When ex-TVXQ! member Kim Jaejoong founded his company iNKODE in 2023, he also envisioned creating a multinational idol group: this resulted in SAY MY NAME. Hitomi, Mei, Kanny, Soha, Dohee, Junhwi, and Seungjoo made their debut on October 16, 2024 with the title track “WaveWay.” The group also garnered attention for having former AKB48 and IZ*ONE member Honda Hitomi as their leader. 

The Creation of SAY MY NAME

SAY MY NAME is the first idol group under iNKODE. The company was founded by soloist Kim Jaejoong, former TVXQ! and current JYJ member, and former CUBE Entertainment vice president Noh Hyuntae in May 2023. Kim currently acts as the company’s chief security officer and producer for their artists. In an interview with The Korea Herald that June, Kim said he drew on his decades of experience to produce the upcoming idol group. He intended to debut a group of “members of diverse nationalities.” Hitomi and Mei come from Japan, Kanny comes from Thailand, and Soha, Dohee, Junhwi, and Seungjoo come from South Korea. 

Some members became known from their pre-debut appearances on survival shows. Hitomi, the most famous of the bunch, debuted in IZ*ONE after appearing on PRODUCE 48 in 2018. She is the last member to re-debut in the music industry for now, as the rest have either gone into acting, debuted solo, or gone into new groups. Seungjoo participated as the youngest contestant on MBC’s My Teenage Girl between 2021 and 2022. Mei participated on HYBE and Geffen Records’s survival show The Debut: Dream Academy last year. 

“WaveWay”

With the group’s branding heavily featuring cats, SAY MY NAME made their debut with a cute pop song. “WaveWay” is surprisingly not sugary sweet, but it contains pop infused with trap beats. The song talks about SAY MY NAME’s desire to push forward and make waves in the K-Pop industry. According to Soha, the group’s “brave spirit and determination” shines through in their title track. 

 It feels like the wrong season to premiere a song like “WaveWay.” It’s a fine song, but contains elements seen in the spring or summer months. This aesthetic comes through during the music video, which starts off with a cat paddling in a swimming pool. While the girls chase this cat around the city, the music video shows shots of them enjoying tropical drinks, riding their bikes, and taking a swim. 

Their debut EP contains the B-sides “Be a Star,” “8llowme,” and “Goldilocks Water,” the last of which Kim wrote the lyrics for. Hitomi contributed lyrics to the rock song “Be a Star” alongside Chase, 1Take, and REIDD of production company NEWTYPE Ent. With Kim Jaejoong as their producer, SAY MY NAME looks well-equipped to start their career on good footing.

Edited by Clark Royandoyan