ITZY “Girls Will Be Girls” Review

I still remember the days when ITZY was the IT girl-group of 4th gen. “Wannabe” and “Loco” were such absolute bangers…but then, ITZY fell into such a disappointing fall-off. Their music videos became too simplistic and sloppy to compete. Their themes and messages become too didactic to be appealing. And yes, they were hit with some bad luck: their concept of girlboss-ism was overtaken by a trend of cutesy, less-bombastic girlhood, as seen by the likes of NewJeans and ILLIT. But seriously: “Born To Be,” “Untouchable,” and “Gold” were such disappointing releases.

I’ve been waiting, in short, for ITZY to come back with a banger and take me back to their glory days. I thought “Imaginary Friend” was a step in that direction—but something was still missing from that above-average B-side.

This time, with “Girls Will Be Girls,” however, I feel like ITZY’s back in their prime. I really hope this is the song that will bring them back to their well-deserved glory.

Concept/Message: 4

Using the title “girls will be girls” is a clear allusion to the phrase “boys will be boys”—a sexist, double-standard phrase that many have used to excuse the unwelcome, inappropriate, and assaulting actions that boys perpetrate against girls. By challenging the sexism laced into that phrase with its exact opposite, ITZY therefore sends a message of feminist strength: that girls will fight the system, that girls will support each other, that girls will not be defeated.

This message is timely and important. But it’s somewhat overdone—many other artists have released music relating to this theme. ITZY, however, execute it quite well.

Visuals: 5

Holy crap.

This M/V is one of the best I’ve seen in a long, long time. The craftsmanship?? The details?? The visuals?? JYP and the girls of ITZY served.

I think this M/V successfully grabbed some of the highest-hanging fruit in the tree of good M/V characteristics. Namely, this M/V has got:

Symbolism

Symbolism is hard to achieve in a (not even) three-minute long video. But “Girls Will Be Girls” got it.

That swarm of black birds (crows, I guess)…if you look closely, you’ll realize they’re not birds. They’re eyeballs with wings.

Eyes–they’re like cameras. And this swarm of birds keep on following the ITZY girls, just like how cameras are always watching girls and women in our society. Think about Instagram culture, upskirting, p*rnography, even idol culture…this swarm of eye-birds, therefore, symbolizes the system, the society of male lust that harasses and assaults girls. It’s such an effective and chilling way to represent such a harmful and oppressive system.

Storytelling

This M/V does such a good job of telling a compelling story–and using scenes in that story to convey a theme. For instance, we start this M/V with Lia stranded and alone, trying her best to survive the attacks of the eyeball-birds–the system. But when the other girls hear her call for help, they immediately come to her aid, hug her, and bring her back to safety–no questions asked.

This tells a theme: girls will support girls. We will be girls’ girls. We will not blame girls for receiving unwanted sexual attention. And we most certainly will not use the phrase “boys will be boys” to tell other girls to wipe away boys’ unjust actions.

And of course, this M/V’s story drives home this song’s central point: that girls will fight back. We watched the ITZY girls maneuver a jeep through mountain terrain to save Lia. We watched them shoot and kill the birds. We watched them in the end, facing a huge red eye. It drives home the point that the system is wrong and unjust and that girls will be strong and fight back.

It’s interesting, however, that “Girls Will Be Girls” never shows the girls defeating the monster-eye in the very end. I think that’s an acknowledgement from ITZY of reality: society will never be able to wholly purge inappropriate lust from itself. Girls, however, will continue fighting for what is due and right.

Effort/Detail

The amount of time it must’ve taken to draw and edit those bird-eyes…

The sets were also so exquisitely done this time around. The grassy mountain, the cool home base… And the amount of detail and thought put into their makeup, fits, even the cuts on their skin…this feels like another level from the empty-feeling sets of their previous M/Vs.

Lyrics: 4

I gotta say: the rhyme scheme was so on point in the verses and pre-chorus. There, ITZY purposefully chose to rhyme words with longer vowel sounds: “hero/ego,” “way/slay,” “drop/hold/syndrome/void,” “road/go/glow/blow”…it’s such an effective choice to let the girls show off their vocals and also contrast the consonant-heavy “girls will be girls” chorus.

The chorus’ repetitive nature prevented the song from scoring higher, however. But honestly–I think it’s a necessary evil. A song with such a specific and intentional concept kind of needs some repetitiveness and didacticism in order to work.

Music: 5

This is such a fight song. This is such an anthem. I feel like I’ve already gotten the prechorus stuck in my head. It is so awesome. The vocal runs were so serving–you could feel the girls’ energy and determination behind each note. And can we talk about the production? That instrumental was so helpful to the I-will-fight-and-not-back-down energy–the beat was so strong and conspicuous. It is such a rousing, hype-ful song.

I’m still waiting for the day where girls will not have to define themselves by the injustice they receive from the opposite sex, but I don’t know how soon that day will come. In the meantime, however, I hope ITZY follows the path they’ve led with “Girls Will Be Girls”—and get back into their prime.