ILLIT names new album after an untranslatable word — and drops it April 30

The Belift Lab group wraps two sold-out Seoul concerts and announces their fourth mini album, MAMIHLAPINATAPAI, led by title track "It's Me."

Ten months after bomb became their biggest-selling record to date, ILLIT announced Sunday night that their next album lands April 30. Belift Lab confirmed the details the following morning: the release is titled MAMIHLAPINATAPAI, and the lead track is "It's Me."

The word is Yaghan - the language of the indigenous people of Tierra del Fuego, in southern Chile - and it describes something that has no clean equivalent in most languages: the look two people share when each hopes the other will volunteer to do something both want done but neither wants to initiate. The Guinness World Records recognizes it as one of the longest words and one of the most difficult to translate. ILLIT's own gloss: a silent meeting of minds.

The members revealed the album name at the close of their second Seoul concert, flashing it on the arena screen before fans had a chance to process the night's finale. The clip spread rapidly online.

The announcement capped a weekend the group had reason to feel good about. ILLIT played Ticketlink Live Arena in Songpa on March 14 and 15 - their first full concerts since debuting in March 2024 - and both shows sold out before general tickets opened. The two-hour setlist drew on all three mini albums and their single album, staged around a video game concept complete with pixel art visuals and a progression-of-levels structure that fit the group's established aesthetic without feeling forced.

"Thanks to GLLIT, we were able to press the start button for this journey together. We are approaching our second debut anniversary soon, and 'PRESS START' reminded us to keep working even harder." - ILLIT members

Pacing was uneven in spots - extended transitions between stages and occasional screen outages broke the flow for fans in the upper sections. But the group's stage confidence has visibly grown, and the setlist gave a fair account of two years of output. A B-side from bomb, "jellyous," crossed 100 million Spotify streams last week, making it their seventh song to reach that milestone.

Bomb itself debuted at No. 171 on the Billboard 200 last July - ILLIT's third consecutive mini album to chart there - and sold over 400,000 copies in its first week, a career high. Title track "Do the Dance" won twice on Korean music broadcast programs.

Following Seoul, the Press Start tour continues across Japan and ends in Hong Kong:

ILLIT - Yunah, Minju, Moka, Wonhee, and Iroha - launched as Belift Lab's first girl group and HYBE's fourth. Their debut single "Magnetic" made them the fastest K-pop act to enter the Billboard Hot 100, charting at No. 91 in their first week of eligibility. MAMIHLAPINATAPAI arrives April 30.