The group IVE sings about "we" beyond "me."
IVE held a showcase to commemorate the release of their second full-length album REVIVE+ (Revive Plus) at YES24 Live Hall in Gwangjin District, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 23rd and talked about the new album.
IVE, who announced their comeback about six months after the mini album 4 IVE SECRET released in August last year, said, "We feel special because we are returning with a full-length album after almost three years."
Gaeul said, "We worked hard to show an evolved IVE that kept growing rather than stopping at change. I'm happy that the pre-release track 'Bang Bang' seems to be receiving a lot of love, and riding this momentum we will also work hard on 'BLACKHOLE' promotions."
IVE's second full-length album Revive Plus is closer to a reignition than a simple reset or declaration of change. Having built a narrative of "self-assurance" centered on "me," IVE expands that gaze to "we" in this album and fully unfolds stories about relationships and consolidation.
They broaden the narrative into a structure where IVE and the public meet and become "we," clearly showing confidence that they can move in more directions from their current position.
Yujin explained the new record by saying, "It means reigniting, lighting the fire again. This album contains an ambition not only to reignite but to spread the flames that burn under the name IVE more widely."
Rei added, "I'm proud that we were able to embody what we have built under the name IVE in a full-length album more splendidly and in an IVE way. We'll work to show a variety of charms, so please give us a lot of love."
The title track 'BLACKHOLE' is a shuffle-based track that unfolds in a cinematic atmosphere, offering high immersion and intense addictiveness through a wide sense of space and filmic sound textures.
Yujin expressed confidence about the new song, saying, "It's a cinematic-sounding track that evokes the film Interstellar. With a more scaled performance, you will feel as if you're falling into a black hole."
So far, IVE has conveyed messages of "self-assurance" centered on "me," and has broadened its perspective through "empathy" and "solidarity," forming a deep rapport with the public.
Asked about the biggest change, Liz said, "If our previous messages were centered on 'me,' this album contains messages expanded from 'me' to 'we.' We also tried many new things in performance and song. I would appreciate it if you could look at us from a new perspective."
Wonyoung explained the visual changes, saying, "This time we focused more on interesting and new visuals rather than standardized visuals and beauty," and Eseo added, "The biggest change is that we all became adults this year. I hope you look forward to the various sides of IVE now that all members are adults."
When asked about "we" as IVE, Yujin said, "When we do solo activities, we give and receive a lot of encouragement. We monitor each other and praise each other. Preparing the full album made me think again about the group IVE. We took on many new challenges and, because it's a new start, we were nervous and had many conversations and moments of worry. As we exchanged opinions, we realized that this is a group that becomes a great strength just by existing together," expressing her affection.
IVE, which has recorded unparalleled achievements by sweeping various music awards, achieving seven consecutive million-sellers and 20 music show wins, expressed why they are loved, saying, "We are honored to be given various epithets. It's thanks to the members' efforts, but there are many people at the company who make great efforts with us. We want to express our gratitude. I think we were able to earn these epithets because of DIVE's support."
Asked about accomplishments they want to pursue, Liz said, "There is an epithet we'd like to hear: that we are artists who make people curious about what's next. We did something new after always doing princess-like concepts, and many people loved it, so I think we'll try many more things in the future. I hope people become more curious about us as a result."
Recently, KiiiKiii's new song has also been receiving great love while competing at the top of the music charts, and IVE said, "We are honored to be able to compete with great artists when we make a comeback. I'm especially happy that KiiiKiii is also receiving love on the charts with us. We became close through filming the same variety show and send each other a lot of support. We hope this album will be one that proves our own skills."
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