Ushering in your debut with a self-titled track has become a bit trendy these days, with Izna the latest to cement their status this way. The group was formed on season two of I-LAND — the same series that created ENHYPEN in 2020. That’s where the similarities end, as Izna are under the production hand of Teddy Park, the veteran creator responsible for so many well-known hits for acts like 2NE1 and BLACKPINK. His pen has been less reliable of late, but he certainly knows his way around a catchy hook.
Rather than hit us right out of the gate with a brash banger, IZNA sends the group back a few years, favoring the kind of DJ Mustard style beat that was popular in the late 2010’s. This style of production can be fun, but the song needs more oomph behind it. The instrumental remains strangely laidback throughout, and without compelling melodies it tends to fizzle more than it flourishes.
IZNA‘s chorus feels very familiar and this serves the track well. It pulses with nostalgia. The problem is, the song never goes beyond this nostalgia. At the same time, nothing about it matches the success of the sounds it’s referencing. We end up in a weird middle-ground with a song that feels underdeveloped. I hear hints of potential here and there, but the whole thing is too flat to take advantage of its strengths. Whatever happened to debuting with your strongest musical punch? This is more like a gentle tap.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 7.75 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Meh, the song’s too flat for me. The chorus also bores me a lot, just wish there was more than just “oh na na na”
7.25 (7, 7, 8, 7) for me.
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Ugh… you know, keeping up with K-Pop girl groups (especially coming from YG) has been difficult lately 😒
I had heard this song from the preview and sincerely… this chorus is so boring. The chorus is literally Now United – Na Na Na 2.0
If we remove the gender influences from the song ‘Na Na Na’ by Now United and make a Remix with the chorus of the song over this track it will basically be the same thing
Rating: 7 (7, 7, 7, 7)
I also heard the song ‘Body’ by MEOVV, and, wow… that song makes me angry
I like to call these groups like MEOVV, VCHA, Katseye the ‘2nd Version of Now United’. I still don’t understand how Western pop touched the East so much that most of the songs are in English
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I just can’t with this, it’s so bad. Teddy should retire already and let VVN handle everything. she was the main producer for IWALY and FAKE IT, and those are both miles better than whatever this was.
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Thanks for the additional context! Both IWALY and Fake It were my clear favorites when listening to the EP, the rest was pretty dull. Now it makes a lot of sense.
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thanks for rating this song and i agree with you. try listening to their second title track timebomb! it excels in production and it gradually grows more intense until it ends.
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thanks for rating this song and i agree with you. try listening to their second title track timebomb! it excels in production and it gradually grows more intense until it ends.
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This is so bad that i thought Kep1er “Tipi-Tap” is a good song
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Tragic. This teddy guy is really getting on my nerves. Why does he seemingly only make outdated and uninspired music? Idk what he made for 2ne1 or blackpink, but I can’t imagine it was much better than any of the other slop he puts out.
I’m just getting irritated with these formulaic 2 minute songs. I might just stop streaming any title track that is less than 3 minutes… music is going to keep getting worse if we keep putting up with this.
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His work with 2NE1 was super strong imo, and I also liked the early BP tracks but he fell off after and just hasn’t delivered for me since.
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I have an allergy to finger snaps for beats, so this is a hell no for me.
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i feel like this song doesn’t suit izna. they don’t have the vocal or performance swag/charisma to carry a song like this. you can sing this song, sure, but you need the attitude of YG, gidle’s soyeon, or kiss of life’s julie to completely pull it off. the verses sounded interesting but the chorus is so lackluster. there are greater examples of this genre of music – natty’s sugarcoat, karina’s up, zendaya’s something new, even pristin v’s get it. idk why they went for suck a laidback debut track – it just needed a bit more upbeat OOMPH.
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the best
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Ok I think I have the impopular opinion here but I lowkey think this is a banger? Might be the throwback feeling, the R&B-influenced beats from the late 2010s, but I found this sooooo catchy lol.
I’ve never been a fan of how formulaic and predictable Teddy’s production style has become, especially for BLACKPINK’s singles run. This time, I think the song just clicked for me and I don’t know why. It’s nothing out of the oridinary, I guess it’s maybe nostalgia doing its job.
The chorus could definitely use a bit more work with the lyrics, but I guess you can overlook it because the beats really do slap in that part.
An 8 to me
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Cant help but feel a little sabotage-y from Teddy with picking this as a title track when all the tracks from the album better represents izna and sounds better. The girls did their best to perform this song, but when you know their potential with singing and dancing from their other songs, its easy to feel how lacking this song is.
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Why do Izna exist if they cut-copy of Meovv? Just why?
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Oh yeah, I feel that 2010s nostalgia. Apart from that this goes in one ear an out the other.
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I expected something underwhelming and Teddy did not disappoint. Maybe they should understand he hit his peak with BP and look for external producers. Hmm!
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I watched all of i land 2 knowing in the back of my mind that teddy was gonna be the driving force behind the debut group. All that taken into account, I can at least say that I wasn’t disappointed in the way I thought I would be (I thought we’d get a sheesh-like track). Debuts don’t have to be perfect but they sound get you excited for the group. I fell off enhyphen for the most part because there were so many tracks I couldn’t get behind. Izna the song just isn’t satisfying and I worry eventually I’ll feel the same way about the group
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Jesus, all 5.
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Inoffensive like a simple plain white t-shirt.
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