Unfortunately, I did not follow Produce 48 despite promises to myself that I would actually check out the show this time around. However, as usual, a group was produced from the Top 12 members from the show, who are now known as IZ*ONE. They made their debut two weeks ago with La Vie en Rose (link below) and their mini-album COLOR*IZ. Today, we will be having a closer look at their mini-album, starting now!

1..Beautiful Colour (아름다운 색) – IZ*ONE opens their debut mini-album with a fairly strong song. It is a bright and bubbly song that is quite colourful at the same time. I thought the chorus was rather soothing and melodic. The vocals were strong, showcasing different techniques. It particularly like the second half of the chorus and the falsetto leading up to it. The raps were decent and fitted in well with the rest of the song. It does sound typical when compared to other b-side tracks of other artists but other than that, it was quite nice. (8/10)

2. O’ My! – What stands out for me in this song is the instrumental. It does feel a lot cutesier than the previous song and it isn’t overwhelming, which is always a good thing when it comes to cutesy songs. Going back to the instrumental, I really like the dynamic electronic side of it. I thought that added a nice touch and kept it balanced. I thought the main hook of the song (O’ My!) was quite addictive. Vocals were good but I thought a little more rapping could have brought a little extra something to the song to really being to the next level. (8.5/10)

3. La Vie en Rose (라비앙로즈) (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for La Vie en Rose. (7/10)

4. Memory (비밀의 시간) – Memory is the first ballad of the album. And the way it sounded reminded me of the ballad that Produce 101 Season 2 ended with. There is a touching side of the song and it doesn’t feel as emotional as a love song ballad. I think their vocals in this song was their very best throughout the entire album. I would love to hear more ballads from IZ*ONE if this is the quality and standard they will continually release. I really like it when they sung together at the end. The instrumental was plain for my taste but other than that, it was almost perfect. (9/10)

5. We Together (앞으로 잘 부탁해) – We have now entered the Produce 48 territory, where the girls have re-recorded their songs from the finale using the final IZ*ONE lineup. We Together was quite nice, giving off nostalgic vibes through their instrumental and chorus. It fits squarely in the pop genre and there isn’t much to the chorus to really differentiate the song from other artists. However, I did like the extra kick in the bridge, which I thought gave the song a unique twist. I also liked the electric guitars at the end. (8/10)

6. Crush On You (반해버리잖아?) (好きになっちゃうだろう?) – This may be due to my lack of musical skills or just my personal preference, but I thought the combinations of vocals and instrumentation is a little off-putting. They just didn’t seem to be connected and it felt a little uncomfortable (but not all the time. It was mainly felt during the lead up to the chorus). The instrumentation for this song reminded me of 8-bit music (i.e. like the music you get with retro video games), However, since IZ*ONE is both a Japanese and Korean music group, it was still nice to see something for the Japanese market despite the album being promoted in Korea so far. (6/10)

7. In Our Dreams (꿈을 꾸는 동안) (夢を見ている間) – I mentioned in Memory that the latter song felt like the ballad that ended their run on Produce 48. Well, here is the actual ballad that did end their time on the show. Many of the same comments under Memory can be rewritten here. What I did like about the song that hasn’t been motioned yet is that In Our Dream felt a lot warmer and you could feel a lot more emotion in this song. Once again, good vocals are present, but I actually preferred the vocals of the earlier song. But given its position on the album, it was a nice finale for the debut mini-album. (7/10)

Overall Album Rating – 7.6/10