KiiiKiii's 404 (New Era) Wins theqoo's 'Intro of the Year' Fight Over IVE and UNCHILD

A viral post on X nominated three girl group intros as the best of 2026, and theqoo users went straight for the one they had already decided on: KiiiKiii's 404 (New Era). IVE's pick got called "forced" in the very first comment.

The post, from the account @deepdarkvlue on October 25, was captioned "This is really the intros of the year." It listed three songs: KiiiKiii's 404 (New Era), released January 26; IVE's Looks Can Kill, released October 19; and UNCHILD's LIGHT, which is not out until November 5.

That last detail matters. UNCHILD is being ranked on a song fans can't stream yet, and the thread treated it as a bonus rather than a contender. One commenter noted that LIGHT is only a B-side, which makes the title track a question mark.

The split is lopsided. Six of the ten comments are about 404 (New Era), and several are the same sentence: song of the year. Fans clocked the repetition themselves, whether they meant to or not. IVE got one comment, and it wasn't kind. Whether Looks Can Kill has simply had less time to settle in, nine days at the time of the post, is a fair question the thread didn't ask.

What theqoo users said

1. 1

   Honestly, the third pick feels so forced.

2. 2

   I'm with KiiiKiii. As soon as I saw the MV, I couldn't shake that intro.

3. 3

   404 is seriously my song of the year.

4. 4

   The intro of 404 is honestly so good.

5. 5

   404 is the song of the year.

6. 6

   The second I hear the intro of 404, the dopamine hits.

7. 7

   404 is the song of the year.

8. 8

   UNCHILD's song is just their B-side and it already sounds insane, so I wonder how good the title track will be.

9. 9

   UNCHILD's song is honestly so good.

10. 10

    404 is the only one.