"In the Morning" (also called "Mafia in the Morning"; ) is a song recorded by South Korean girl group

Itzy Itzy (stylized in all caps; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment and consisting of members Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, and Yuna. They debuted on February 12, 2019, with the release of their single album ''It'z Different'' ...

. It was released on April 30, 2021, through

JYP Entertainment JYP Entertainment Corporation () is a South Korean multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate founded in 1997 by J. Y. Park. It is one of the largest entertainment companies in South Korea, and operates as a record label, tale ...

, as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from the group's fourth

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

, ''

Guess Who Guess Who may refer to: *Guess Who (B.B. King album), ''Guess Who'' (B.B. King album), 1972 *Guess Who (Slim Whitman album), 1971 *Guess Who (EP), ''Guess Who'' (EP), a 2021 EP by South Korean girl group Itzy *Guess Who (film), ''Guess Who'' (film) ...

''. An English version was released as a single on May 14, 2021. It was produced by JYP Entertainment's founder,

J.Y. Park Park Jin-young (Hangul: 박진영; born December 13, 1971), also known by his stage names J. Y. Park and The Asiansoul or the initials JYP, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, record producer, record executive, and reality television show ju ...

, alongside South Korean songwriters Danke and Kass and composer Lee Hae-sol. "In the Morning" was described as a song about secretly stealing someone's heart. Musically, it is a hip hop,

trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

and

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

track with its title referring to the popular party game

Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...

, and a metaphor for aiming to be caught in a relationship. The accompanying music video, directed by Bang Jae-yeob, sports a dark atmosphere and depicts Itzy performing fierce choreography on various glamorous sets. Commercially, the song became the group's fifth top-ten hit, peaking at number ten on the

Gaon Digital Chart The Circle Digital Chart, previously known as the Gaon Digital Chart, is the music industry standard record chart ranking the 200 most popular singles in South Korea. It provides rankings on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis, which is based o ...

and at number seven on the ''Billboard''

K-pop Hot 100 The K-pop Hot 100 is a music singles chart in South Korea, launched by ''Billboard'' in conjunction with ''Billboard'' Korea () on August 25, 2011. It is the second Asian ''Billboard'' chart after the Japan Hot 100. The chart used the same multime ...

. It also peaked at number three on ''Billboard''

World Digital Songs The World Digital Song Sales chart (formerly World Digital Songs) is a weekly record chart compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by '' Billboard'' magazine. Established in 2010—with the issue dated January 23—as one of 21 genre-specific ...

and number 22 on the Global Excl. U.S. chart.

Background and release

On April 12, 2021, the group unveiled the track listing to the EP on the group's official SNS accounts and website, revealing "In the Morning" as the lead single. Starting from April 13, the group's label uploaded various teasers for each member on their respective social media accounts. The first music video teaser for "In the Morning" was released on April 26. On the next day, the second music video teaser for the song was published. On April 28, the third music video teaser for the lead single was published. "In the Morning" was released for digital download and

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

as the

from ''

'' on April 30, 2021, by

. The English version of "In the Morning" was released on May 14, along with the song's lyric video. Itzy's first compilation album ''

It'z Itzy South Korean girl group Itzy have released two studio albums, one compilation album, nine extended plays, one single album, fourteen singles, four promotional singles and one soundtrack. On February 12, 2019, the group released their debut sin ...

'', released on December 22, 2021, includes both Korean and Japanese-language versions of "In the Morning". The Japanese lyrics were written by Yuka Matsumoto.

Composition

"In the Morning" was written by

Park Jin-young Park Jin-young (Hangul: 박진영; born December 13, 1971), also known by his stage names J. Y. Park and The Asiansoul or the initials JYP, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, record producer, record executive, and reality television show ju ...

, Kass, Danke and Lyre. The song is a "powerful" hip hop track with an "addictive" dance-

composition, heightening the track's core concepts of ambiguity and suspense. The track's chorus sees the group explore various vocal styles backed by a "trippy" synth. Lyrically, the song is about secretly stealing someone's heart. The title is a reference to the popular party game

, and a metaphor for aiming to be caught in a relationship. Itzy compare their power to a mafia as they vow to win their future partner over. In terms of

musical notation Music notation or musical notation is any system used to visually represent aurally perceived music played with instruments or sung by the human voice through the use of written, printed, or otherwise-produced symbols, including notation fo ...

, the song is composed in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: : Changes neede ...

, with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 140 beats per minute.

Critical reception

"In the Morning" was met with mixed reviews from music critics. Writing for ''Forbes'', Jeff Benjamin described the song as a "sinister" hip hop track with "one of their boldest and most experimental sounds yet". Divyansha Dongre from the India version of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' noted that the song "sees the group explore various new vocal styles". In a mixed review, Sofiana Ramli of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' felt that the track "sounds like almost every other EDM-oriented song that's been churned out in K-pop today". Joshua Minsoo Kim of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' found that, although their debut "established the quintet as a massive new force in the industry", their latest release, "In the Morning", was the biggest offender from ''Guess Who'', commenting that in the song "there's a Cardi B lilt in the verses, but it otherwise feels like Blackpink without the stadium-sized grandeur".

Commercial performance

"In the Morning" debuted and peaked at number 22 on the Global Excl. U.S. chart with 36.2 million streams outside the US and also at number 34 on the

Global 200 The Global 200 is the list of ecoregions identified by the World Wide Fund for Nature ( WWF), the global conservation organization, as priorities for conservation. According to WWF, an ecoregion is defined as a "relatively large unit of land or w ...

chart, becoming their highest entry on both. By doubling their total number of appearances, the band became the second-ever girl group from South Korea to hit the ranking more than once. The song peaked at number ten on South Korea's

with chart issue dated May 9–15, 2021, making it Itzy's fifth top ten single on the chart. It also peaked at number four and nine on Download Chart and Streaming Chart, respectively. In addition, it peaked at number 59 on the component BGM chart.

Music video and promotion

Three teaser videos were released prior to the song's release. An accompanying music video was uploaded to JYP Entertainment's

YouTube channel YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most v ...

on April 30, 2021. It was directed by Bang Jae-yeob. In three days, the music video reached fifty million views. After one week, the video suprassed over 70 million views. The dance practice video was uploaded on May 2, 2021, and has received over 6 million views as of May 2021. On May 22, 2021, the music video hit 100 million views, which took only 22 days and 12 hours to achieved, becoming the quickest of the group's videos to reach the milestone. The music video opens with Ryujin in a cropped jacket and pleated skirt posing among

mannequins A mannequin (also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off different fabrics and textiles. Pr ...

in a fashion shop. The next scene shows the group all in black while dancing in a streets in a small town. The scene shifts to a quaint floral greenhouse, where Lia is shown singing in a floral gown with Itzy dressed in elegant clothes. Later in the clip, the girl group showcase their fierce choreography on a set decorated with

samurai swords were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the ''daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They had ...

. Then, Yuna is shown next to a mirror in a neon green draped dress with a black bodysuit. In the next part, the group is dancing surrounded by flames. To promote "In the Morning", the group appeared and performed on several South Korean music programs including ''

M! Countdown ''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet. The show features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. It is broadcast from CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. Bro ...

'', ''

Music Bank Music Bank may refer to: * ''Music Bank'' (TV program), a South Korean music program by KBS **''Music Bank World Tour The ''Music Bank'' World Tour is a worldwide live concert tour of South Korean music show ''Music Bank'' by the Korean Broad ...

'', and ''

Show! Music Core ''Show! Music Core'' (), or simply ''Music Core'' is a South Korean music television program broadcast by MBC. It airs live every Saturday at 15:30 (KST). The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform live on stage. ...

''. An English version of the song was released as a digital single on May 14, 2021.

Track listing

*Digital download and streaming (English version) # "In the Morning" (English version) – 2:52

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

Melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a "pepo". The ...

. ;Recording and management *Original published by JYP Publishing (KOMCA), Big Stage Music LLC, BMG Gold Songs, Lalala Studio, Copyright Control *Sub-published by JYP Publishing (KOMCA), Fujipacific Music Korea Inc., Copyright Control *Instrumental recording and production at LYRE Lair *Digital edited, recorded, mixed at JYPE Studios *Mastered at Sterling Sound, United States ;Personnel *

– lead vocals * J.Y. Park "The Asiansoul" – lyrics, composition, arrangement, sessions all instruments, vocal director *Kass – lyrics, composition *Danke – lyrics *Lyre – lyrics, composition, arrangement *Earattack – composition, arrangement, keyboard *Lee Hae-sol – composition, arrangement, sessions all instruments *

Alina Smith Alina Smith (born August 25, 1987) is a Russian-American pop singer, songwriter and record producer. She is a co-founder of the music writing and production company Lyre, and she has written and produced songs for artists including Betty Who, G ...

– instrumental recording and production *Annalise Morelli – instrumental recording and production *Sound Kim – background vocals *Uhm Se-hee – digital editing, recording *Gu Hye-jin – recording *Lee Tae-seop – mixing *Chris Gehringer – mastering

Accolades

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Itzy Itzy songs 2021 singles 2021 songs JYP Entertainment singles Dance music songs Trap music songs South Korean hip hop songs Songs written by Park Jin-young