ITZY, rookie k-pop girl group that debuted with their infamous song “Dalla Dalla” in 2019, gained

a lot of attention for dropping such an empowering song-- a song that all women, and people in general, that have struggled to accept themselves should listen to. Here’s my breakdown of the song:

 

(note: this is the english translation of the original korean lyric song.)  

 

Ryujin and Yeji start off by saying: “People look at me / and they tell me / They look at my looks alone and say I'm a punk (no, no) / So what? I don't care I'm sorry I don't care, don't care, / really don't care.” Many people’s first impression of them is that they are “reckless” and “punk.” They themselves are aware of that judgemental perception. Nonetheless, they carry on expressing themselves the way they do because others’ opinions of them shouldn’t (and isn’t) going to stop them from being who they are.

 

The next line, sung by Chaeryeong and Yuna, goes like this: "I don't care for love (hey!) / There's much more fun out there in the world (hey!) / Sisters tell me I still have a long way to become mature (I'm sorry, sorry) / I don't want to be mature.” I believe that these lines are saying that if they act the way others expect them to, they’ll never find a partner who loves and accepts them for who each of them truly is. Yuna then says that her sisters are constantly telling her to act mature, and to that she responds with a big “NO!”

 

Now for the banging chorus: “Just pretty but not attractive at all / I'm different from the them, I'm different... / Don't measure me by your standards alone / I love being myself, I'm nobody else.” It’s pretty obvious what they are trying to tell us-- they love being different and they are not going to stop being themselves just because they don’t meet society’s standards. It’s what makes them unique.

 

Now for the dance break/verse 3-- Yuna, Chaeryeong, and Yeji say “Bad, bad, / I'm sorry I'm bad / I'm just the way I am / There's no time to care about what others think I'm busy doing what I want to do / My life, I will live my own way, don't stop me / Cause I'm special, yeah!” I love this line so much because, as blunt as it may sound, they are telling other people to mind their own business with their opinions!! Who cares if you're “bad?” We shouldn’t apologize for being ourselves.

 

Verse 4: Chaeryeong and Yuna say: “I Don't care about what others think (hey!) / I like my style,

cause that's me (hey!) / Sisters tell me I'm too daring (I'm sorry, sorry) / I don't plan to change.”

Again, they are letting us know that they love themselves and won’t ever change for someone calling them out as “too daring” (even for people as close as their sisters). 

 

So, now let’s skip to the bridge. Yuna, Yeji, and Lia now say: “Don't care what people say, I know myself / I'm talkin' to myself, stay strong / Keep your head up and go after your dreams / Just keep on dreaming, whoa!” To me, these lines say that if they keep pushing and reminding themselves that they are amazing just the way they are, they’re going to achieve their dreams and be truly happy.

 

And lastly, the line before the ending of the song, (chorus, which I already broke down) the girls

all sing together “Keep your chin up, we got your back (hey!) / Keep your head up, just keep on

dreamin' (yeah!) / Keep your chin up, we got your back (hey!) / Keep your head up, just keep on

dreamin' (err'body).” These lines make me feel comfortable and accepting about the

person I am because the members are telling their fans that they have our backs; they’re telling us to not care about others’ opinions of us and to always have our chins up. Common from idols, this line is telling us that THEY have our backs-- something that fans love to hear, especially if their purpose is to remind us that we should be comfy in our own skin.

 

Overall, this is my interpretation of ITZY’s "Dalla Dalla." It’s by far one of my favorite debut albums

because it makes me feel like I can take on the world. I think all “outcasts,” or anyone who’s

different from the norm, that read this and listen to the song would have to agree on how uplifting the song is.