6 Things You May Not Have Noticed “Monster Rookies” ITZY & TXT Have In Common

They have a lot more in common than their number of members.

Without a doubt, TXT and ITZY were two of 2019’s standout rookie groups. Reigning in everything from awards to streams, there’s no doubt they could both be crowned “Monster Rookies”. But they actually have more in common than just that title. Here are 5 similarities you may have never noticed.

1. Their debut dates

The first and most obvious similarity the two groups share is their debut dates. ITZY debuted on February 12 2019 with the It’z Different single album.

Then, TXT debuted less than a month later, releasing their debut mini-album, The Dream Chapter: Star on March 4 2019.

2. Their song themes

Another early similarity that arose between TXT and ITZY was the theme of their debut songs. With ITZY’s “Dalla Dalla”, dalla is the Korean word for “different”, inspiring the song’s focus on being unique.

Don’t measure me by your standards alone
I love being myself, I’m nobody else
I’m different

— “Dalla Dalla” by ITZY (translated)

As for TXT’s “Crown”, the song’s name in Korean translates to “The Day Horns Grew Out Of My Head”. Both the lyrics and the music video center on a boy who decides to see the horns growing out of his head as a crown.

There’s a horn rising up on my head
But I love it
You become my crown

— Crown by TXT (translated)

Both songs tackle the same themes—being proud of being different in spite of all the criticism.

3. Their crown symbolism

On the subject of their debut songs, note the English title of TXT’s “Crown”.

At the end of ITZY’s choreographies for all their title tracks so far—“Dalla Dalla”, “Icy”, and “Wannabe”—the members always end by placing their hands on their heads in the shape of a crown.

4. Their difference from their seniors

Given that TXT and ITZY are both following in the footsteps of their wildly successful senior groups—BTS and TWICE respectively—some suspected they’d debut with a similar sound to mimic the success.

Instead, both groups have completely opposite sounds and concepts to their seniors. While TWICE’s concept is cute, ITZY’s is girl crush with louder, edgier music.

Similarly, while BTS has a hip-hop sound with darker themes, so far TXT’s sound is upbeat and innocent.

5. Their fashion style

Usually, boy groups and girl groups have very different fashion styles. But when it comes to ITZY and TXT, the clothes they wear are sometimes almost identical.

Back on November 25 2019, both groups wore such similar outfits, it almost looked planned in advance. Lia and Beomgyu, for example, both wore camel-colored coats.

Yuna and Yeonjun both wore edgy leather jackets.

And Chaeryeong and Soobin both wore all-black with long coats.

6. Their success

And the final similarity, which you may have already noticed, is the huge success both groups share.

In January 2020, both ITZY and TXT earned the honorary “Grand Slam Rookies” title, which is given to rookie groups who score “Rookie of the Year” prizes from the 5 major awards shows in Korea: the MelOn Music Awards (MMA), Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA), Golden Disk Awards (GDA), Seoul Music Awards (SMA), and the GAON Chart Music Awards.