"Untouchable" is a song recorded by the South Korean girl group Itzy for their second studio album '' Born to Be'' (2024). It was released as the album's lead single through JYP Entertainment on January 8, 2024. Written by Bang Hye-hyun and

Lee Seu-ran Jam Factory () is a South Korean music publisher which sources song tunes and lyrics for K-pop, J-pop and Mandopop artists from songwriters predominantly based in the US. Writers of the tunes are often songwriters for American companies, such as ...

, the track carries elements of

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

and EDM. Lyrically, "Untouchable" conveys a message of resilience in facing the hardships of reality.

Background and release

On December 4, 2023, JYP Entertainment announced Itzy's second studio album ''Born to Be'', along with its tracklist, which listed "Untouchable" as the album's lead single, marking its release for January 8, 2024, in conjunction with the album's release. With the release date set amid

Lia Lia is a feminine given name. In the Spanish-speaking world, it is accented Lía. In America, the name may be a variant of Leah or Lea. Lia may be a diminutive of various names including Julia, Cecilia, Amelia, Talia, Cornelia, Ophelia, Rosal ...

's hiatus, the single was recorded by the group as a

quartet In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations o ...

. A snippet of the single's

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

depicting the quartet performing in a straight-line formation was released as the single's first teaser on January 4, 2024. Another teaser was released the following day, depicting the members in coordinating all-black outfits, performing in a stage adorned in red lights.

Composition

"Untouchable" was co-written by Bang Hye-hyun and

and co-composed by Maria Marcus, Zarah Christenson, and Toblas Näslund. A

EDM track driven by "strong guitar sounds", the song expresses one's resilience in combatting the hardships of reality in its lyrics. It features "extremely addictive refrains" supported by an "electrifying groove" throughout its runtime of three minutes and 14 seconds. The song was written in the key of C minor and carries an average tempo of 105 bpm.

Accolades

On South Korea music programs, "Untouchable" achieved a first place win on the January 19 episode of '' Music Bank'' in 2024.

Music video

The music video was released in conjunction with the album on January 8, 2024. The visual depicts the members "strutting into the spotlight" while being surrounded by a "wall of soldiers holding up riot shields", as they perform "dynamic choreography" as their weapon. Azrin Tan of '' Vogue Singapore'' posited that the visual presents a "mature" image of the group, noting the song's "slick" choreography and the styling of the members for the video. The video culminates in the quartet causing an explosion once the soldiers close in the group, as they continue performing.

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Release history

References

{{Itzy Itzy songs 2024 singles 2024 songs Songs in Korean JYP Entertainment singles Republic Records singles South Korean dance-pop songs South Korean electronic dance music songs