Bloom*Iz
studio
ArtistIz*One
CoverIz*One - Bloom*Iz.png
ReleasedFebruary 17, 2020
RecordedSeptember – October 2019
GenreK-pop · synth-pop · bubblegum pop
Length40:31
LanguageKorean
LabelOff the Record · Stone Music · Genie
Prev year2019
Year2020
Next year2020

Bloom*Iz (pronounced "bloom eyes") is the first and only Korean-language studio album by South Korean–Japanese girl group Iz*One, a project group formed through the 2018 Mnet reality competition show Produce 48. The album was released on February 17, 2020 by Off the Record Entertainment and distributed by Stone Music Entertainment and Genie Music.[1] It features 12 tracks, including the lead single "Fiesta".

The album was originally scheduled for release on November 11, 2019,[2] but it was postponed following the Mnet vote manipulation investigation, it was the group's first full-length album since their debut in October 2018, and their first Korean release since Heart*Iz[3] the previous year.

The album is available in three different versions: "I Was", "I Am", and "I Will".

Release

On October 29, 2019, a concept trailer titled "When Iz Your Blooming Moment?" was uploaded on the group's YouTube channel. Its concept, featuring flowers in full bloom and the members in various states of waking, was called "colorful and sensual". The group's official website was also re-branded.[4] The track listing was revealed through the group's social media on November 3.[5] However, following the Mnet vote manipulation investigation, where the Produce 48 producer Ahn Joon-young admitted he had manipulated the rankings for Produce 48 during his November 5 arrest, Off the Record announced that the album's release had been postponed.[3]

On January 23, 2020, an official statement from Mnet was released, stating that promotions for Iz*One, including the release of Bloom*Iz, would resume in mid-February.[6] On February 2, Iz*One's official Twitter account announced the release of Bloom*Iz for February 17, 2020.[7] Three days later, Mnet M2MPD's Twitter account revealed that the group's comeback showcase will be aired simultaneously on Mnet, M2, and Stone Music's YouTube and Facebook.[8] Over February 6–7, unreleased photos of the members were revealed as part of their early promotions for the upcoming comeback.

Promotion

Iz*One promoted the single "Fiesta" on the music shows M Countdown, Music Bank, Music Core, Inkigayo, The Show, and Show Champion which started on February 17.[9]

Critical reception

Billboard described the title track "Fiesta" as a "festive synth pop song which takes its name to heart with the sliding, synth pop throbber of a track that explodes into a brass led dance breakdown" and reported that the mixed emotions portrayed in the other tracks of the album show power in the group coming together in moments of collective delicate vulnerability.[10]

Kat Moon of Time named the album as one of the best K-pop releases of 2020 noticing how fierce and bold girl crush image has become increasingly popular in K-pop but Iz*One's image has stayed unapologetically sweet and cute. She called the album a welcome addition to the group's "kaleidoscopic" discography describing how the album showcases the group at its best, serving up a sonic palette of colors that demonstrates the varied hues and tints in bubblegum pop.[11]

Commercial performance

The album topped in its first week of pre-order availability across various Korean and Japanese websites, including Aladin, Yes24, and Tower Records. In addition, the album topped the Japanese Tower Records online pre-order chart and Synnara Records' real-time chart in 2019 with 150,000 sales six days before its release.[12][13] However, the release was postponed following the Mnet vote manipulation investigation, and orders were cancelled and refunded.[14]

On February 17, on their first day of sales, Iz*One took the record for the most albums sold on the first day for a girl group, with about 184,000 copies sold.[15] The album also broke the record of girl group's first week sales on Hanteo, with 356,313 copies sold on its first 7 days.[16] This record stood until it was broken by the group's next album four months later.[17]

Charts

Chart performance of Bloom*lz
Chart (2020)Peak
position
Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[18]6
South Korean Albums (Gaon)[19]2

References

  1. ^ "ko:아이즈원, 17일 컴백 확정…첫 정규 '블룸아이즈' 발매" (in Korean). News1. February 3, 2020. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  2. ^ Rutherford, Kevin (November 5, 2019). "IZ*ONE, ONEUS & A.C.E. Debut on Social 50 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  3. ^ "Girl band IZ*ONE postpones release of new album amid vote-rigging scandal". The Korea Herald. November 7, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  4. ^ Lee, Hyun-jin (October 30, 2019). "ko:아이즈원, 11월 11일 첫 정규 앨범 '블룸아이즈'로 컴백...트레일러 영상 공개" (in Korean). The Korea Herald. Retrieved November 6, 2019. – via Naver
  5. ^ "IZ*ONE (#아이즈원) – 1st Album [BLOOM*IZ] TRACK LIST". No. 1190647778864586752. November 3, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  6. ^ "아이즈원, 2월 활동 재개한다 [공식]" (in Korean). Naver News. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
  7. ^ "IZ*ONE (#아이즈원) - 1st Album [BLOOM*IZ] COVER IMAGE". No. 1223984463249494016. February 2, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  8. ^ "ko:아이즈원, 17일 컴백 당일 Mnet 컴백쇼로 복귀…본격 활동 재개" (in Korean). Naver News. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  9. ^ Cho, Hae-min (2020-03-04). "IZ*ONE tops music shows with 'FIESTA' - The Korea Times". www.koreatimes.co.kr. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
  10. ^ Benjamin, Jeff (February 27, 2020). "IZ*ONE Bloom Back on World Albums & World Digital Song Sales Charts With Third Album". Billboard. Archived June 1, 2024 at the Wayback Machine.
  11. ^ "The Best K-Pop Songs and Albums of 2020". Time. December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  12. ^ "［韓流］ＩＺ＊ＯＮＥの１ｓｔフルアルバム 韓日で予約１位" (in Japanese). Yonhap News Agency. November 5, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  13. ^ Kim, Gi-ho (November 5, 2019). "ko:아이즈원, 글로벌 대세다운 흥행력…컴백 '기대 UP'" (in Korean). Kukmin Ilbo. Retrieved 2024-06-01. – via Naver
  14. ^ "[TEN 이슈] 아이즈원, 앨범·방송부터 영화까지 '올스톱' 후폭풍" (in Korean). TenAsia. November 8, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  15. ^ Yonhap (2020-02-18). "IZ*ONE breaks first-week sales record for girl group albums". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
  16. ^ Boram, Park (2020-02-24). "IZ*ONE scores record album sales in first week with 'Bloom*Iz' | Yonhap News Agency". Yonhap News Agency. Archived 2024-11-27 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
  17. ^ Yoon, So-yeon (2020-06-22). "IZ*ONE sets new record for first-week album sales". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
  18. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums: 2020/03/02 付け" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  19. ^ "Gaon Album Chart – Week 8, 2020" (in Korean). Gaon Chart. Retrieved February 27, 2020.