Starship’s new girl group IVE makes most-awaited debut with ‘Eleven’

Starship Entertainment’s new girl group IVE is confident they can stand out in the cutthroat K-pop industry.

An abbreviation of the phrase “I Have,” IVE is Starship’s first girl group in five years after WJSN. The group is composed of six members, namely former IZ*ONE’s An Yujin and Jang Wonyoung, along with Gaeul, Rei, Liz, and Leeseo. 

The pop EDM-inspired track Eleven is the debut title track of IVE. The music video, which showed off the group’s visuals and intricate choreography, and single album were released on Wednesday, Dec. 1. 

“Something that blooms inside of me, blue / The emotions I’m feeling right now are true / The unfamiliar name that tickled my lips / I didn’t know my heart was so colorful,” Wonyoung and Rei sang in the song’s verse.

Prior to their debut, the group introduced themselves through the bright and fashionable video Have What We Want. It featured keywords like “You,” “Victory,” “Goal,” and other noteworthy keywords flashed across the screen. 

In IVE’s debut showcase, members Wonyoung and Gaeul revealed that their group name was chosen after an internal competition in their entertainment agency, noting that it’s also partly inspired by soccer.

“Best of the best players in soccer are usually categorized as ‘Best 11,’ and the same idea applies to our group. IVE is a group with the best members, so we made our debut as a sextet. And we will keep on expanding our trendy tunes and stage performance to cement our presence in the music scene,” Gaeul added.

Even if IVE’s debut comes at a time where the K-pop industry is more competitive, the group revealed that they want to expand their global presence in the future. 

“Our first goal is to let a lot of people know about us… And in the future, just like other K-pop acts that have been raising their profiles worldwide, we also want to expand our presence globally,” Liz said.