The competition in K-pop only keeps becoming even fiercer, but since the popularity of K-pop keeps growing around the globe in turn, hopefully there is room for everyone to thrive! The JTBC reality survival series R U Next had a great deal of competition all by itself, but the result of that competition, which concluded on September 1, 2023, was ILLIT (pronounced like “I’ll-it”), the six-member girl group from HYBE and Belift Lab. Unfortunately, one member, Youngseo, would leave ILLIT prior to debut, but that still left five members chasing their dreams together. Now, the anticipation for debut grows. So here is the complete answer to when Yunah, Minju, Moka, Wonhee, and Iroha will debut as the K-pop group ILLIT (originally “I’LL-IT”).
ILLIT Debuted on March 25, 2024 with SUPER REAL ME
ILLIT made their debut on March 25, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. KST with first mini-album SUPER REAL ME, and a debut showcase was held three hours later at 9:00 p.m. KST at Bluesquare Mastercard Hall. (The initial debut announcement, made originally on February 26, 2024 in South Korea, is when the “I’LL-IT” name was officially changed to “ILLIT.”) The tracklist for SUPER REAL ME contains four songs in total: “My World,” “Magnetic” (title track), “Midnight Fiction,” and “Lucky Girl Syndrome.” SUPER REAL ME is available to purchase now from various retailers, including at Target, which is offering an exclusive photo card, and Amazon. A SUPER REAL ME brand film was released on March 4, 2024, introducing the ILLIT members in fantastical ways in a school-esque setting. The “Magnetic” music video was ultimately released in tandem with the debut.
Prior to the confirmation of the debut date from Belift Lab, various reports had attempted to narrow down their debut window. A report from Yuanta Securities claimed it would occur in early 2024. That report is alleged to have been published on September 4, 2023. A subsequent report from Kyobo Securities similarly suggested the group would debut in Q1 2024, meaning by March 2024. However, a more recent report from Daol Investment & Securities, reportedly published January 2, 2024, only projected ILLIT as debuting in the first half of 2024, meaning between January and June. Eventually, it became clear that March 2024 would be the actual debut date.
For the sake of discussion, there is another point of comparison to consider: Enhypen. The HYBE and Belift Lab K-pop boy group Enhypen was also created through a reality survival series, called I-Land, back in 2020. More specifically, I-Land concluded on September 18, 2020, and Enhypen ultimately debuted on November 30, 2020. So, there was only a difference of 73 days between the time the show ended and the time the group debuted. Meanwhile, ILLIT debuted 206 days after the conclusion of R U Next.
Unfortunately, on January 5, 2024, Belift Lab announced that it and Youngseo had come to a “mutual agreement to terminate” her contract, so the group would continue on as five members and ultimately debut as such.
To summarize, HYBE K-pop group ILLIT officially made their debut on March 25, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. KST with SUPER REAL ME. For more about the group, check out how old the ILLIT members currently are, who the leader might potentially be, and what each member’s MBTI is.