(JYP
Entertainment/YouTube)
ITZY, the
5-member K-Pop girl group signed to JYP, just released another mini
album titled Checkmate. Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, and Yuna return once
again with their unique blend of melodies to give us seven new
songs. “Sneakers” is just one of them on the album and the official
single. It’s a song that has some fans scratching their heads at
first listen because, well, it’s about footwear.
Or is it? The
music video shows members smiling as they dance with sparkly
sneakers on, but they’re also portrayed as royalty. An important
contradiction!
Here are some
moments that prove Itzy is still advocating for fans to always be
themselves even as they sing about lacing up a pair of
sneakers!
The
“Sneakers” MV has ITZY in a ballroom with checkered floors. They
are queens in a game of chess as shown by their signature crown
hand gestures. The queen piece is the most powerful one in a game
of chess, after all, as it can move in any direction.
Shots of
members dancing are spliced with Yeji as an actual monarch. She’s
wearing a puffy dress complete with a Elizabethan neck collar and
high heels — and she’s not happy about it. From what we can see,
she’s being told what to do, signing and nodding when needed. That
is, until Lia enters the throne room. Her path is lined with
knights in shining armor as she draws close to Yeji and presents
her with a golden pair of sneakers.
You might be
thinking, “Okay, so she doesn’t like heels?”, but the
heels-to-sneakers metaphor is outlined more clearly in the lyrics.
“I’ll go my own way (Oh) / I don’t need order / Don’t need no
guidance, I’m makin’ my way.”
The sneakers
are what make Yeji comfortable. They are a sign that she’s
embracing who she is even if it’s unconventional because they’re
part of her “own way”. She doesn’t want to be told by the people
around her what to do because a Queen is already the most powerful
piece on the board.
“With the
tip of my chin raised / That’s the attitude I have, it’s all I
need,” ITZY sings in unison. “Put my sneakers on / One,
two, ready, get set, go.”
