Is K-Pop’s “girl crush” concept a genre in itself? Some have argued it is, such as Xiaomeng Li in Social Semiotics volume 34 (2022). Girl crush typically comes with assertive, empowering lyrics, fierce dance moves, and darker clothing. As for the music, plenty of these songs opt for a nebulous mix of pop, hip-hop, and EDM that’s hard to categorise as really any of those things.
Sadly, the topline is neglected in many of them, with the girls basically just talking (often questionable attempts at rapping) or shouting without a good rhythm over the beats. In 2019, ITZY quickly became synonymous with the new generation of girl crush. Their very first single “DALLA DALLA,” released in February that year, ticked almost every box.
ITZY’s actual debut album, Crazy in Love, arrived on 14th September 2021. By then, the girls had been performing and releasing songs together for a little more than two years and a half. This was a fascinating time to put out a debut album, not just because it might’ve felt oddly late but also because K-Pop as a whole was shifting. Crazy in Love‘s lead single “LOCO” was proof enough.
For years, K-Pop companies have been obsessed with “tropical” sounds, i.e. mainly Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Latin genres e.g. reggae and derivative forms e.g. tropical house. The latter dominated 2010s K-Pop, with top girl group Red Velvet releasing three different trop house-tinged tracks in 2017 alone: “Zoo,” “Peek-A-Boo,” and “You Better Know.” As the early 2020s rolled in, K-Pop girl crush increasingly leaned toward rock music: from GFRIEND revisiting their roots with booming synth-metal riffs in “LABYRINTH” (2020) to I-DLE going pop-punk in “TOMBOY” (2022).
ITZY’s “LOCO” was released concurrently with the album. The song showed precisely why the quintet became the faces of girl crush, keeping up with the new while retaining elements of tried-and-tested tropical K-Pop. In it, the quintet infuse reggaeton beats with a harder pop-punk edge via its Fall Out Boy-worthy chorus and electric guitar work by Chella Kim, the latter of which can be heard even more prominently in the music video’s extended bridge.
Calling back to 2000s print zines, the promotional visuals are also eye-catching and filled with vibrant colours. It’s not hard to imagine why excitement for Crazy in Love surged. However, the rest of the record falls short of “LOCO”‘s promise. For one, nearly half (seven out of 16) tracks are mere rehashes of ITZY’s existing songs: six are instrumental versions of previous singles like “DALLA DALLA” while one is simply the English version of “LOCO.” That leaves only eight original tracks for the listener to check out after the strong lead single.
A lot of the material here falls into the classic girl crush trap: catchy pop/hip-hop/EDM fusion production let down by songwriting that prioritises hollow swagger and ignores melody. Track six, “Gas Me Up,” is perhaps Crazy in Love‘s biggest disappointment. The cinematic album trailer made heavy use of its infectious beats. Many fans who saw the video immediately fell in love with the sound, only for the full track to focus more on whiny talk-singing rather than maximising the instrumental.
Wholesome translates to boring in many cases, but not here. Crazy in Love‘s better moments largely lie in its sweeter, more upbeat cuts.
For instance, R&B-pop ballad “Mirror” isn’t especially memorable, but its emphasis on melody and smooth, simple keyboard backings are lovely. The symphonic touches in the bridge and final section are pleasing to the ears as well.
“Sooo LUCKY” is the entire record’s highlight. The power-pop song balances programmed and electronic elements with more organic instrumentation: drumming, guitar, and piano by EastWest, 1by1, and Jeong Su-wan respectively. Kate Bush-esque rhythms in its hooks are also a lot of fun. The giddily romantic track sounds a bit like British indie band Blossoms with a dash of baroque in the vocal choices.
At the time, Crazy in Love garnered a fair amount of commercial success. It topped South Korea’s Gaon chart, peaked at number eight in Japanese charts, and secured a Billboard US Hot 200 slot at number 11. The album presented a vision of what girl crush could be. The reality has been different these past few years.
Techno (often marketed with the buzzword “hyperpop,” though most of these songs aren’t particularly hyper) has largely won out over rock in the girl crush scene. K-Pop’s current Afro-Latin trend became Brazilian funk instead of reggaeton a la “LOCO.”
Five whole years later, Crazy in Love did not have much of an impact on the state of K-Pop girl crush. It is a fine album regardless, deeply flawed and uneven but offering tons of enjoyable sonic moments paired with stunning visual style.
The Crazy in Love album is available on all digital streaming platforms. ITZY are on Instagram here.
