IVE's 'BLACKHOLE' Finally Revealed — Here's What the Full Album Sounds Like Before It Drops
For months, "BLACKHOLE" was just a title teased in a setlist. On February 16 KST, Starship Entertainment made it real - releasing the highlight medley for IVE's second full-length album, REVIVE+, first through Melon's Music Wave platform and then on the group's official YouTube channel. The full record drops February 23 at 6 PM KST.
The medley covers all 12 tracks and, for the first time, puts a sound to the album's two title tracks side by side. They don't sound anything alike. "BANG BANG" - already out as a pre-release since February 9 - hits hard with straight-line EDM. "BLACKHOLE" goes somewhere else entirely: cinematic, slower, heavier on atmosphere. Liz carries the track's defining lyric, "If you want it, anything can come true," in a way that lands immediately.
The contrast between the two titles is the point. "BANG BANG" is the blunt-force opener; "BLACKHOLE" is the gravitational center. They're designed to work as foils, and from the medley, the division holds up.
The Concept Behind the Record
IVE built their identity around a singular "I" - self-assured, self-defined, self-sufficient. That framing carried them from "ELEVEN" through five Perfect All-Kills and their debut full album, I've IVE, released in April 2023. REVIVE+ shifts the pronoun. The album's stated concept moves from "나 (I)" to "우리 (we)" - expanding IVE's narcissism narrative outward to include their audience, DIVE, in the story.
It's a meaningful pivot, and the casting of "BLACKHOLE" as the album's conceptual center makes it concrete. The track was written by Seo Ji-eum (서지음), the lyricist who has built IVE's philosophical through-line from their debut, joined here by Hwang Yu-bin (XYXX). That the song is called "BLACKHOLE" - something that pulls everything in and holds it - fits the shift from individual to collective better than most concept descriptions tend to.
Full Tracklist
| # | Title | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | BLACKHOLE | Title Track |
| 02 | BANG BANG | Title Track · Pre-released Feb. 9 |
| 03 | Hush (숨바꼭질) | |
| 04 | Stuck In Your Head (악성코드) | |
| 05 | Fireworks | |
| 06 | Hot Coffee | |
| 07 | 8 | Jang Wonyoung solo |
| 08 | Odd | Gaeul solo |
| 09 | Super Icy | Leeseo solo |
| 10 | Unreal | Liz solo |
| 11 | In Your Heart | Rei solo |
| 12 | Force | An Yujin solo |
Six Solos - and What They Sound Like
Including member solos in a studio album is unusual for IVE, and the range across these six tracks is the clearest evidence yet that the group has room to breathe individually. A number of the solos were previewed at the sold-out Seoul leg of their second world tour, SHOW WHAT I AM, which ran October 31 through November 2, 2025, at KSPO Dome - drawing more than 28,200 fans across three nights.
Jang Wonyoung's "8" is the most unexpected of the set: tense, high-voltage EDM that reads as a deliberate departure from her visual image. Gaeul's "Odd" sits at the other end - slower, heavier in the low-mid register, with a dreamlike quality that rewards headphones. Leeseo's "Super Icy" brings the energy back up; it's bright and kinetic. Liz's "Unreal" leans into alternative rock textures that show off the top of her range. Rei's "In Your Heart" is the gentlest of the six, sung across three languages with a warm melodic hook. An Yujin's "Force" closes the album on bass-heavy hip-hop - confident, blunt, final.
Gaeul, Rei, Jang Wonyoung, Liz, and Leeseo all have songwriting credits on their respective solo tracks. For a group barely four years into their career, the level of ownership is notable.
Where "BANG BANG" Already Stands
The pre-release did its job. On February 9, "BANG BANG" topped Melon's HOT100 real-time chart on release day and climbed to No. 4 on Melon's TOP100 by February 11. Domestically, it held strong positions on Bugs, Genie, Vibe, and Flo. Internationally, the track entered the iTunes K-Pop Top Songs chart in 23 countries and regions, and the overall iTunes Top Songs chart in 18. In China, it hit No. 1 on QQ Music's Rapid Rise chart; in Japan, it led AWA's Real-Time Rising Chart.
The music video - shot in Trieste, Italy, with IVE cast as outlaws in a cinematic Western - topped YouTube Korea's trending music chart within hours of its February 9 release and reached No. 2 on YouTube's global music video trending chart. It hit No. 1 on local YouTube trending charts in nine countries, including South Korea, Germany, and Japan.
None of that is incidental context. "BANG BANG" set the floor for what REVIVE+ needs to do on February 23. On the strength of the medley, "BLACKHOLE" looks capable of clearing it.
