KILL MY DOUBT

The record

KILL MY DOUBT is ITZY’s seventh mini album, released on 31 July 2023 with six tracks. The title track is ‘CAKE’. It came eight months after CHESHIRE and was the group’s first release of 2023.

The album introduction on Bugs says the record is about breaking the doubt that grows in you with the courage to trust yourself. By the same text the title track ‘CAKE’ is the first work the group did with Black Eyed Pilseung, the writing pair behind TWICE’s ‘OOH-AHH하게’ (Ooh-Ahh) and ‘CHEER UP’, and the opening track ‘BET ON ME’ has lyrics by J.Y. Park, who the introduction says wrote them out of what he took from talking with the members. The introduction also lists Lee Seu-ran, danke and Kang Eun-jeong among the credits.

Reviews

AllMusic’s Neil Z. Yeung reviewed the record. He wrote: “On their seventh EP, South Korean girl group ITZY bring their effortlessly cool energy and attitude to the six fresh tracks featured on Kill My Doubt.”

He then tied the title to the writing: “As the title suggests, the lyrical content of the effort focuses on overcoming self-doubt, and, backed by songs like these, there’s enough to inspire anyone to new heights.”

Among the tracks

Yeung splits the six into two pairs. Of the first he wrote that “‘Bet On Me’ and ‘Cake’ are bright pop anthems”, and of the next that “‘None of My Business’ and ‘Bratty’ amplify the beats and allure”.

On the last two: “For listeners pining for ‘bigger’ K-pop bravado, ‘Psychic Lover’ cranks up the energy with a hyperspeed chorus, while ‘Kill Shot’ closes the short set with ominous synths and a thrilling, threatening aura.”

By the album introduction all six tracks, ‘Bratty (나쁜 애)’ among them — the Korean in the title reads “bad kid” — carry credits from writers inside and outside Korea, and the title track is about clearing what stands in your way as lightly as taking a bite of cake.

Numbers

AllMusic records that on release KILL MY DOUBT “topped the Korean charts and rose to number two on the U.S. World Albums chart”.

The following year’s BORN TO BE album introduction cites Billboard’s 2023 year-end charts, and says this record joined CHESHIRE on the Top Current Album Sales tally.