Every Itzy Music Video, Ranked
A Celebration of Gen Z’s Greatest Girl Band
It’s happening. It’s finally happening.
Itzy are going on tour, they are coming to my town, and no obstacle will prevent me from at last standing in the presence of these five goddesses and ascending into their quirky girl power paradise. I have awaited that moment since I first got into K-pop in the doldrums of the early pandemic, when Itzy’s upbeat anthems shone a beacon of positivity through the gray fog. Their discography was sparse then, but to see Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, and Yuna perform, even on a tiny screen, was to believe. And blessed am I, who by year’s end will have my faith rewarded in person.
In celebration of this announcement and their impending, longest-awaited comeback, let us discuss and arbitrarily compare the varied merits of their music video catalog. I made this list not to spark controversy but as an act of adoration, a vessel by which we might share the good news of Itzy far and wide. Whether you are a hardcore Midzy, a curious newcomer, or a secretly obsessed anti, view this not as a definitive document but a tool for your own reflection upon and further exploration of this singular quintet.
A Note on Methodology
I will be evaluating each video on the following criteria:
- Concept and Storytelling
Whether a plotline in the conventional sense or more of an abstract progression of vibes, every MV needs a strong unifying idea and a satisfying emotional arc. - Production Value and Visual Appeal
A great video should be a feast for the eyes, enhancing the song with color, movement, and imagery. - Styling (Hair, Makeup, Outfits)
How do our girls look? Their fashion should reflect both their own personalities and the overall aesthetic. Creativity can matter as much as appearance! - Iconic Scenes or Elements
Was there a viral gif or screencap? A timestamp that keeps popping up in YouTube comments? A shot, a line, a shoulder-wriggling move that transcended the fandom to become a cultural moment? - Importance to Era and Historical Context
Some MVs mean more to a career than others, whether at the time or in retrospect. When we tell the story of Itzy, what will this chapter say?
Also, keep in mind some things that this is NOT a ranking of:
- NOT Song Quality
The music video is its own distinct art form; my personal track-by-track ratings are quite different. As an aside, this seems like a good time to dispel the alarmingly common misconception that Itzy’s tunes aren’t great in their own right. Yes, performance is an integral (and sensational!) part of what they do, but first and foremost they make MUSIC. Good music. - NOT Choreography
Folks, this is Itzy we’re talking about. The baseline for choreo is at a mind-boggling level. To quote a tweet I think of once a week, “everyone else’s dance breaks look like Itzy’s intros.” (I’d link it but it appears to be gone, another casualty of fanwars.) And while dance performance is an essential part of most MVs, it exists outside them and is best evaluated in the live stages. What will matter here is how the videos capture and showcase the dance. - NOT Fan Appreciation and Public Response
While some level of popular impact is accounted for in the “Iconic Elements” and “Historical Context” criteria, this is my personal quality ranking, not an opinion poll. I don’t care about views or likes, and I’m sure as hell not looking at K-Pop Twitter for guidance. (Until I post this, at which time I will gladly read your unqualified praise.)
Ready? Let’s fly!
14. Midzy
Does this lightly-animated lyric video even count? Am I including it solely to ensure a non-controversial choice for last place overall? The answer to one of those questions is yes.
It’s sweet for what it is, but aside from the song’s significance as their first true ballad and its sentimental value to the fans, there’s not much here.
13. Be in Love
Again, this doesn’t really merit inclusion, but it’s a fantastic tune, one which saw Itzy arriving at a level of emotional depth and maturity ahead of schedule for a group their age. A maturity which they promptly flouted by acting like absolute goofballs in this clip montage.
It’s very obviously “just for the fans,” so whatever. Still, the frivolity of the video belies the power of the song.
12. #Twenty
Yes, this is yet another “special video” rather than an officially promoted MV, but… I mean have you seen them?!?
The stylists for this video should receive a MacArthur Genius Grant. The gals look stunning here. If any one other element were on par with the visuals, this could be top 5. But the rest of it doesn’t really live up to that potential.
11. Wannabe (Japanese Version)
They took the time to make an entirely new video for this release, so it deserves its own spot.
There’s really no unifying concept or story here beyond “Itzy show up looking fly in several vividly appointed locations,” but that’s good enough for me. This gets a few bonus points for allowing a reappraisal of the iconic choreography, as the new settings and angles draw the eye to different elements than those highlighted by the original.
NOTE: This list will not include the Japanese version of “Loco,” since it’s a shot-for-shot remake, nor the English version of “Not Shy,” since it’s an unholy abomination.
10. Nobody Like You
Behold, the undisputed best of the fan-targeted special video projects.
In this case, the goofing around fits perfectly with the track’s playful vibe, but there’s something even greater at work here. Watching this semi-candid footage of five young women at the start of a journey, still learning who they are (individually and as a group) yet living in the moment, you can’t help but feel an earnest anticipation that resonates with the song’s undercurrent of youthful desire. This is Itzy, captured in their element and on the verge of something new and exciting. There’s nobody like them.
9. Dalla Dalla
I know. I know! This seems low. But bear with me.
This is the bop that introduced Itzy to the world, and for that alone it is an iconic piece of media. But beyond those admittedly momentous bona fides, we’re looking at a pretty run-of-the-mill music video. Like… they’re vaguely at an airport? Okay, and it’s colorful? The styling is all over the place, which is forgivable — at this early stage, their team is understandably trying out a range of ideas to see what sticks. Nothing here really transcends to the level of the song itself or the electricity the group brought to its earliest live performances.
Bottom line? We love “Dalla Dalla.” She gave us “MALLIJI MA!” But she also left plenty of room to grow.
8. Voltage
Take a moment to enjoy our only current* documentation of the extremely fun groupwalk choreography in the bridge of this song (which has been cut for time in other recorded performances).
The vivid color palette is working overtime while the women of Itzy… do sassy mugging in front of motorcycles? But I can forgive a barebones MV concept when it’s so visually lush! The second chorus’s fiery resurrection of a shade of green that Crayola discontinued from the Big Box before Yuna was even born** might be the best matching-fit reveal in Itzy’s entire discography. (No wait, I just remembered a better one. Stay tuned.)
*Electricity pun intended.
**Okay, I fact-checked this, and while I was clearly thinking of either Electric Lime or Screamin’ Green, the shade Crayola retired in 2003 was in fact Magic Mint.
7. Break Ice (feat. Second Aunt Kim Davi)
I promise this is the last one-off novelty song on the list! (Maybe.)
I’ve watched enough K-content to recognize Kim Shinyoung as a beloved performer, comedian, host, and DJ; though I only have the most tenuous cultural context for the character she is portraying here, it’s lovely to see Itzy sharing the stage with a respected sunbae. And the girls themselves are RADIANT throughout every single look here, having an absolute blast in this fruit-filled summer funfest that I can best describe as “What if ‘Red Flavor’ had a VFX budget?”
NOTE: Don’t you dare interpret that as a knock on Red Velvet, my adoration for whom is well-established.
6. Icy
I could write a separate thousand-word piece on the nuanced shades of self-love explored in each song of the It’z trilogy, but it’s okay to admit their music videos all have vaguely the same concept. In execution, though, “Icy” is a big step up from its predecessor “Dalla Dalla.”
There is much here that is, frankly, extremely silly. (For a treat, pause to read the speech bubbles when the corporate suits react to free-spirited Ryujin.) But it’s largely effective; the individual scenes offer greater glimpses of personality, and the group shots are positively smokin’. The quick-cut center-swapping sequence in the final post-chorus makes this, as far as I know, the only K-pop MV filmed on a working funicular, and it gets me SO hype.
5. Loco
Kicking off the top five is the title track of Itzy’s most recent comeback, which feels like it was both yesterday and a century ago.
As with “Voltage,” I’m quite partial to the oft-skipped dance sequence (though I favor that cut in this case, as it looks rough on the knee joints); here, the cinematography of that moment is utterly thrilling, bolts of hot-pink lightning illuminating the shallows between perfectly synchronized silhouettes. But the video’s most significant contribution to Itztory is undoubtedly Yeji as the Kitty in Search of an Oasis — a performance that, judging by my Twitter feed at the time, awakened a legion of catgirls who henceforth shall know no rest, only an eternal “SOS for this kitty.”
While I dig the attention-getting billboard and the escalation to a full-on outdoor concert, I don’t feel all the video’s elements support the song thematically as well as they could. And though perhaps I am underrating the significance of “Loco” anchoring Itzy’s first full album Crazy in Love, that milestone felt more meaningful for the identity and range displayed on its deep cuts than anything in this video. After all, is it even the top MV from its own era?
4. Swipe
I sayeth unto you, this barely-promoted B-side video is one of the best things ever made. Please don’t kill my vibe.
Expressly packaged for the smartphone age, Swipe’s TikTok-ready head trip brings a fun-to-watch factor approaching those viral OK Go videos while delivering goods of unimpeachable quality in all four quadrants: make-up, outfits, dance moves, attitude. Camera tricks bounce playfully from one trendsetting look to the next; vehicles appear on command to chauffeur the five coolest people on the planet to the next addictive bit of choreo. It’s sensational.
And yet “Swipe” was relegated to a post-release afterthought, its views a fraction of its sister MV’s and far lower than it deserves. But for me, that only increases its power. Taylor Swift is infamous for almost deliberately refusing to drop the best songs on her albums as singles. Letting one of your best videos languish in semi-obscurity? That’s iconic.
3. Mafia in the Morning
Oh my god. I almost put this at number one. This video rocks.
I don’t actually think this is their objective best MV, but it’s probably my favorite. Every time I watch I remember how the first viewing had me on my feet, heart racing, pumping my fists. It leaps out of the intro with Yuna’s “I’mma steal it” rap, heralding her transition from lovable brat to formidable badass. It barrels through shot after shot of leather-clad power stances, including that endlessly loopable hip-swinging move backed by a wall of flame. And it power-dives into a culminating crown pose so last-second you almost thought they weren’t gonna do it. For three straight minutes, Itzy never lets you rest.
Part of me will always connect this era with the hilariously self-parodic outbreak of Extreme Twitter Brain that responded to the Mafia (the party game!) concept as if Itzy were doing propaganda films for the Cosa Nostra, leading to deadpan threads detailing the atrocities of actual Mafiosi “for any oomfs who may need educated, please RT to spread awareness,” each with a hundred quote tweets all reading “I COOKA DA PIZZA!” Ironically, the MV actually thwarts organized crime by being so good it inspires cold-blooded mobsters to change their ways and seek enlightenment.
While the best content associated with this song will forever be the astonishing 2021 MAMA performance, the video stands on its own. True, narratively, it offers little more than a vehicle for up-close appreciation of their energetic physical performance. But in Itzy’s case, that’s exactly what a music video ought to be.
2. Wannabe
Don’t worry right now about what I put in the number-one spot. Just give “Wannabe” your attention for the moment. She’s earned it.
There is no debate — not even a question, really — that this is Itzy’s signature song. This video is the reason I know they exist, a fact that is also true for literal millions of people. To the women who made it, it represents something now inextricable from their careers, their lives, their legacies. When the last remaining human habitation on this planet is consumed by rising seas or raging fires, someone there will be using the final jolt of juice in their backup generator to watch “Wannabe” one more time.
And for good reason. The step forward from “Dalla Dalla” to “Icy” has become a quantum leap here. The Shoulder Dance™ is an enticing hook, but it’s the mesmerizing group shots that keep us coming back for more. And between the twisty sequences of even twistier choreography, we invest in the personalities and stories of these five performers. As they struggle to express themselves, fearlessly and truthfully, we see them; we know them; we love them.
Which is all the more remarkable when you consider… what exactly are they actually doing in this video? Ryujin is trying the classic Life-Changing Haircut thing, sure. Lia seems to be in some kind of “princess in a tower” situation, having everything but wanting none of it. Yuna I guess doesn’t like having to wear heels on the runway? Yeji is just… vibing in the club??? And then there’s Chaeryeong. I have no idea why she is doing homework in a dry-cleaning factory patrolled by drones, but when she stops to turn to camera and they all crash to the ground, I lose my damn mind every time. None of it makes any sense, and it all works beautifully.
To invoke the name of the most iconic girl group song of all time takes an impressive level of self-assurance. To make something new and entirely their own, yet worthy of that mantle? Breathtaking.
1 ½. Joyful MomenT (Gourmet Chicken Commercial)
Am I joking? Just watch it.
This ad for frozen fried chicken is better than most real songs, a testament to the herculean artistic power of Itzy. While I am unqualified to fully explain the euphemistic meaning of the titular acronym “JMT,” or what it has to do with Taeyeon from Girls’ Generation, I know that every second of this video is a joyful moment indeed. Who among us cannot relate to such profound lyrics as “Yeah yeah yeah Gourmet Chicken yeah Chicken yeah… I like so gimme yeah gimme yeah!” while we round up our friends to enjoy a prepackaged meal fresh from the product-specific oven that only exists in this fake restaurant? I watched this about fifty times before I realized Ryujin is doing a perspective-based fakeout at 1:12. She’s not actually eating the chicken! Just like this whole video, it’s magic.
1. Not Shy
When I drafted my initial ranking, “Not Shy” was several slots lower. Like… well outside the top five. But as I wrote out my long-winded justifications — rewatching each MV several times in the process — I kept second-guessing where I’d placed this one. Every time I got to it, I changed my mind and bumped it up a slot. And… that just kept happening until I realized what had been true all along: “Not Shy” is Itzy’s best music video.
This cowgirl heist features not only the clearest dramatic storyline of any Itzy MV, but also one of the most unified overall concepts. From the opening shot of Lia expertly mimicking her own wanted poster to the red-filtered carjacking, “Not Shy” serves up a full saloon breakfast of Wild West film tropes with extra oats. An outside observer once commented to me that it’s a Quentin Tarantino rip-off, to which I say LOL that’s rich when every one of his movies is admittedly and pointedly an intentional rip-off of decades of cinema and also WHO IS THAT I DON’T CARE. As if Itzy isn’t putting their own spin on these ideas, innovating within the form? When was the last time you saw a Western (or a Tarantino flick) with five women onscreen at the same time?
The video looks gorgeous and cinematic, doing more with less on a rustic outdoor set. The styling is cranked up to eleven, yet still feels grounded and considered. (What do I mean by this? I don’t know. I get my wardrobe at Target.) And remember when I said there was a matching-fit reveal that beats the one in “Voltage”? I can still feel the reverberations from when those blue-and-white glitter jumpsuits left me shaking on the first watch.
After the exponential growth of “Wannabe,” you could be forgiven for spinning the “Not Shy” era as a letdown. YouTube views and other stats plateaued; the fandom felt like it might be stagnating. The genre-heavy MV signaled a change in aesthetic. Itzy had abandoned their message of self-love for boring old interpersonal attraction, you might argue, and with it what made them special.
But oh, what a great injustice that would be! “Not Shy” gave us so much to celebrate. Chaeryeong’s iconic “ITZAAAY,” for starters. The “wouldn’t last a day in Itzy” meme. Yeji’s real on-camera driving, which established a Tom Cruise–like commitment to doing their own stunts that continues to inform their endlessly inventive live stages. By the end-of-year song festivals, the song had two completely different performances with new arrangements and choreography. And not just a couple of tacked-on transitions — they swapped out whole choruses worth of moves! Each iteration of “Not Shy” reaffirmed Itzy’s penchant for reinvention and reimagination.
And isn’t that, after all, Itzy’s core ethos? To show us new angles, new colors, new modes of expression? “All in us,” goes their motto; they contain multitudes. Not Shy’s pivot away from their previous themes wasn’t abandonment, but expansion — it showed that they could do something different, yet still unmistakably Itzy. If anything, this change of perspective only solidified their identity. Who else could make a crush confession song so cheeky and self-assured? They took a well-known concept and made it theirs, like a highway robbery that ends in snacks.
And though “Wannabe” will always be Itzy’s calling card, “Not Shy” might quietly be their most important milestone. The former grew their audience around the world, but the latter crystallized their place in it. For me, and for so many who came to the fandom post-“Wannabe,” it was the first comeback we experienced together. The shared moments of that era bonded us in ways real and imagined to each other and to these five intrepid women. You can quibble with my assessment; that’s fine. If there was ever a song about which to speak my mind and not conceal my true feelings, it’s this.
Agree? Disagree? Like what you read? Hate it? Get at me in the comments or on Twitter.
