Why ITZY’s 6-Year-Old B-Side Is Suddenly Everywhere

Six years ago, ITZY released "THAT'S A NO NO" as a B-side on their second mini album IT'z ME. It was never performed on a music show. It never charted. For most listeners, it simply didn't exist. Then, in February 2026, ITZY debuted new choreography for the track during their TUNNEL VISION world tour in Seoul — and within weeks, the song had amassed over 40 million views across social media platforms, climbing charts at a speed that none of the group's recent title tracks had managed.

The story of "THAT'S A NO NO" is not just about one song's unlikely second life. It is a case study in how the K-pop industry's relationship with its own catalog is being rewritten — by concerts, by algorithms, and by a listening public that is increasingly turning to older music over new releases.

The Song That Time Forgot

When IT'z ME dropped on March 9, 2020, the world was focused on its lead single "Wannabe" — a track that would go on to earn gold certifications in both Japan and the United States and become one of ITZY's signature hits. "THAT'S A NO NO," buried deeper in the tracklist, received no promotional stage, no music video, and no choreography. It was, by every industry metric, a disposable album filler.

ITZY themselves had moved on through a remarkable run: Crazy in Love debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200, Checkmate became their first million-certified album, and by September 2025, all five members — Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, and Yuna — had renewed their contracts with JYP Entertainment. The group had built an impressive trophy case of 42 music show wins, the most among any 4th-generation act. But one accolade had always eluded them: a number-one placement on Korea's digital charts. Their debut hit "Dalla Dalla" came tantalizingly close, peaking at number two on Melon. Nothing since has matched it.

That context makes what happened next all the more significant.

When the Stage Rewrites the Song

On February 13, 2026, ITZY opened their three-night run at Seoul's Jamsil Indoor Stadium for the TUNNEL VISION tour. Midway through the setlist, the group unveiled brand-new choreography for "THAT'S A NO NO" — a performance so electrifying that fan-filmed clips began circulating within hours. The combination of sharp, attitude-driven moves and the song's infectious hook created a perfect storm of virality.

But what makes ITZY's case distinct from typical social media-driven revivals is the catalyst. This was not a TikTok dance challenge manufactured by a marketing team. It was not an algorithmic accident. It was a live concert moment — raw, unscripted in its impact — that fans amplified because they genuinely could not stop watching it.

By March 10, the combined view count across YouTube, TikTok, and other platforms had surpassed 40 million. Fans dubbed the phenomenon "Daechu NoNo" — a playful Korean nickname — and the song began its steady ascent on domestic streaming charts. On March 12, Mnet confirmed that ITZY would perform "THAT'S A NO NO" on the March 19 episode of M Countdown, marking the track's first-ever music show appearance.

A Market Where Old Songs Are the New Releases

ITZY's viral moment arrives at a time when Korea's music charts are undergoing a quiet revolution. According to Circle Chart data journalist Kim Jin Woo, new songs released within the preceding 18 months accounted for just 45.9 percent of the Top 400 digital tracks as of December 2025 — the first time that figure has dropped below the 50 percent threshold. In other words, more than half of Korea's most-streamed music was not new.

The evidence is everywhere. Car, the Garden's 2021 track "Be My Little World" climbed to number one on Melon's Top 100 in early 2026. Lim Hyun Jung's 2003 ballad "Like Spring Rain... Like Winter Rain" re-entered at number 32. Epik High's nearly two-decade-old "Love Love Love" surged to number 34 after a viral dance challenge spread through schools. Tablo himself reportedly admitted he thought the chart notification was a glitch until his daughter told him about the trend sweeping her campus.

Industry analysts attribute this shift to a convergence of factors: social media's ability to resurface forgotten content, algorithmic recommendation systems that reward engagement over recency, and — perhaps most tellingly — a growing financial risk associated with launching new music. When breaking a new hit becomes expensive and uncertain, reviving proven intellectual property through strategic moments becomes the safer bet.

What This Means for ITZY — and the Industry

For ITZY specifically, the stakes could not be higher. Despite seven years of consistent releases, 42 music show wins, million-selling albums, and a Billboard 200 debut, the group has never achieved a number-one placement on Korea's major digital charts. "Dalla Dalla" peaked at number two on Melon in 2019. Every subsequent title track — from "Wannabe" to "Sneakers" — has settled for lower positions.

The irony is sharp: a B-side that received zero promotion in 2020 may accomplish what years of meticulously planned comebacks could not. Fan communities have rallied around the possibility with an intensity that suggests "THAT'S A NO NO" has become more than a song — it is a proxy for ITZY's unfulfilled potential on the charts.

The upcoming M Countdown performance on March 19 will be a critical inflection point. Music show appearances historically provide a streaming boost, and the promotional momentum could be enough to push the track into uncharted territory — quite literally — for ITZY.

The Concert as Discovery Engine

Perhaps the most important takeaway from the "THAT'S A NO NO" phenomenon is what it says about the evolving role of live performance in the streaming age. In an industry increasingly dominated by pre-release teasers, calculated social media rollouts, and algorithmic playlist placements, ITZY's viral moment was born from something defiantly analog: five performers on a stage, executing choreography that no one had seen before, in front of an audience that captured it on their phones.

This suggests a future where concerts are not merely revenue generators or fan service events but genuine discovery platforms — places where deep cuts are resurrected, where catalog tracks find new audiences, and where the gap between a song's release date and its cultural relevance becomes meaningless. For K-pop groups sitting on years of unreleased choreography and unperformed B-sides, ITZY may have just written the playbook.

Whether "THAT'S A NO NO" ultimately claims the number-one spot that has eluded ITZY for seven years remains to be seen. But regardless of where the charts settle, the song has already achieved something arguably more significant: it has proven that in 2026, a six-year-old album track can compete with — and potentially outperform — the most heavily promoted new releases in K-pop. The rules, it turns out, were never set in stone.