Ive (group)

Ive (Korean: 아이브; RR: Aibeu; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean girl group formed by Starship Entertainment. The group is composed of six members: An Yu-jin, Gaeul, Rei, Jang Won-young, Liz, and Leeseo. Ive is known for their catchy songs and achieving one of the most successful recent debuts in K-pop, having received several rookie awards and featuring on Forbes Korea Power Celebrity 40.
Ive made their debut on December 1, 2021, with the single album Eleven. It was followed shortly with the single album Love Dive (2022), whose lead single became their first number-one song on South Korea's Circle Digital Chart. It was the best-performing single of the year and was awarded Song of the Year at multiple year-end award shows, including the Golden Disc Awards, MAMA Awards, and Melon Music Awards. Ive achieved their second number-one song with the lead single of their third single album, After Like (2022).
In 2023, the group released their first studio album I've Ive to commercial success. It won the Melon Music Award for Album of the Year and produced the chart-topping singles "Kitsch" and "I Am". The release was followed by their first extended play I've Mine (2023), featuring their fifth number-one single "Baddie". In 2024, they released their second extended play Ive Switch and its top-ten single "Heya" and shortly after performed at Lollapalooza. Ive's third extended play Ive Empathy (2025) included their sixth number-one single "Rebel Heart" and the top-ten single "Attitude".
The group's name is meant to evoke the English phrase "I have". It refers to the idea of showing what "I have" to the audience with confidence, where instead of telling the story of growth, the group intends to portray a "complete girl group" from the start.
Wonyoung and Yujin, representing Starship Entertainment, participated in the reality competition series Produce 48 in 2018, finishing in first place and fifth place respectively, thus becoming members of the project girl group Iz*One. They promoted with the group until its disbandment on April 29, 2021.
Gaeul joined Starship Entertainment in 2017, after being scouted at a dance competition in Incheon. Rei joined the company in 2018 after passing at the Loen Friends Global Audition in Japan. Rei's audition caught the judges' attention with her distinct voice. In May of that year, she moved to Korea and began training. Leeseo was an SM Entertainment Kids model. Liz joined the company in 2019 through an open audition.
On November 2, 2021 Starship Entertainment announced that they would be debuting a new girl group, their first since WJSN in 2016. The members were revealed from November 3 to 8 (in order: Yujin, Gaeul, Wonyoung, Liz, Rei, and Leeseo). On November 8, Starship confirmed that the group would debut on December 1, followed two days later by the announcement of the title of the group's first single album as Eleven. On December 1, the group released their debut single album, Eleven, led by the single of the same name. The group made their broadcast debut on KBS2's Music Bank on December 3, performing "Eleven".
"Eleven" was a commercial success; charting at number nine on Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart and at number two on the Circle Digital Chart. On December 8, exactly one week after their debut, Ive earned their first music show win on MBC M's Show Champion, making them the fastest girl group to win first place since debut. "Eleven" went on to win on music shows 13 times, including a triple crown on KBS2's Music Bank, MBC's Music Core, and SBS' Inkigayo. In addition, Eleven recorded the most album sales in its first week of release for girl group debut albums. In January of the following year, Ive performed a sending-off stage in Olympic Hall for the national athletes of the South Korean delegation to the 2022 Winter Olympics. Later on, Insider named Ive's "Eleven" as one of the best debut songs of all time in K-pop.
On April 5, 2022, Ive released their second single album, Love Dive, led by the single of the same name. "Love Dive" charted at number one on the Circle Digital Chart, becoming their first number-one song in South Korea. The song peaked at 10 on Billboard's Global Excl. US chart, becoming the group's first song to reach the top 10, and went on to chart for 29 consecutive weeks.
"Love Dive" ranked number one on both Melon Yearly Chart and Circle Digital Yearly Chart. "Love Dive" was awarded Song of the Year on various award shows, including on the MAMA Awards, Melon Music Awards, Golden Disc Awards, and Asia Artist Awards.
The group was also awarded Best Female Group and Best New Artist on Melon Music Awards, Rookie Artist of the Year on Golden Disc Awards, they also won various year-end music awards on Genie Music Awards, Circle Chart Music Awards, and Seoul Music Awards.
On May 14 and 15, Ive performed at Kpop Flex in Frankfurt, Germany held at the Deutsche Bank Park, marking the group's first ever overseas performance. A month later, Ive performed at the Jamsil Stadium in Seoul as part of the line-up for 28th Dream Concert.
On July 18, Starship Entertainment announced that Ive would make a comeback in August with their third single album, After Like. It was released alongside the lead single of the same name on August 22. "After Like" samples "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor. "After Like" charted at number one on the Circle Digital Chart, earning the group their second number-one song in South Korea and became the group's first song to achieve a Perfect all-kill, a music chart achievement where a song simultaneously charts number one on the real-time, daily, and weekly charts of South Korea's various music streaming platforms. "After Like" went on to win on music shows 14 times, becoming the song with the most music show wins that year. The album later sold over 1,700,000 album copies.
On September 8, Ive announced that they would be releasing the Japanese version of "Eleven" on October 19. The music video was pre-released on September 19 and the single album Eleven (Japanese version) was released on October 19, consisting of "Eleven" and B-side "Queen of Hearts," Ive's first Japanese-language original song. The album sold 88,312 copies in its first week on Billboard Japan, and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan. On October 15, Ive performed during Day 2 of KCON Japan at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.
On November 16, Ive released the "After Like" Holiday Remix, for Spotify's annual "Spotify Holiday Single" project, becoming the first Korean group to participate. In November 26, Ive won their first daesang (grand prize) award for Song of the Year at the 2022 Melon Music Awards. Later on, they won three more daesang on various award shows. On December 20, 2022, it was announced that Ive would appear on the cover of the January 2023 issue of Vogue Korea, becoming the fifth group to cover Vogue Korea, following BigBang, Exo, Blackpink, and BTS.
On January 16, 2023, Ive released their second Japanese single "Love Dive", a re-recording of their Korean single of the same name. From February 11 to 24, 2023, Ive embarked on the first leg of their first solo tour, The Prom Queens, which visited Seoul, Yokohama, and Kobe in six sold-out dates.
On March 16, Starship Entertainment announced that Ive would be releasing their first studio album, I've Ive, on April 10, with seven of the eleven songs on the album featuring songwriting credits by the members. The group pre-released a single from the album, titled "Kitsch", on March 27, which debuted at number one on the Circle Digital Chart. The song became their second song to achieve a Perfect all-kill on Korean music charts.
On March 24, it was announced that the group had signed with Columbia Records for promotion in United States as part of Kakao Entertainment, the parent company of Starship Entertainment, partnership with the label.
I've Ive was released on April 10, alongside the single "I Am". "I Am" ascended to number one on the Circle Digital Chart, and became their third song to achieve a Perfect all-kill on Korean music charts making I've Ive the first K-pop group album to have two songs with Perfect all-kill since 2NE1 in 2011.
On April 11, Starship Entertainment announced that member Rei would temporarily suspend activities for health reasons. On May 9, Ive pre-released "Wave", the lead single of their upcoming Japanese album of the same name. On May 26, Starship Entertainment announced that Rei would return from hiatus after a month of inactivity. On May 31, Ive's first Japanese EP Wave debuted at number one on Oricon's daily album chart, and then debuted at number one on Oricon's weekly album charts. It also debuted at number one on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.
From June 17 to July 9, Ive completed the second half of their first solo tour, The Prom Queens, which consisted of six stops across Southeast Asia and Taiwan. The Asia tour attracted a total attendance of 97,000 spectators. On July 13, Ive released their promotional single, titled "I Want" in collaboration with Pepsi. In July 22, Ive performed at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, Spain as part of the line-up for K-pop Lux SBS Super Concert.
In August 2023, Starship Entertainment revealed that the group would embark on their first world tour, Show What I Have, beginning in October. On September 3, Ive announced they would be releasing their first Korean-language extended play titled I've Mine on October 13, supported by three singles: "Either Way", "Off the Record" and "Baddie". All three singles charted within the top 15 of Circle Digital Chart, with "Baddie" peaking at number 1 and becoming the group's fourth single to achieve a Perfect all-kill on Korean music charts.
On November 10, it was confirmed that Liz would be part of a special collaboration single "Nobody" with (G)I-dle's Soyeon and Aespa's Winter, which was released on November 16.
On January 19, 2024, Ive released their first English-language digital single "All Night", featuring Saweetie. The track is a remix of "All Night" by Swedish synth-pop duo Icona Pop. The music video was shot at 222 W 6th St in San Pedro, a neighbourhood in Los Angeles. On March 29, it was announced that they would be singing the new opening theme song "Will" for Pokémon Horizons. It was released on various music distribution platforms on April 12, and the opening video was released on Pokémon's official YouTube channel.
On April 3, it was officially announced that Ive would be releasing their second extended play Ive Switch on April 29, with two singles "Heya" and "Accendio". On June 28, Ive released their second promotional single for Pepsi titled "Summer Festa". On July 15, it was announced that Ive's second Japanese extended play Alive would be released on August 28. On August 3, Ive performed live at the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago. On November 8, the group released the single "Supernova Love" in collaboration with French DJ and record producer David Guetta.
On February 3, 2025, Ive released their third extended play Ive Empathy, which was preceded by the pre-release single "Rebel Heart" on January 13.
In September 2022, Ive was appointed as ambassador for the Korean Red Cross' annual "Everyone Campaign" to promote volunteering.
In August 2022, Ive appeared as a model for SK Telecom's "V Coloring", a subscription-based video ringback tone service. In January 2023, Ive was selected as model for the "2023 Pepsi Project", a collaboration between Starship Entertainment and Pepsi. The same month, Ive was chosen as the new model for Papa John's Pizza. In April, they became a model for Kwangdong Pharmaceutical's corn silk tea. In June, Ive became the ambassadors of Puma in the Asia and Pacific. On July 13, the group released the promotional single "I Want" in collaboration with Pepsi.
On February 14, 2023, Ive and Starship Entertainment donated 150 million KRW to the Hope Bridge National Disaster Relief Association for emergency relief efforts after the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
In March 2025, Ive donated 200 million KRW to the Hope Bridge National Disaster Relief Association for wildfire relief efforts, including helping with wildfire damages and improve the treatment and awareness of firefighters working at disaster sites.
Ive's music is characterized by a blend of textured electronic instrumentation, catchy melodies, and dynamic beats. Since their debut in late 2021, the group has demonstrated versatility in exploring various genres, including dance-pop, nu-disco, and R&B. Their songs often feature layered synths, house flourishes, and sophisticated production techniques. Their lyrics often explore introspective themes of identity, self-perception, and self-love. Through tracks like "Either Way" and "My Satisfaction," they confront the complexities of personal growth and empowerment. Additionally, they touch upon relatable themes of insecurity and self-discovery.
In terms of style, Ive exudes a chic and sophisticated aura, reminiscent of characters from teen dramas like Cher Horowitz and Blair Waldorf. This "chaebol-crush" image, referencing their "untouchable charm" and elegance, has become synonymous with the group's identity. The group consists of six members which each member brings a "unique vocal style" and personality to the group, contributing to their dynamic sound. Their collective presence symbolizes confidence and self-assurance, reflected in their name, which is a contraction of "I have".
In January 2022, Ive was selected as the most anticipated K-pop artist of the year by 31 of the most popular music agency experts from different entertainment companies. In November 2022, as part of its 18th year of publication, JoyNews24 conducted a survey on 200 entertainment industry officials to determine the "Artist of the Year," for which Ive ranked first on the list. In the same month, Shibuya109 Lab, which is a youth marketing institute run by Shibuya109 Entertainment in Japan, conducted a survey with a report titled "Next Generation K-Pop Idols" for women age 15 to 24 years old. Ive took first place in the list, mentioning the attention for their song, fashion, and pose.
In December 2022, Ive was selected as "Best Singer of the Year" and placed second for "Rookie of the Year" by executives of 33 pop music officials from various entertainment companies. In the same month, Zsouken Research Institute conducted a survey for the second half of 2022 on who are the most popular artists in Japan for Generation Z, in which Ive ranked at number five, the highest act outside Japan, garnering 12.3% of votes among 120,000 participants. Ive was also listed on Forbes Korea Power Celebrity 40 in 2023.
Since the group's debut they have won various awards, including four MAMA Awards, seven Melon Music Awards, five Golden Disc Awards, six Circle Chart Music Awards, two Seoul Music Awards, and MTV Video Music Awards Japan. Ive has won Rookie of the Year, Best Female Group, and Song of the Year on various award shows.
Adapted from Starship Entertainment's website: