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As we draw to the end to 2024, I do find myself in a reflective mode. An area of the blog I personally felt I did not do a good job delivering on are rookie reviews. So many good rookies made their debut and I just didn’t get around to reviewing them. But I keen on ensuring I cover more rookies in 2025. And while we are not in the new year yet, it is always nice to get a head start. Today, I have picked IZNA’s self-titled debut track. The group hails from the survival show, I-Land 2: N/a, where the 7 top ranking members (Mai, Jeemin, Jiyoon, Koko, Sarang, Jungeun and Saeb) would form a new KPOP group. The first season of the show created ENHYPEN.

izna’s IZNA (this is not going to be confusing whatsoever) is a mixture of R&B and hip hop, but is all kept very minimalistic. For the most part, IZNA features a heavy beat and trap-like percussion. It is an okay production, but it does get flat and dull with repeat listens. Some other synths come into play during the bridge, but they are not pivotal or become the defining sound of IZNA. I just wished the song developed a little as it progressed to cut through the flatness to become more engaging. For example, IZNA potentially could have concentrated itself or give itself a climax of some kind. After all, those repeat listens made IZNA feel very much like a loop. In term of the members, their flat delivery (more on this in a second) was most definitely intentional. And to a degree, I do admit that it did sound intriguing and catchy. Their rapping was on show in IZNA, but the same can’t be said about their vocals, unfortunately.

While the quality of the music video is great, I feel the colour palette and odd dulling filter was a let-down. I don’t know about you, but these contributed to making everything feel opaque and boring. The video also attempted to do pull off a minimalistic concept in some regards. But instead of something striking or aesthetic, I felt even more bored and uninterested in the final product. I am not saying the music video had to be colourful or lively. What the final product did work well with the song. But some refinement would have been made the video better.

If there was anything to take away from this debut, it is that izna has charisma. Their intense facial expressions give the routine some added depth. And the routine itself is the better aspect of their debut. It was powerful and well-synchronised.

Song – 6/10
Music Video – 6/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 6.4/10