ITZY's Motto comeback in May 2026 marks a pivotal chapter for one of K-pop's most physically dynamic girl groups. The 12th mini album, dropping May 18 at 6 p.m. KST, is built around a radical premise: five members, five solo tracks, five distinct artistic identities — all folded into a single cohesive eight-track project with a surrealist circus aesthetic that ranks as the most ambitious visual concept of their career.
EIGHT TRACKS, FIVE VOICES: INSIDE THE MOTTO TRACKLIST
The album's architecture is deliberately theatrical. Title track 'Motto' anchors the project alongside group track 'Glitch,' the introspective 'you And I,' and five solo cuts — 'Pocket' by Yeji, 'Asylum' by Lia, 'LOOK' by Ryujin, 'Undefined' by Chaeryeong, and 'Tangerine' by Yuna. The solo tracks debuted live during ITZY's third world tour TUNNEL VISION in late 2025, making their studio versions a long-awaited gift for MIDZY.
Each solo track was designed to capture a different dimension of its artist. Ryujin's 'LOOK' leans into commanding self-possession; Yuna's 'Tangerine' floats into a delicate citric pop space. Chaeryeong's 'Undefined' explores ambiguity and growth — a fitting subject for one of the group's most expressive dancers. Taken together, they form a collective portrait of five women who have spent seven years refining what it means to be unmistakably themselves.
THE SURREALIST CIRCUS CONCEPT BEHIND ITZY'S MOTTO COMEBACK
Director Léa Esmaili — known for embedding narrative into composition and art direction rather than spectacle — crafted the visual world for Motto. The trailer opens on a bumblebee atop a ladder and a limousine suspended at a tilt in midair. Ryujin reclines inside the floating car; Yeji, Lia, Chaeryeong, and Yuna are perched precariously on hoops, balls, a horse, and a fire hydrant — each isolated in a surreal tableau before all five descend a single ladder to converge. It is circus logic married to editorial precision.
Esmaili's direction treats each member as a distinct visual subject rather than a unit piece, a decision that reinforces the album's central argument: that ITZY's power now comes equally from collective synergy and individual voice. The concept echoes a broader creative confidence the group has been building since their Cheshire era, and Motto feels like the clearest articulation of that evolution yet.
WHAT ITZY'S 5-IN-5 SOLO STRUCTURE REVEALS ABOUT 4TH-GEN K-POP IN 2026
The five-solos-per-album structure is not simply fan service — it is a strategic marker. In 2026, fourth-generation girl groups are increasingly expected to demonstrate individual range alongside group identity. ITZY, who debuted in 2019 with the breakout 'Dalla Dalla,' have now reached a stage where the question is not whether they can carry solo material, but how distinctly each member commands their own creative space.
On May 22, the physical edition arrives in North America and ITZY will release remixes for the title track 'Motto' at 1 p.m. KST — extending the comeback window beyond the initial drop and giving international fans additional entry points. The US physical release, a first-week physical push, underlines how thoroughly ITZY have grown into a genuinely global act since TUNNEL VISION's arena run.
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