"Not Shy" 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'' ...

for their third extended play of the same name. It was released as the EP's lead single 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 ...

and

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

on August 17, 2020. It is an R&B

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 ...

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 ...

song that incorporates hip-hop, pop, and

caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

elements. It was composed by Kobee and Charlotte Wilson, while it was written by JY Park “The Asiansoul” who also handled the arrangement alongside Kobee and earattack. An accompanying music video was uploaded onto JYP's YouTube channel simultaneously with the single's release and has surpassed 200 million views on the platform. On January 22, 2021 an English version of "Not Shy" was released on Itzy's English debut extended play ''Not Shy (English Ver.)''. It was accompanied by a music video featuring 3-D Zepeto avatars of the members. A Japanese version of "Not Shy" was also included on Itzy's first compilation album ''It'z Itzy'', which was released on December 22, 2021.

Background and release

On June 22, 2020, it was reported that Itzy is preparing for a comeback at the end of July.

Composition

"Not Shy" composed by Kobee and Charlotte Wilson and it was written by JYP founder JY Park “The Asiansoul” who also handled the arrangement alongside Kobee and earattack. Musically, "Not Shy" is an up-tempo R&B

song accompanied by rapid beats and "intense"

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

sounds. It incorporates hip-hop and pop elements mixed with

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

influence and a "

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

feel." 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 written in the key of

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

, with a tempo of 101 beats per minute. Lyrically, it was described as Itzy's first " love-themed song" compared to their previous work. Where the narrative of “Not Shy” is about giving

authority In the fields of sociology and political science, authority is the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' is practiced in ways such a judicial branch or an executive branch of government.''The N ...

to one’s own voice. In the context of the protagonist declaring her love to her crush—a "confession often marked by hesitancy". Where the singers sing lyrics that express the message of "don't be shy and express yourself confidently", "without hesitation," regardless of how the things would turn out, with lyrics such as "Why wait, what are you doing?" and "Why can't I tell you my heart?" that are meant to convey that the singers are "honest and confident in front of love", and that "there's no shame" in expressing one's emotions in front of the person they like. Lyrics such as "Not shy, Not me / I tell you what I want quickly / What if I can't have it? ‘Why can’t you say yeah" showed the group singing about giving encouragement "to those who hesitated" in expressing their emotions to their lover.

Critical reception

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

called "Not Shy" one of the songs that defined 2020, praising its usage of the saxophone tunes, urgent percussion and "the group’s sassy utterance", as well as how the group's established their "repertoire of self-empowering anthems in the short period since it debuted in 2019."

Accolades

Credits and personnel

Credits adopted 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 ...

. Studio * JYPE Studio –

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

, mixing,

digital editing Digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital ...

* Sterling Sound – mastering * Studio Nomad – digital editing Personnel *

– vocals *

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 ...

– lyrics,

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

* Sophia Pae – english lyrics, vocal director, vocal engineer * Charlotte Wilson —

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

* Earattack — arrangement * Kobee — composition, arrangement, vocal director, synths , bass,

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

, computer programming * Perry (PERRIE) — vocal director * Eunjung Park — recording engineer * Manny Marroquin—

mixing engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

* Robin Florent — mixing engineer * Chris Galland — assisting * Jeremie Inhaber — assisting * Zach Pereyra— assisting * Chris Gehringer — mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

, -

Release history

References

{{Itzy Itzy songs 2020 singles 2020 songs JYP Entertainment singles Republic Records singles Trap music songs Dance music songs South Korean contemporary R&B songs Songs written by Park Jin-young