Korean-Japanese girl band IZ*ONE debuted on the K-Pop scene with their first EP, Color*Iz, on October 29.
The latest temporary act formed through Mnet’s reality show, Produce 48, featuring three Japanese members — all part of the popular J-Pop act AKB48 — and nine Korean members.
Their eight-track EP, Color*Iz (pronounced ‘colorise’) is led by trendy, electro-pop track La Vie En Rose, which is the most-watched debut music video for a K-Pop group, garnering 4.5 million views on YouTube in the first 24 hours.
Not only did the song climb to No 1 on Korea’s three major charts but their album also topped the iTunes chart in eight countries. Adding to their achievements, it had the highest number of albums sold on the Hanteo Chart on the first day of a K-Pop girl group’s debut release, selling more than 34,000 copies.
IZ*ONE is the third temporary act formed by the prominent Korean competitive Produce 48 series, following the successful debuts of groups Wanna One and I.O.I.
Out of nearly 96 Korean and Japanese participants who competed for a spot in the group, 12 were selected by live audience voting. Managed by Off The Record Entertainment, the winners will reportedly perform together for around two and half years until they disband and return to their respective agencies.
The show’s first binational act is already off to a great start, showing their potential amid the ever-changing Korean music industry. The rookie group already created quite a buzz through TV shows and commercial and already gained a solid fanbase, WIZ*ONE, which is derived from the word ‘wizard’.
