The IVE Saga: Growing Into the 'I Have' Promise
IVE debuted with a promise built into their name. Plenty of debut concepts are forgotten by the second single. This one stuck. In the years since, the members have backed it up with lyrics they wrote, two world tours and festival stages far from Seoul.
Act 1: Six members and a promise
Two of the six members had already debuted once. In 2018, Jang Wonyoung and An Yujin, both trainees at Starship Entertainment, competed on Produce 48. Wonyoung finished first and Yujin fifth, which put both in the project group IZ*ONE. IZ*ONE was temporary by design, and it disbanded on April 29, 2021.
Seven months later, the two debuted again, this time with IVE. At the December 1, 2021 showcase for the debut single ELEVEN, Dailian reported that IVE was Starship’s first girl group in five years, a six-member lineup of leader Yujin, Gaeul, Rei, Wonyoung, Liz and Leeseo. Starship billed them as a complete girl group. The name is short for “I have,” and the group’s stated aim was to show what it already has, in its own image and message.
Wonyoung told reporters that each member had a strong personality, and that once people saw all six together they would wonder how members who fit the group so exactly had ended up in the same team. Rei said that rather than following a role model, the goal was to show the most IVE-like version of IVE, and to become a “wannabe icon” for their generation.
Gaeul added that the team was working to live up to the “complete girl group” description, and she wanted people to watch them grow into it. That tension runs through the whole story: a group introduced as complete, whose members were already talking about growing into it on day one.
Act 2: Seven days, then a year that didn’t let up
The first trophy arrived quickly. On December 8, 2021, exactly one week after debut, “ELEVEN” won on Show Champion — their first music show win, and a tearful one. (If the idea of a “music show win” is new to you, our music show explainer covers how those trophies work.)
Then came 2022. “LOVE DIVE,” released on April 5, became their first No. 1 on Korea’s Circle Digital Chart (then called Gaon).
“After LIKE” followed on August 22, with a hook drawing on the melody of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive”. It became IVE’s first perfect all-kill: No. 1 across Korea’s real-time, daily and weekly music charts at once.
Awards season followed. At the 2022 Melon Music Awards on November 26, “LOVE DIVE” won Best Song of the Year — IVE’s first daesang (grand prize), less than a year after their debut. A few days later, it took Song of the Year at the 2022 MAMA Awards as well.
Act 3: Writing the confidence themselves
The first full album, I’ve IVE (April 10, 2023), gave the members more room to write. Sports World reported from its press conference that Yujin wrote the lyrics for “Heroine,” while Wonyoung wrote “Mine” and “Shine With Me,” a song for IVE’s fandom, DIVE. Gaeul and Rei contributed to “Kitsch,” “Hypnosis,” “NOT YOUR GIRL” and “Next Page.” Leeseo, the youngest, said it felt amazing to be releasing a full album under the IVE name.
Introducing the “I AM” music video, Gaeul said its visuals were built on the contrast between rising and falling. The message, she said, was to stay the main character of your own life through all its ups and downs. That’s a more specific kind of confidence than any trophy count.
“Kitsch,” “I AM” and later “Baddie” all became perfect all-kills too.
When IVE EMPATHY arrived in February 2025, after the EPs I’ve MINE and IVE SWITCH, the message itself had widened. In Kakao Entertainment’s account of the release, Wonyoung described a move from self-love toward empathy. “REBEL HEART” emphasizes solidarity among people with different stories, extending the focus from the individual to a shared “us.” “REBEL HEART” also became the group’s fifth perfect all-kill.
Wonyoung contributed to “ATTITUDE,” her first lyric credit on an IVE lead track, and Liz received her first lyric credit on “Thank U.”
Act 4: From the world tour to festival stages
Stage experience grew through the first world tour, SHOW WHAT I HAVE, which began in October 2023 and ran for nearly a year across 28 cities. In the same Kakao Entertainment release, Yujin credited practice and the world tour for their musical and performance growth. Even the tour’s name came straight from the debut promise.
Next came the festival stages. IVE played Lollapalooza Chicago in August 2024. On July 12, 2025, they became the first K-pop girl group to perform at Lollapalooza Berlin, where, according to Kakao Entertainment, the Olympiastadion crowd sang “After LIKE” back to them in Korean during a 55-minute set with a full live band. A later Kakao report confirmed their July 20 Paris performance, a 60-minute live-band set.
IVE’s official channel posted the full Berlin set:
The confidence was there at the debut showcase. The writing, the practice and the touring are what the members built on top of it.
Where they are now
In August 2025 came the fourth EP, IVE SECRET, led by “XOXZ.” On October 31, IVE opened their second world tour, SHOW WHAT I AM, with three shows at Seoul’s KSPO DOME, and all six members premiered solo songs during that first run. The new tour’s name picks up where SHOW WHAT I HAVE left off.
The second full album, REVIVE+, arrived on February 23, 2026 with two title tracks: “BLACKHOLE” and the pre-release single “BANG BANG,” which had come out on February 9. “BANG BANG” became the group’s sixth perfect all-kill.
For another way to join in, our guide to learning K-pop fanchants uses IVE’s official “LOVE DIVE” cheering guide. Find upcoming releases in the comeback calendar.