Itzy releases new album, to embark on 2nd world tour

K-pop girl group Itzy proved its members were born to be superstars, showing off their confident and powerful identity in a new mini album, “Born to Be,” released Monday.

The group, known for its music that revolves around the message of “respecting and loving oneself,” returned with an album filled with powerful performances that shows Itzy is more confident than ever.

“We tried to overcome our limits. That includes trying out diverse music genres and challenging ourselves to compose and write the lyrics to the music in this new album. Such effort made this album a meaningful one for us,” said Yeji during a press conference in Seoul on Monday.

“Born to Be,” Itzy’s eighth EP, is led by the title track “Untouchable,” a dance-pop number with mid-tempo EDM and strong guitar sounds.

“The title track sings about nobody being able to stop us from moving forward. We fight together against the difficulties we face living in this complicated world. I think the lead track best depicts our confidence,” said Yeji.

The new album carries solo singles per member, a first for the group, for which the members composed and wrote the lyrics.

“This album is like a box filled with gifts. Every one of us put a lot of effort into making this album. We even have a total of eight music videos for this album and we also included a special mega dance crew performance in our lead track,” said Yuna.

Itzy is promoting this album without its member Lia, who announced a temporary hiatus in September due to health concerns.

Itzy has five members -- Yeji, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, Yuna and Lia.

“Even though Lia could not join us, she was very supportive of us when we were working on this new album. We hope to do our best so that, when Lia comes back, she sees our progress and growth,” said Yeji.

Itzy is set to embark on its second world tour, “Born to Be” which kicks off in Seoul on Feb. 24-25.

“We’ve prepared a new set list, which includes the sidetracks of this new album. You will also get to see stages of the singles that we’ve newly mixed and arranged. We’ve also enhanced the scale of the performances, so come and enjoy,” said Chaeryeong.