ITZY Fans Have Mixed Feelings About The Group’s Upcoming Title Track “SNEAKERS”
With ITZY‘s comeback right around the corner, fans are more excited than ever for a new concept and new music from the girl group. But for some, the title track is not shaping up to be what they expected.
As part of their comeback for CHECKMATE, ITZY dropped a series of photos and two different concept films to tease the mini-album. The girls looked classy and mature.
In the second set, they even went with a royal concept and excited fans with the elegant looks they wore.
So when the tracklist and poster were dropped, fans were a bit confused by the drastic difference. The title is called “SNEAKERS,” and the poster aligns with an early 2000s aesthetic, a drastic switch up from the album concept.
Fans were bewildered by the contrast.
welcome to checkmate era #ITZY @ITZYofficial pic.twitter.com/Bel5GwTqsn
— zari ≷ (@liascent) July 1, 2022
itzy's checkmate in a nutshell pic.twitter.com/A4H4AkBX7j
— NOLO ♟ (@wonderitzy) July 2, 2022
ITZY even dropped a sneak peek of “SNEAKERS, as per the promotion scheduler, with the members acting cute for the camera.
@itzyofficial READY Get Set, GO!🏃♀️ #putmySNEAKERSon with ITZY✨#ITZY #있지 #ITZY_CHECKMATE #ITZY_SNEAKERS #SNEAKERS #SongOfTheSummer
Though the snippet of the song threw some fans off.
While the title track isn’t what fans initially expected, they have theories.
One, it might not mean anything. When you look at the promotion scheduler, the sections for “album teaser” and “title track” are separate, suggesting that these two concepts don’t necessarily need to be the same.
Others noted that at the bottom of the scheduler, there appears a result section with boxes next to “ITZY won” and MIDZY won,” tying into the chess theme. Some fans have connected the idea of winning to a theory about how they think the new concept could be a prank.
AND NOW THERE'S A CONSPIRACY THEORY THAT THERE WILL BE A HIDDEN TITLE TRACK?? MIDZYVILLE IS GOING CRAZY RN, WHATEVER YALL R DOING ITS WORKING @ITZYofficial
— vesta ≷ ♛SIMP4CHECKMATE♛ ≷ (@simping4itzy) July 2, 2022
On the other hand, the idea of being fooled by ITZY could mean that fans weren’t expecting a title track like “SNEAKERS” from the album concept, thus the “checkmate.”
It could also tie into the theme of the song. Many fans hope it won’t go in the “I’m not like other girls” direction. Still, it’s not far-fetched to assume that ITZY might be continuing the narrative set in their debut song, “Dalla Dalla,” which focuses on being yourself and not being forced into societal expectations.
My theory for #ITZY tying in the royal concept & sneakers is that it builds off the Dalla Dalla/Wannabe theme of going against societal expectations foisted upon women to be a certain way, but mixed with a dash of 90s pop punk. A thread: pic.twitter.com/t6bR501BKW
— Book ◡̈ ≷🌸 (@SoundlessBook) July 1, 2022
Regardless, fans are excited and hopeful for the upcoming title track and album. Though it doesn’t seem like what many were expecting, some are referring to it as “ICY” 2.0; a fun summer song. ITZY won’t disappoint!
