Guess Who (EP)

''Guess Who'' (stylized as ''GUE?? WHO'') is the fourth extended play by South Korean girl group Itzy. It was released by JYP Entertainment on April 30, 2021. The EP was released for pre-order on March 22, and contains six tracks, including the lead single " In the Morning". The physical album comes in three versions: Day, Night, and Day&Night. The EP is primarily a rap-styled K-pop record that combines EDM, hip hop, dance, dance-pop, trap, Latin trap and bossa nova elements.

''Guess Who'' was subject to generally mixed reviews from music critics, who complimented the record's cohesiveness; however, some found the material controlling the vitality of the group. The EP was commercially successful, marking Itzy's first entry on the US Billboard 200, peaking at number 148, and peaking at number 2 on the Gaon Album Chart. In May 2021, ''Guess Who'' was certified Platinum by the Korea Music Content Association.

The lead single, " In the Morning", peaked at number 10 on the Gaon Digital Chart, becoming the group's fifth top-ten single, as well as the group's third single to enter the top five of the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart. To promote the EP, the group performed on several South Korean music show programs, such as ''M Countdown'' and ''Inkigayo''.

Background

On March 22, Itzy released the first poster for their upcoming EP, ''Guess Who''. This was posted alongside pre-order information and a preview of the EP content. JYP Entertainment said in a statement that the upcoming release would feature a sound that "come as a surprise for their fans". The label added that the group "would come up with offbeat dance moves and styling to showcase something different this time". On April 12, 2021, the group unveiled the track listing to the EP on the group's official SNS accounts and website, revealing "In the Morning" as the lead single. The next day, the night version of a group teaser was revealed. The next group teaser was released on April 14. Starting from April 15, a series of teasers were posted everyday for the group's official social media. On April 25, Itzy released the highlight medley for their EP. The first music video teaser for "In the Morning" was released on April 26. On the next day, the second music video teaser for the song was published. On April 28, the third music video teaser for the lead single was published.

Composition

The standard edition of ''Guess Who'' is slightly under nineteen minutes long. The album features six songs which incorporate elements from country strings to lo-fi rhythms, and showcase the band's vocal skills. "In the Morning" was co-written and co-produced by JYP Entertainment founder Park Jin-young, who had previously worked on two of the group's hit singles, " Icy" and " Not Shy". Other producers featured on the record include hitmakers Earattack, who worked with Got7, and frequent Kang Daniel collaborator JQ. During a press event for the EP, the members shared that the title of ''Guess Who'' refers to how they show different emotions and personas in the songs while exploring their musicality.

Songs

Inspired by the popular game Mafia, " In the Morning" is a "powerful" hip hop track with an "addictive" dance- trap composition, heightening the track's core concepts of ambiguity and suspense. The track's chorus sees the group explore various vocal styles backed by a "trippy" synth. Lyrically, the song is about secretly stealing someone's heart. The second song, "Sorry Not Sorry" is a "playful" and "laidback" track with a bouncy rock-inflected production that "highlights the title's devil-may-care attitude". "Kidding Me", the third song, is an EDM song with a strong hip-hop beat and direct warning about demanding to be taken more seriously. The song features trap drums and a "compelling" dance break. The fourth song, "Wild Wild West" is a track with guitar loops and a sound reminiscent of western American music. The song addresses a dangerous, unexpected attraction. Sofiana Ramli from ''NME'' described it as "a fun epilogue to their rodeo-themed Not Shy". The fifth track, "Shoot!" is a "boss-like" bossa nova and Latin trap song about slowly luring people into a lovestruck spell. It employs a "futuristic" sound with a variety of musical instruments. The closing track, "Tennis (0:0)" is a soft medium dance-pop and bubblegum pop track. The song combines the five members' "sweet" voices with ordinary instruments such as an acoustic guitar and analog drum beats. The track's title and lyrics refer to a game of tennis and how it ends with a score of 0:0, symbolizing that at the end it is "all about love and not winning fights". In an interview with ''NME'' Ryujin revealed that she was inspired by Selena Gomez's " Bad Liar" while recording "Tennis".

Promotion

On March 2, 2021, JYP Entertainment uploaded a teaser poster with the EP's name, also announcing the release date. Pre-orders for the album began on March 22. On April 12, Itzy revealed the title of the album's lead single "In the Morning" and posted the album's track list. ''Guess Who'' was released worldwide on April 30 through JYP in conjunction with the music video for "In the Morning". In celebration of their comeback, the group held an online press conference an hour before the release to talk about the album. On May 1, Itzy appeared on the South Korean TV show ''Knowing Bros''.

Singles

" In the Morning" was released as the lead single from ''Guess Who'' on April 30, 2021. An accompanying music video for the song, was uploaded to JYP's YouTube channel simultaneously with the single's release. In three days, the music video reached fifty million views. Itzy promoted the song with televised live performances on various South Korean music programs including ''M Countdown'', ''Show! Music Core'', '' Music Bank'' and ''Inkigayo''.

Critical reception

Sofiana Ramli of ''NME'' awarded the extended play 4 out of 5 stars, describing it as "by far Itzy's most cohesive project in terms of sound". The reviewer commended the hip hop musical direction on this record as the girl group "seem to have successfully found a brand of maximalist pop that works for them." In a mixed review, Joshua Minsoo Kim of ''Pitchfork'' found that, although their debut "established the quintet as a massive new force in the industry", their latest release, ''Guess Who'', was a disappointment, commenting that with the EP, Itzy "became more uncomfortable being themselves in the process". ''IZM''s Dayeol Jeong felt the album "which must passively follow a set direction, controls the vitality of the five girls."

Commercial performance

On April 28, ''Guess Who'' surpassed 260,000 preorders, making it their best-selling album surpassing '' Not Shy'' with 200,000 copies. According to Korea’s Hanteo Chart, the EP garnered sales of 200,130 copies in the first week of release from April 30 to May 6. The EP debuted at number 1 on the Gaon Retail Album Chart with 58,291 copies sold in a week. In South Korea, ''Guess Who'' debuted and peaked at number 2 for the week ending May 1, 2021. The EP also entered at number 5 on the Gaon Album Chart for the month of April 2021 with less than a day of tracking and selling 232,570 copies. All songs from ''Guess Who'' entered the Gaon Download Chart. Hugh McIntyre of ''Forbes'' described the EP as a bestseller in South Korea. It was later certified as Platinum for over 250,000 shipments in Korea by the Korea Music Content Association.

In the US, the album entered various charts. It debuted and peaked at number 148 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, becoming the sixth highest-peaking album by a Korean female artist on the chart and making Itzy the seventh South Korean female artist to break into the chart, after BoA, Girls' Generation, 2NE1, Blackpink, Twice and Loona. It also entered at number 2 on the US World Albums Chart, earning the group third top ten entry. It also entered at number 1 on the ''US Heetseekers Albums'', becoming their highest-charting album on the chart and becoming their best-selling project in the country. In the same week, Itzy also ranked at number 99 on the ''Billboard Artist 100 Chart''.

In the UK, the album debuted at number 34 on the UK Album Downloads Chart for the week ending May 9, 2021 becoming the group's first ever entry on the chart.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales figures

Release history

References

{{Itzy

2021 EPs
Itzy EPs
Korean-language EPs
JYP Entertainment EPs