IVE's Looks Can Kill Tops YouTube Trending in Six Countries Before Release

IVE's Looks Can Kill music video went to No. 1 on YouTube's worldwide music video trending chart on the day it dropped. The pre-release title track arrived on the 19th, and by 9 a.m. KST on the 20th the video had charted in 34 countries and regions.

Six of those were No. 1 spots: South Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Canada and Brazil. The video also reached the top 10 in 18 countries and regions, including the United States, Germany and Australia, according to Starship Entertainment.

A hero film, with IVE as the hero

The video borrows the grammar of a superhero movie, moving between a film set and the world beyond it, with visual effects that give it a polished, cinematic look. The concept stretches from IVE playing heroes to IVE being the heroes, which matches the album's "girl hero" ego. It follows the Cupid and magical girl personas in the group's ongoing "girl fantasy" worldview.

The song itself is electronic dance pop built on synth pads, heavy bass and dynamic drums. The final chorus, which explodes after the bridge, is expected to be the most immersive stretch of the track.

The album and the first stage

The mini album Looks Can Kill comes out on the 26th, roughly eight months after the group's second full-length album, REVIVE+. It holds six tracks: the title song, "Mirror Mirror," "SNAKESKIN," "CRUMBS," "Girls Girls Girls" and "Glow Motion."

On the 19th, IVE also performed the song live for the first time at the Spotify DIVE ACADEMY event at Ark Gangnam in Seoul, on the last of its three days.

In a Q&A, Yujin said the group wants to show a more confident side of IVE. Wonyoung described the idea of a hero as something small: an encouraging word to one person can become courage for another. Gaeul and Leeseo's bandmates Gaeul and Liz co-wrote "CRUMBS," and Rei took part in writing the title track's lyrics.