On April 30, ILLIT returned with their fourth mini album, “Mamihlapinatapai,” and its lead single, “It’s Me.” Gone was the dreamy, girlish fantasy world that had defined the group since their debut single, “Magnetic.” In its place came a cold, mechanical wave of techno. In their immediate reactions, people weren’t really sure what to make of it. But six weeks on, after the group was finished promoting the new material, they were picking up No. 1 trophies on music shows one after another. That lag says a lot about ILLIT’s 2026 so far, and hints at what happened in that time. What kind of legacy have they left behind for those six-ish months?
“It’s Me” survived and thrived by way of an unexpected route. The ad-libbed reactions to the song of host BOOM on the tvN variety show “Amazing Saturday” spun off into a meme that spread like lightning, and that in turn grew into a dance challenge. “It’s Me” also proved to have cross-generational appeal, with a particularly popular trend being to mash up the choreography with the Lee Jung Hyun song “Wa” (“Come On”). Every reaction the public had to the song, in other words, ended up fueling its success. It’s an interesting case—give listeners an unexpected genre and sound, along with some way to connect with it, and the song spreads as a meme until it gives off a charm all its own.
Signs of that change had already surfaced by November with the release of “NOT CUTE ANYMORE,” a declaration by the group that they wouldn’t be boxed in by the image people already had of them, with a metaphorical headstone reading “cute is dead.” That wasn’t a rejection of where they’d started out as a group but a way to lay out their intention to show the more nuanced personalities hiding behind their public image, as well as a bridge to the adventures still ahead. It’s also what allowed them to point to “It’s Me” as proof that their “range has grown by leaps and bounds.”
Amid the push to expand the group’s own musical language, their achievements during this period also included the individual charms of each member of the group coming into sharper focus. YUNAH, for instance, found the perfect fit for herself in the concept for “It’s Me,” coming on strong with her feelings over an equally intense beat. Onstage, she held down the center of the performance with real command, and it showed in the high number of views of her solo fancam videos.
WONHEE, meanwhile, brought a distinctive, playful energy to the group. She’s struck a chord with viewers thanks to the face she’s presented on variety shows—outwardly gentle, but relentlessly driven once she’s locked onto something with crazy eyes. That TV persona lines up neatly with the playful aggression baked into the “It’s Me” hook, “Who’s your bias? I’m your bias!” She poses the question and answers it herself in the same breath, pushing past simple directness about romantic interest to borrow the language of fandom culture. She’s effectively saying it’s a foregone conclusion that you’re going to like her—a winking revelation with multiple meanings. Building off her public image, her reality show persona played off the group’s larger musical direction to great effect, and people came to see ILLIT as a whole in a more three-dimensional way. Both cases are best described as moments where growing as a group and growing as individuals moved in step with each other.
The momentum carried into the joint single “ICONIC BY MISTAKE,” a collaboration with LE SSERAFIM and KATSEYE. It’s one thing to get some group members together and make a subunit, but it’s not every day you get an all-out supergroup with everyone from three different girl groups banding together. Just prior to the single coming out, they’d been putting their own distinct musical perspectives on display for their respective promotions, identities too varied to lump together under a single genre like techno. So what happens when all of that comes together into one sweeping song? Rather than smoothing those differences into harmony, “ICONIC BY MISTAKE” answers that question by leaning into bold momentum instead.
“ICONIC BY MISTAKE” pulses with rough, unpredictable hyperpop, rather than a polished sound. It even takes criticism aimed at the artists and turns it into fuel for taking flight (“Thank you for the comments, it’s because of all your hate / I am iconic by mistake”). Both the sound and the attitude behind it go well beyond what’s typically expected of a K-pop girl group. In bringing that to life visually, ILLIT proved just how far to the bleeding edge their concept could be pushed. In a music video bolder than anything in ILLIT’s usual offerings, they found a way to twist their well-established images into something bordering on grotesque horror. When they’re onscreen, ILLIT reworks the dentist’s office, gold tooth imagery from their “Cherish (My Love)” music video before handing things off to KATSEYE. In an exciting act of rebellion, ILLIT twists their usually cheerful vibe into something darker and stranger. Even in the middle of all that loud, careening chaos, the group never drops the smile, which speaks to how much the attitude they explored with “It’s Me” has become a part of who they are. In other words, they were fully prepared to dive into “ICONIC BY MISTAKE” when the time came. All three groups work with the same theme in the song—ILLIT connects to it through the narrative already running through their personal discography.
As a result, “ICONIC BY MISTAKE” turned out to be more than just a one-off collaborative event. The song became a real commercial success on the global pop stage. For ILLIT, it was a nice follow-up to the record they’d already set with their debut single, “Magnetic,” for the fastest debut single by a K-pop act to hit the “Billboard” Hot 100. Now, with an experimental track that sounds nothing like that first hit, they’d landed back near the top of the chart, cementing their standing as an internationally renowned act. What “NOT CUTE ANYMORE” set in motion and “It’s Me” carried forward dramatically expanded the group’s scope.
For ILLIT, the first half of the year—from “It’s Me” through “ICONIC BY MISTAKE”—doesn’t come down to trophies but to the attitude radiating from the stage. Anyone who’s seen them perform live would agree. The way they shout “it’s me!” might not immediately stand out on the studio recording, but it hits hard live. Then there’s the sheer energy it takes to push through dance moves that have them cutting through the air on every beat, knee pads and all, and the composure to keep a sly expression going through all of it. If you had to sum up all of that in one word, it would have to be “spirit.”
ILLIT’s spirit runs against the grain of the virtues K-content has trained audiences to expect. The familiar formula tends to follow a drama heroine who overcomes adversity and insufficiency to be triumphant in the end. But rather than come out and meet the public with some kind of solemn determination, ILLIT has steadily disarmed a growing fanbase with unshakable self-assurance and their own brand of playfulness and cheeky turns. “It’s Me” and “ICONIC BY MISTAKE” are the turning points that cemented that disposition as the group’s new approach. They’ve now proven they can explore cuteness and aggression, fantasy and the iconic phrase “if you don’t come out, I’ll come barging in,” magical girl hand-waving and techno beats, all within the same body of work. What ILLIT has actually gained isn’t range for its own sake. The greatest achievement the group can claim over the past six months is the confidence that whatever they try next will work onstage.