Time Stamp: July 1, 2021
This one kind of randomly popped into my head one day while listening to music so...here we go I guess!
Itzy will not be overworked like Twice
Now I wanna make this clear that this is NOT a comparison between both groups, but simply a statement that Itzy will not be overworked like their senior group Twice. As Itzy has grow in popularity and made a name for themselves, I've seen comments countless of times on YouTube (through different community posts and comment sections) people commenting that Itzy will be overworked just like Twice. Quite frankly, I disagree and let me tell you all why.
I do agree 110% that JYP is known for overworking their idols (I mean all companies do but JYP gets mentioned A TON when talking about overworking idols), and by all means have overworked Twice so much that I really wonder how the girls do it. I could never if I'm being honest. I always think it would be so cool to be in a Kpop group, but then I think about being overworked and having basic human rights stripped from me (like what happens to idols) and it quickly snaps me back into reality. Twice has been around for about 7 years now (this includes 2015, 2016, 2017, etc.; technically not 7 yet as they haven't passed their debut date yet this year), and the amount of stuff they have put out in that amount of time is insane. Now I will agree that of course they will have a lot for being around for almost 7 years, but then I think about other older groups and think that the amount of stuff Twice has released is literally as much as a group that's been around for 10 or more years.
I applaud the girls for being able to put out that much stuff and I truly appreciate it (because they're one of my ult ggs), but I seriously think they deserve the BIGGEST break of the century because they're constantly releasing and doing stuff. For example, they just had their Korean comeback called "Taste of Love" (this is the album name. We all know the title is "Alcohol Free") but literally not even a month later, they also release a Japanese comeback called "Perfect World" which is another full album with 10 tracks. To add onto the comebacks, they also heavily promote doing multiple stages (and yes I know all groups do this to promote their new song and album), but they also release other vlogs and do their series "Time to Twice" once their done comeback season. So in conclusion, they're always working and never stopping. Now moving on to the actual opinion, despite JYP treating Twice like this, I don't see Itzy ending up the same way.
I think Itzy will not be overworked because not only does their music release so far show that they're not putting out as much as quickly as Twice did when they debuted, but also because of complaints. The Fandom/fans/the public complaints are always something a company should take into accountability (even though they mostly don't; some do) when managing a group and while I don't think JYP does that most of the time, I think they're slowly realizing that they cannot do these in humane things to their idols and get away with it as easily as before. Kpop has grown and changed a lot over the years, and a huge reason is because of the attention it has attracted globally. Many people were not interested in Kpop before but as soon as big names got themselves out there, fans and publicity started to grow and attract the attention of thousands of people now making Kpop a global sensation. People are becoming more away of the treatment and what goes on behind the scenes, and demanding company accountability when situations get too crazy (and rightfully so. I mean you can't change everything, but your voice does matter so make sure to say something and stick up for things that aren't right). Now again, while I don't think JYP is gonna change their mind any time quickly, I do applaud them for letting Twice members take time off for mental health, and for seemingly not overworking Itzy like Twice.
I say Itzy is not getting overworked because when I look and compare music releases of those of Itzy to those of Twice, I see a more relaxed and gradual music release and not constant back-to-back releases like Twice (also sorry I keep comparing to Twice. Twice is just the only active senior girl group in JYP right now and because they are a girl group, they make a better comparison to Itzy. No hate to boy groups though, I love them just the same). When Twice debuted, they released "Like Ooh Ahh" followed by "Cheer Up", and the rest of their releases followed as well as making Japanese debuts and comebacks in between therefore, making Twice super overworked and always in a state of promotion (they have kind of chilled back a bit, but I still feel like they're always releasing something). When looking at Itzy however, they debuted with "Dalla Dalla" then followed by "Icy" in the same year, and didn't come back till the next year in which they had 2 comebacks again and went silent yet again until this year when they dropped "In the Morning". I feel like Itzy, although still promoting and releasing content for fans (because fan content matters so much more now than before. Not to say it didn't before, but I feel like it's more demanded and expected now than back then because there's a ton more interactions with fans now, so companies need to make sure idols are consistently in contact with fans), they have a steady release pattern of both music and content that makes them seem (at least to me), not as overworked as Twice. Maybe that's just me, but I don't think they're as overworked due to a more chill and laid back release of content and music as compared to Twice who rapidly released stuff for so long before, I feel like they're actually getting somewhat of a break these days (not now of course but that's because they just came back).
Anyway, due to these reasons, that is why I say Itzy will not be overworked like Twice. It seems like JYP is kinda realizing you don't need to consistently keep promoting and releasing 20 millions things in order for fans to stay engaged with the artists, and instead can release maybe a YouTube video every so often and use Vlive and other social media to stay in contact with the fans. I think Itzy will continue to stay very successful and is definitely one of the major leaders for the 4th generation of Kpop, but I do not see them being overworked like their seniors, Twice. I hope you all will continue to support both Itzy and Twice on their journeys as they continue to stay active in the industry, and I can't wait to see you all in the next one!
