ILLIT performed 'Almond Chocolate' at CDTV Christmas festival, showcasing their unique style and gaining popularity with their new song.
December/16/2025 16:20Related Groups & Members
Yesterday (15th), ILLIT made a live appearance on 'CDTV Live! Live! Christmas LOVE SONG Fes.' and performed their hit song 'Almond Chocolate.' ILLIT appeared in an all-white look perfect for winter. Based on pure white, their tops sublimated the members' portraits into artwork, and the styling that highlighted each member's individuality caught the eye. The melody, enhanced with holiday arrangements, captivated viewers' ears. Through the unexpected aspects incorporated into the performance of 'Almond Chocolate,' one can feel ILLIT's bouncy charm. The diverse point choreography that embodies 'Almond Chocolate' doubled the song's appeal and fixed the viewers' gaze. 'Almond Chocolate' is the first original Japanese song released on February 14 this year. It expresses passionate feelings and love by likening a crush to almond chocolate, resonating with Generation Z. The fact that Nakajin from SEKAI NO OWARI provided the song also became a topic of discussion, and it recorded an unusual long hit as a Japanese original song by a K-POP group. The viral trend on TikTok also helped, ranking 10th on the 'Oricon Weekly Streaming Ranking' as of April 14, 2025. According to Oricon, this is the highest rank and play count for a song released this year by an overseas female group. Furthermore, as of July, it surpassed 50 million cumulative plays and received a 'Gold' certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan for streaming. This achievement occurred about five months after the release of the sound source, marking the fastest 'Gold' certification for a song by an overseas artist released this year (according to Universal Music). With these accomplishments, they won the Excellent Work Award at the '67th Japan Record Awards,' being the only overseas artist among the ten awarded works. Their latest song 'NOT CUTE ANYMORE,' released in November, is also gaining attention. It is widely used across various short-form platforms, from vocal challenges focusing on the essence of music to trendy meme insertion songs, expanding its popularity. In particular, it has become popular as background music for memes that are currently trending among teenagers and young adults. The 'Sped Up' version of this song has been used in the 'Hood Grab Shot' challenge, creating an optical illusion where the subject appears to be dangling like a keychain, and it has been well-received as fitting for winter content. Thanks to this popularity, the usage of the 'Sped Up' version of 'NOT CUTE ANYMORE' has surged, ranking 3rd on TikTok Music's 'Viral 50' chart (as of December 12) and showing an upward trend on various charts. ILLIT announced on the 12th that they will release their 2nd digital single in Japan, 'Sunday Morning,' on January 13, 2026. 'Sunday Morning' is a J-POP ROCK style song depicting the 'great power of a heart in love' that cannot be stopped, and it will serve as the opening theme for the second season of the TV anime 'Hime-sama “Goumon” no Jikan desu,' scheduled to air from January 12, 2026. A part of the sound source was previewed in the music video released on the same day, generating reactions on social media such as 'ILLIT's songs match well with anime' and 'I want to hear the full version soon.' Expectations are rising for ILLIT's new original Japanese song release.
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On the afternoon of the 16th, ILLIT arrived at Gimpo International Airport in Korea after finishing their schedule in Japan. They performed their hit song 'Almond Chocolate' on CDTV, showcasing their charm through diverse point dances. Additionally, a luxurious lineup for the '2025 MBC Song Festival' featuring artists from NCT to Stray Kids was announced.
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