Itzy
Itzy (Korean: 있지; RR: Itji; MR: Itchi; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment and consisting of members Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, and Yuna. They debuted on February 12, 2019, with the release of their single album It'z Different. Their accolades include Rookie of the Year at the 34th Golden Disc Awards, New Artist of the Year at the 9th Gaon Chart Music Awards and 2019 Melon Music Awards, Best New Female Artist at the 2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards, and the New Artist Award at the 29th Seoul Music Awards; they are the first K-pop girl group to achieve such a "Rookie Grand Slam".[2][3]
History[edit]
2015–2019: Pre-debut activities[edit]
After failing to pass auditions held by Fantagio, Chaeryeong and her sister were cast by JYP Entertainment (JYP) through the K-pop Star 3 television series.[4] In 2015, Chaeryeong participated in JYP's survival show Sixteen but did not make the final lineup of the winning girl group, Twice.[5] The first member of Itzy to join JYP, she trained for five years. Ryujin was scouted at a Got7 concert and trained at JYP for four years prior to Itzy's debut. Both Yuna and Yeji joined JYP in 2015 and trained for three years, Yuna after being discovered by company staff and Yeji after having successfully auditioned. The final member Lia initially auditioned for SM Entertainment and passed but was forced to back out at the last minute due to a disagreement with her parents. She passed JYP auditions several years later and trained for two years.[6]
In 2017, Yuna and Ryujin appeared in BTS' "Love Yourself" highlight reel.[7] The same year, the members (except for Lia) appeared on the Mnet reality show Stray Kids as a project group alongside the boy group that would eventually be named Stray Kids.[8] Ryujin competed on JTBC's survival show Mix Nine, placing first among the female contestants but losing to the male contestants overall.[9] Meanwhile, Yeji participated in SBS' The Fan but was eliminated in the fifth episode.[10]