One Of ITZY’s Most Iconic Videos Was Never Supposed To Be Released

ITZY always keep their fans well-fed with comeback content, but apparently, not everything they’ve released was supposed to see the light of day. Three of the members recently guested on Jonathan Thona Yiombi‘s popular YouTube show, The K-Star Next Door, where they revealed that one of their most iconic videos to date wasn’t originally intended to be released to the public.

Ryujin, Chaeryeong, and Yuna had plenty to talk about on The K-Star Next Door, but one of the most interesting themes Jonathan brought up was “K-Viral Marketing.” The viral content in question? ITZY’s much-loved “‘Not Shy’ Stage Practice” video.

Clocking in over 16 million views on YouTube, ITZY’s “Not Shy” stage practice is legendary in the fourth-gen world. Everyone knows the ITZY members are incredible dancers, but what made this video in particular such a crowd pleased was their unexpected live singing skills.

A stark change from the standard practice of editing studio tracks over dance practices, or letting idols lip sync to focus on their moves, ITZY’s stage practice video saw the members deliver awesome vocals — unedited, unfiltered, without even a microphone to help them.

Given how challenging ITZY’s choreographies are, the way they stayed stable and in harmony was even more impressive. Quizzing the members on the clip, Jonathan noted, “I heard JYP released that video on purpose to show how good you are.”

The “Not Shy” stage practice is a favorite among MIDZYs, who frequently share the video with new fans to show how talented their idols are. So, it’s hard to believe that such a great piece of content wasn’t meticulously planned promotion.

However, despite its immense praise, the clip really was almost left on the cutting room floor. “We filmed it to show that we practiced, but our boss was like, ‘Release it tomorrow’,” Ryujin confirmed.

Jonathan joked that the members themselves must have been impressed when they watched the video for themselves, but Yuna actually revealed, “At first, we were embarrassed,” — not by their performance prowess, of course, but by their looks. Since ITZY had no idea the video would go public, they weren’t thinking about how they came across in the video.

We looked so intense. I did my best until my bangs got all messy.

— Yuna

Unsurprisingly, despite their own embarrassment, the members looked as gorgeous as ever in the stage practice, making it even more mesmerizing. While fans agree that JYP Entertainment doesn’t always do the best job at promoting ITZY, this was one time the boss definitely made the right call.