Exclusive Review: ITZY 2nd “Born To Be” 2nd World Tour

On a scorching hot evening in Irving, Texas, MIDZY stationed themselves outside the Toyota Music Factory in a line that wrapped around 2 city blocks. People were helping each other out, giving up water and fans, and helping people squeeze into the shade. Everyone had the common goal of seeing ITZY, and with the beat of a drum and the strum of a guitar, the screen opened to the silhouette of four.

ITZY debuted on February 12th, 2019 with their single ‘DALLA DALLA’ under JYP Entertainment. YeJi, RyuJin, YuNa, ChaeRyeong, and Lia were an immediate success and followed up with ‘ICY’, ‘WANNABE’, ‘Not Shy’, ‘In the morning’, ‘SNEAKERS’, ‘Cheshire’, ‘CAKE’, and ‘UNTOUCHABLE’. As of this article, they have amassed 48 music show wins, 6 Triple Crowns, 3 Circle Chart Music Awards, 3 Golden Disc Awards, a MAMA Award, and over 2.3 billion music video views.

ITZY electrified the audience, opening with ‘BORN TO BE’ with a live band. ChaeRyeong stated that the decision to have the live band was to bring a new level to the music, which I definitely agree with. It raised the bar and honestly spoiled the audience in the most perfect way possible. Not only could you experience the visuals of amazing dance and the sound of beautiful vocals, but you could feel every bit of the music in a different way than performing to a backtrack. Out of the 25 songs they performed, I think I only noticed one song they did without that band. The entire show felt different than any other show I’ve been to because of this.

They performed most of their singles, save for ‘In the morning’, ‘Cheshire’ and ‘ICY’, and performed fan favorites like ‘Mr. Vampire’, ‘SWIPE’, ‘Dynamite’, ‘Kill Shot’, and ‘Boys Like You’. They even performed their solos (ChaeRyeong – ‘Mine’, RyuJin – ‘Run Away’, YuNa – ‘Yet, but’, and YeJi – ‘Crown On My Head’) with unique set pieces, dances, and costumes. They talked to the audience about what it was like performing in Irving for a second time, the feelings of their tour so far, and even YeJi turning the mic to the audience to sing ‘Crown On My Head’ for the first time ever. It gave them goosebumps. YuNa even had a serious sit-down discussion with the audience to ask why they were so good at singing. They also expressed how much they missed Lia and how they would bring her back to experience this. (Lia has been on hiatus since September 2023 due to anxiety).

ITZY put on a performance that is unmatched, unforgettable, and hard to top. I’ve followed them since debut but I’ve been a MIDZY since ‘WANNABE’.  I expected a great show, but I left in complete shock and awe. Even if someone entered that arena as a casual listener, they exited as a superfan.