thoughts on itzy’s “checkmate” now that it’s out???

[kimdoyeonmybias]

hi!!

so i heard a lot of negative opinions about itzy’s latest comeback before it even dropped. some people even said they hoped the title was a joke. tbh once i stan a group, i hardly ever unstan. as is the case with itzy. so despite all the negative attention, i was excited. and sure sneakers isn’t my favorite title track, but that doesn’t mean i dislike it. in fact i thought it was a lot of fun. but you know what was even more fun?? the b-sides. i was so, SO pleasantly surprised with the b-sides. some of my favorite itzy tracks ever, hands down. especially racer. totally exceeded my expectations.

so as always, have a wonderful week, and stan itzy.

and stream checkmate!!!

 

[LostInTheDream]

I am in LOVE with the Checkmate album!!
Sneakers isn't a typical ITZY song but it still has their vibe. I think it might just surpass in the morning and become my favorite title track. I just love how they've been incorporating vocals more rather than chanting. The prechorus in Sneakers is heavenly!!
Also Domino is such a beautiful song and my favorite bside on the album.
Free Fall is so cute and campy with the 'wee free fall' in the chorus.
Racer is a bad ***** and you can't hurt her.
What I Want could be an alternate title track and I hope they promote it.
365 is the perfect amount of experimentalism and I love the beat in the back.
In conclusion I love everything about this album.
It's one of the few albums that I downloaded every song.
It even motivated me to go back and listen to other Itzy bsides.
But yeah with the promo material, I was expecting to be disappointed but hot damn am I impressed.
Maybe I need to have super low expectations like this, cause whenever I get hyped for a comeback I am not as satisfied.
Itzy is challenging Everglow to become my favorite 4th gen gg.

 

[yunaing]

I’ve shared a lot of negativity about Checkmate so here. Instead of only saying things I don’t like I’ll share exact things I like and dislike.

Some things I loved:
The styling was incredible and everyone who was saying the styling didn’t match I don’t think they were paying attention to the meaning of Sneakers.
Speaking of which the meaning was nice. They went back to their self love concept which is nice though I do know some people are tired of it.
The dance is great ofc when do ITZY have bad choreographies. I love watching the Sneakers challenge on Instagram coz the dance is just so fun.
Domino was a pretty song. Though not on the same level as their other slower songs in my personal opinion it was a nice song and I added it to a playlist.

Some things I didn’t like:
The music. I know that’s very harsh but it’s also the most important part. Instrumentals are a fundamental part of me enjoying songs and a lot of the bsides mainly had instrumentals I didn’t enjoy.
The lyrics. Obviously I don’t speak Korean but a lot of the English lyrics in the songs made me cringe and it really put me off them. For example I just hate the word “Sneakers” in general so we were already off to a bad start (wasn’t going to let it determine my entire view of the song). I also hated the “weeee” in Free Falling. The lyrics were also the only thing that put me off Rac3r but I am considering adding it back coz tbh I think I overreacted with Rac3r a little bit.
The vocals. Ahhhh this one hurts me so much coz I love the members of ITZY and don’t want to insult them like this. I just think that some of the members were given parts that did not suit their voices at all. I’m so sick of songs being given to groups that just don’t suit their voices. Maybe this is a subjective thing and others will disagree but there’s just so many times something like this happens and I’m like “why is she singing this part her voice clearly isn’t ready for it”

So what’s my overall opinion? Now I’ve gotten over my initial disappointment I hope I can share a more constructive opinion.
I don’t like this album. Compared to their others such as Not Shy, Crazy in Love and Guess Who (which is my all time favourite kpop album), I just don’t understand why this one was such a miss. It felt like every song was missing something and ofc they weren’t rushed but all of them felt not completed.
But as for the era as a whole I think it’s a good one. If I strip away my grievances with the songs in particular, the stages and promotions will be fun and so I think the group will have an amazing time promoting it. At the end of the day, while I do care about being honest with my opinions, I do also just want ITZY to be happy, and so if I don’t like this song, all I have to do is not listen. There’s no need to spread hate

 

[QueenWinter]

I really loved Sneakers although thats an unpopular opinion

 

[I see that Im icy]

I am in the center I guess. But in a nutshell...

I loved Domino. Yes I know, not their best bside bla bla blah, but this is the song that gave me a better image of the album.

I liked(?) Sneakers. Tbh I don't wanna convince myself I like it when I don't, so I'm gonna try to be less radical and judge it in a technical scale. The prechorus was promising (if I only didn't watch the teasers) but it really falls off in the chorus. It doesn't fit with the rest of the music, and at least for me, it sounds annoying compared to the rest of the song. Definietly not in my playlist but not as terrible as I expected.

And for the rest I don't really know what to say, maybe Racer stood out a little bit? Not my fav ITZY album, but really hope the girls can enjoy their career now.

 

[sanasideup]

-rac3r is fkn fantastic. the amount of attitude is sheer perfection
-domino is absolutely gorgeous. it reminds me of a more hopeful version of blackpink's lovesick girls, of which i am a big fan
-365 is odd, but i like it
-free fall is good and fun. the "weeee"s in the chrous are so funny, i love it
-what i want is amazing, it's the perfect mix of cool and sweet

as you can see, i enjoy all the bsides (free fall and domino are my favorites), but sneakers...is a different story. i don't dislike it, but i dont exactly like it either. i love love love the prechorus, and it's certainly catchy overall. i also rly like the dance for the chorus. chaeryeong's first scene in the mv reminded me of wannabe, and while i adore wannabe, i didn't rly like that this mv had what felt like copy-paste parts. i think it'll take a few listens for me to decide abt sneakers. but overall, i rly like the album and i was pleasantly surprised to find that i felt the mv matched the song

 

[jayhvrs]

I loved it but i believe that itzy has released better albums, I MEAN DONT GET ME WRONG THAT ALBUM SLAYS