ITZY Plays A Game Of Mafia On Their New Album GUESS WHO
Dominating the fourth generation of K-Pop ever since their debut, ITZY is back with quite possibly their strongest comeback yet. The girl group has released their fourth mini-album, GUESS WHO, featuring the tile track “마.피.아. In the morning” and five strong B-sides. ITZY has upped their game in every aspect of performance, making this album a definite breakthrough release.
Let’s Talk Music!
Tracklist
마.피.아. In the morning
Sorry Not Sorry
KIDDING ME
Wild Wild West
SHOOT!
TENNIS (0:0)
“마.피.아. In the morning”
Inspired by the popular party game Mafia, ITZY’s new song “마.피.아. In the morning” cleverly incorporates the game in its sound, lyrics, visuals, and choreography. Through the lyrics, ITZY plays the game of psychological warfare in relation to a lover keeping them hooked. The lyrics incorporate witty references to the Mafia game and classic detective movies. The song is produced by female producer duo LYRE, who has previously worked with Red Velvet. Famous Korean songwriters like danke, earattack, KASS, and J.Y. Park also worked on the track in different capacities.
The music video shows ITZY’s bold choreography, glamour, and their unique personalities as they recreate the Mafia game and, like characters in a detective movie, do not reveal their true selves during the day. At night, however, emotions explode, showing different aspects to create a curious story. Viewers are left to guess who among them is the real Mafia based on hidden clues throughout the video. Check out the music video for “마.피.아. In the morning” below!
B-Sides
The album’s B-sides open with the explosive “Sorry Not Sorry.” The track packs a punch, portraying the girls of ITZY as confident leaders who remain unapologetic in their signature attitude, and could have served as a competitor for the title track. Featuring an energizing electric guitar, the song was composed by JQ, the founder of the famous lyricist team makeumine works.
Third track on the album “KIDDING ME” was co-composed by songwriter Kobee, who also co-composed the group’s hit single “Not Shy” in 2020. Starting with a subtle beat, the song progresses into a final warning to the person who hurt them, asking them to stop kidding around and fix their mistakes with sincerity. The song flows into the fourth track on the album, “Wild Wild West,” which relies on a guitar loop, snaps, and claps reminiscent of Western film scores and country music. With the track, ITZY warns others that they are rough like a cactus in the desert.
“SHOOT!” combines the talents of the famous Korean rapper Mad Clown and Kim Seungmin with Swedish songwriters Alexander Pavelich, Maria Hazell, Jerker Olov Hansson, Gabriella Grombacher, Joakim Harestad Haukaas, and Edvard Forre Erfjord, who have worked with Charli XCX, Zara Larsson, Little Mix, and Ava Max. ITZY takes this simple pop track with a minimal beat and infuses it with their unique singing and rapping style, amplifying the track’s impact. The album closes with “TENNIS (0:0),” a mid-tempo dance track that focuses on the members’ sweet vocal delivery. The track’s title and lyrics refer to a game of tennis and how it ends with a score of 0:0, symbolizing that at the end it's all about love and not winning the fights.
GUESS WHO is an amazing step forward in ITZY’s discography. The members harmonize very well together, but also stand out individually, including a few very impressive vocal moments by leader Yeji. The tracks are fresh and ITZY successfully infuses them with their energy and attitude to make simple pop tracks stand out. While ITZY has had continued success since their debut, GUESS WHO is looking to skyrocket their numbers to the next level, potentially bringing them to levels of recognition similar to groups like TWICE or BLACKPINK in South Korea as well as internationally.