*adds to favorite albums of 2025 list* I enjoyed this waaay more than I expected. ITZY has been very hit or miss with me and their music. I have 9 songs of theirs saved on Spotify (as of writing) and most of those songs are from 2022 onwards. So for me at least, the further they’ve gotten career wise, the more I’ve liked their music.
So with that track record, I guess it would make sense then that I would like Yeji’s solo music, despite not really having a feel for her outside the small number of ITZY songs I do listen to semi regularly. She is my favorite member of the group. But I’m a very casual fan. I was mostly excited about her solo album as a way to get to know more about her as a musician.
Air is an EP (mini album), very short, with four songs. The run time is barely 13 minutes. But what was showcased here is wonderful. I love the house, synth, dance vibes going on throughout the album. I have 3/4 songs saved, including the English version of “Air”, the title track. I’m not sure why the English version wasn’t included on the same album, but it slaps.
Here’s the breakdown of everyone credited on Air. Yeji has credits on “Air”, the only song on the album she’d mentioned. And I know there’s been some discourse from MIDZY, the fandom name, about JYPE not really giving the girls the opportunity to have more lyrical, musical, input in the creative process of their music. I’m hoping the success of Air will prove that this is the natural progression of ITZY as musicians. J.Y. Park, of course, is also credited on “Air” under lyrics along with Yeji, but that’s the only song he’s on. I found that interesting.
Danke, and Ryan Jhun, two of my favorite names to see on any Kpop songs, worked on my favorite b-sides on Air, we’ll get to those songs in a bit. But another fave of mine, lalala studio (3!) is also credited for the lyrics for “Air”.
But visually and musically, “Air” is great. Simple but effective. I love the visuals for Air so much. This futuristic, high fashion concept is wonderful. I love the feather outfit in the album cover.
Here are more images from Air. I’m not sure how much time was given to put all this together, but it came out fantastic. The styling in the music video for “Air” is great. The live performance outfits have also been really cute. I LOVE Seulgi of Red Velvet and Yeji promoting their albums together and accidentally, pun intended, looking like a subunit. I will talk about Miss Seulgi in a separate QT.
Song wise, “Air” is simple and catchy. I love the vocal performance Yeji is giving here. I love the music and production, it sounds great in my Bose over ear headphones when I’m working out. It sounds incredible cranked up in my car. It’s gonna go platinum in my household, I can tell already.
Choreography wise, I like it. The random parts with Yeji’s leg up in the air kinda takes me out, but I love the extra-ness of it all. I feel like she was having a lot of fun with this, and I totally want more solo music from her.
While “Air” has more of an upbeat, fallin’ in love, vibe. “Invasion” changes the tone with an R&B midtempo sound. I love “Invasion” follows “Air” track listing wise on Air. The “ah ah ahs” sound so soothing.
You can instantly tell the vibe is different and because we only have four songs, you have to make sure to say what you want to say quickly, but have that transition be as smooth as possible. danke worked on the lyrics for this one. G’harah “PK” Degeddingseze is a producer who’s worked on a lot of Kpop songs, a lot of ITZY songs, and he worked on both “Air” and “Invasion” for their composition and arrangement.
I found his IG with a quick Google search. I’ll have to dive deeper into his library because now I want to see what else he has under his belt. I see STAYC, and ITZY’s GOLD (the album I have the most ITZY songs saved from and my favorite album of theirs in general atm).
Omg byeee, not him co-writing “Rollin’ (With My Homies)” off Seulgi’s new album. I will talk about why that’s hilarious to me in her article. I knew there had to be some other factors at play with the connection between Seulgi and Yeji’s solos. Anyway, G’harah “PK” Degeddingseze has some clips of the bts for “Air” and “Invasion” on his insta if you’d like to check those out.
“Can’t Slow Me, No” feels like it was for MIDZY, not gonna lie. I turned this off and jumped to the next song about 30 seconds in on my first listen. Idk if someone was like, “well let’s not completely alienate MIDZY on this album.” But that’s what it feels like. It’s not awful, but it feels out of place with the mature sound on Air. I think if this album was longer, it wouldn’t feel so off. But the instrumentals on this song versus everything else on Air…. One of these things is NOT like the other. When I gave the song a full chance, it got better, but it doesn’t hook me like the other songs on Air.
Now “258” is my shiiiiiit. Another ‘ah ah ahhs’ song got me in a chokehold. I really love the metaphors going on in the lyrics. My favorites being “keep it private like an NDA”. The flow is so smooth. The play on 24/7 with 25/8 is so subtle. It took me a few listens before I got the joke, lmao. I wanted another song like this on Air. Ryan Jhun, Y0ung, and Inverness (long time no see, friend) did the damn thing on this track.
Fantastic album. I will be listening to it nonstop the rest of the year. And now I want more. But I’m curious, what are y’alls thoughts on “Air” and Air. Have you listened to it yet? Are you MIDZY? And if so, who’s your favorite member of ITZY? Who do you want to have a solo next? Tell me everything in the comments. Next up is QT on Accidentally On Purpose by Seulgi. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Threads, & BlueSky.
Until next time,
Take Care!
Ash