we are really really happy that the Philippines is our first stop for our Asian tour. We hope that from now on, we get to spend more time with not just our Manila fans but also our fans worldwide.

Q: What is ITZY’s first world tour charm and what are some of the pre-show rituals that you do before the concert?

Yuna: [via translator] So for this concert, we prepared 3 major things. [In English] First, all of our songs in this concert are from our album, CHECKMATE. Second, each member has their own solo stage. We practiced some Filipino words and phrases such as “Mahal kita” so I’m sure you guys will enjoy with us!

Q: When you visited the Philippines 2 years ago, you were barely known. What do you remember most from your first visit here before and do you have any expectations this time around?

Ryujin: [in English] When we first came here, it was December. While we were here it was Yuna’s birthday so the Filipino fans celebrated Yuna’s birthday and they sang a birthday song for her and she cried! It really was a good and heartwarming memory for us. This time around I’m expecting to be more cheerings and I think I can achieve it this time.

Q: Quite a few K-Pop groups and artists are collaborating with international artists. If given the chance, who would ITZY like to collab with?

Ryujin [in English] We had already collaborated with Bebe Rexha with “Break My Heart Myself”. [To the other members] How about you guys?

Yeji: JYP!!!! [Members start dancing to JYP’s song]

Q: What is the secret to your bond and strong chemistry and how do you manage to do that with the creative differences?

Ryujin: [in English] First, I wanna thank you for seeing us as a team with good teamwork and I think because we practiced (and trained) a lot, the teamwork thing comes naturally. Even today after this, we will go to rehearsals for our concert this weekend, so please look forward to that!

Q: You’ve been in the music industry for 3 years, but you’ve already achieved and won a lot of awards. How do you handle people’s expectations and what keeps you motivated?

Lia: [in English] So for the past year, we’ve received so much love, not only from here but worldwide and we are so grateful for that. Thanks to our MIDZYs we’ve received some precious awards and lots of good titles too. We’re very grateful and we’d like to give back all this love and energy with a bigger energy on stage which we are definitely gonna show this weekend at the CHECKMATE concert. We want to continue sending out healthy messages through our songs so everyone can kinda enjoy our music all throughout.

Q: Which destination in the Philippines would you visit if you had the chance and time?

Chaeryeong: [in English] I would go to Boracay. Please take me there!

Q: Since this is ITZY’s second time to perform in the Philippines, how do you feel that it’s your sophomore time going out here and Pinoy MIDZYs have gone pretty much wild and excited that your shows were sold out in just a few hours after going online, that it merited an additional concert day

Lia: [in English] We were very surprised. We are so grateful, you guys can’t imagine how surprised we were today when we came here to see you guys fill up this whole place. We heard that this mall is a very big mall but we did not expect this many people waiting for us. We can’t wait to actually be at the concert with more MIDZYs so thank you so much for waiting for us the whole time. We’ll make sure that you guys will have a great time at the concert.

Q: Welcome to the Philippines. What are some of the Pinoy phrases that you’ve recently learned and have you tried any Filipino food so far? If you haven’t, what Filipino food would you like to try?

Chaeryeong: Halo-halo!

Yeji: Salamat po! Mahal namin kayo!

Q: How has the Checkmate world tour been so far?

Lia: It has been amazing so far. I’m pretty sure it’s gonna be amazing, the Asia tour’s gonna be amazing too. We have some great memories from hearing the cheering from our MIDZYs and it has been so fun traveling to different countries and getting to kind of feel different vibes from different countries. All the MIDZYs are different (per country) in a good way so it was very fun getting to know them and getting to enjoy our music with them so I’m very excited for our concert this weekend.

Q: What are the other concepts and ideas that you want to try for your comeback?

Yuna: [In English] That’s a secret!

Reporting by Kristine Azurin

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