IVE debuted in December 2021 with two members the public already knew: Jang Wonyoung and An Yujin, who had spent two and a half years in the project group IZ*ONE. Starship Entertainment built the new six-member group around that head start, and the debut single ELEVEN went to number one in Korea within weeks.
What set IVE apart was confidence. Where other fourth-generation groups sang about crushes, IVE sang about themselves: LOVE DIVE dares the listener to fall for them, After LIKE quotes 'I Will Survive' to say they do not need anyone, and I AM is a straightforward anthem of self-belief. The sound is elegant, mid-tempo and hook-first, closer to classic pop than to the noisy experiments of their rivals.
The strategy worked. LOVE DIVE was the biggest song of 2022 in Korea and swept the year-end awards, and IVE have been one of the three defining girl groups of the decade ever since, alongside aespa and NewJeans. This is the group to start with if you want polish over chaos.
Start here: five songs
- 1
LOVE DIVE (2022)
The song of the year in Korea in 2022, with the single-take dance break and the 'narcissistic, my god I love it' line that became the group's motto.
- 2
After LIKE (2022)
The disco follow-up built on a Gloria Gaynor sample. If LOVE DIVE is IVE's signature, After LIKE is the one everyone dances to.
- 3
I AM (2023)
The lead single of their first full album, a soaring self-affirmation track that pushed the group's vocals to the front.
- 4
ELEVEN (2021)
The debut. A moody, Latin-tinged single that sounded far more assured than a first release usually does.
- 5
REBEL HEART (2025)
The lead single from the third EP, a brighter, faster turn that shows where the group is heading now.
Timeline
2021
ELEVEN
Debut with Wonyoung and Yujin fresh from IZ*ONE. ELEVEN reaches number one on Korean charts and wins the group its first music-show trophies within weeks.
2022
LOVE DIVE and After LIKE
LOVE DIVE becomes the biggest song of the year in Korea and After LIKE follows it to the top. IVE win song of the year at the Melon Music Awards and MAMA.
2023
I've IVE and the first world tour
The first full album, led by I AM and Kitsch, debuts at number one in Korea. Baddie and Either Way lead the follow-up, and the SHOW WHAT I HAVE tour visits Asia and North America.
2024
HEYA and Accendio
IVE SWITCH brings a traditional-Korean visual concept for HEYA. Supernova Love with David Guetta closes the year.
2025
REBEL HEART and XOXZ
The third EP, IVE EMPATHY, opens the year with REBEL HEART; XOXZ follows in the summer with a second world tour.
Moments fans remember
From IZ*ONE to IVE in eight months
IZ*ONE disbanded in April 2021, and by December Wonyoung and Yujin were back on stage with a new group. DIVEs who followed them from the project group treated ELEVEN as a homecoming rather than a debut.
The LOVE DIVE sweep
LOVE DIVE won song of the year at both MAMA and the Melon Music Awards in 2022, in the group's first full year. The one-take dance break in the music video became the most-recreated K-pop choreography of the year.
I AM, sung with the fans
On the first world tour, IVE closed shows with I AM and let the crowd sing the chorus. Videos of arenas in Seoul, Tokyo and Los Angeles shouting 'I am' back at the stage are the fandom's favorite proof that the self-belief theme landed.
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