The 'MZ wannabe icon' IVE (Ahn Yujin, Gaeul, RAY, Jang Wonyoung, Liz, Lee Seo) continues its 'record manufacturer' trajectory.
According to the Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute, IVE ranked first in brand reputation among girl groups and idols in March 2025. Additionally, all members, led by Jang Wonyoung, who took first place in individual brand reputation, placed within the top 13, dominating the upper ranks. This achievement follows another significant accomplishment, having ranked first in the star and singer brand reputation and girl group individual brand reputation (Jang Wonyoung) in February 2025, demonstrating IVE's exceptional capabilities.
The Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute analyzed IVE's March brand reputation big data for girl groups, noting that 'record, dominate, break through' had high link analysis scores. They also explained that for the idol brand reputation big data, 'dominate, all-kill, long-run' had high link analysis scores. This reflects the fruits of IVE's recently released third mini album 'IVE EMPATHY,' which was launched on the 3rd of last month.
In fact, IVE recorded a 'perfect all-kill' on major domestic music charts with their pre-release song 'REBEL HEART,' and achieved 11 wins on domestic music shows. Another title track, 'ATTITUDE,' also rose to 4 wins on music shows, and it sparked a trend among K-pop fans by launching the 'rushing guinea pig' challenge on various social media platforms.
IVE surpassed 1.04 million copies in initial sales (the amount sold in the first week following release) with the album 'IVE EMPATHY.' Additionally, the music video for the title track 'I AM' from their first studio album 'I’ve IVE,' released in April 2023, recently surpassed 300 million views on YouTube, and both 'I AM' and the title track 'HEYA' from their second mini album released last April have consistently maintained 'long-run popularity' by entering the monthly charts of Melon and GENIE MUSIC in February.
After about four weeks of activities, IVE has 'recorded, dominated, broken through, and all-killed.' Expectations are building that their record march will continue. IVE became the only K-pop artist to secure two songs, 'REBEL HEART' and 'ATTITUDE,' in the top 10 of the 'Viral 50' chart in Korea on TikTok as of March 18, maintaining both songs in the top 20 of the 'Top 50' chart.
Moreover, 'REBEL HEART' has been on the Billboard's 'Global (Excluding the U.S.)' chart for 7 weeks and the Billboard Japan 'Streaming Song' chart for 8 weeks, continuing to gain global popularity. As the heat of 'IVE EMPATHY' has not cooled yet, attention is focused on the actions of the 'record manufacturer' IVE.
Meanwhile, IVE will hold their third fan concert 'IVE SCOUT' at the KSPO DOME (formerly the gymnastics arena) in Olympic Park, Seoul, on April 5 and 6, to meet with their fans.
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