ILLIT Shines Bright on Japan's CDTV Live! Live! Christmas Special

The K-pop group ILLIT (아일릿), consisting of members YoonA (윤아), MinJu (민주), MoKa (모카), WonHee (원희), and Iroha (이로하), made a striking appearance on Japan's renowned music program, TBS's CDTV Live! Live! Christmas Special, which aired on December 16. They performed two special stages featuring their songs 'Magnetic' and 'Cherish (My Love)'.

During their performance of 'Magnetic', ILLIT captivated local viewers with their charming outfits and engaging choreography. The unique arrangement, enhanced by bell sounds, created a festive atmosphere, while their playful expressions and gestures added an addictive quality to the performance. This song achieved an impressive ranking of 18th in the 'CDTV 2024 Original Ranking', marking it as the highest-ranked K-pop song on the list.

In their subsequent performance of 'Cherish (My Love)', ILLIT showcased their distinctive charm. Dressed in school uniform-style outfits, they caught attention with various hand heart gestures and dance moves reminiscent of magical girl transformations. They successfully conveyed the emotions of confident young girls, marking their first performance of 'Cherish (My Love)' in Japan.

Before officially debuting in Japan, ILLIT has already garnered significant attention by appearing on popular year-end broadcast programs. They were featured on Fuji TV's '2024 FNS Music Festival' prior to the CDTV special, and they are set to appear on TV Asahi's 'Music Station' on December 27 and the 'Kohaku Uta Gassen' on December 31.

ILLIT is already dominating various charts in Japan. 'Magnetic' ranked 3rd in TikTok Japan's 'Top Songs' of the year and 5th in YouTube Japan's 'Top Shorts'. It is the only K-pop song to make the top 10 in both charts. Additionally, it secured the 15th position on Billboard Japan's annual 'Hot 100', the highest rank for a K-pop song. 'Magnetic' is also the sole K-pop track included in the nominees for the '2024 Line Music Trend Awards'.

Building on these remarkable achievements, ILLIT won the Rookie of the Year award at the prestigious 66th Japan Record Awards, marking the first time in about 13 years that a K-pop girl group has received this honor. Notably, ILLIT is the first artist to win this award before officially debuting in Japan.

Moreover, ILLIT has consistently appeared in year-end lists from major international media outlets. 'Magnetic' was recently selected as one of the '50 Best K-pop Tracks of 2024' by the UK’s Dazed. The song has also been recognized by NPR and NME as one of the 'Best Songs of 2024', and included in Billboard and PopMatters' lists of 'Best K-pop of 2024'.