New girl group Triple iz releases debut digital single 'Halla'

Rookie girl group Triple iz — made up of members E.Ji of IChillin’, Aria of X:IN and Dita of Secret Number — made its debut with its first digital single, “Halla,” on Monday.

Project girl group Triple iz debuted with its first digital single, ″Halla,″ on Monday. [SK TELECOM]

Rookie girl group Triple iz — made up of members E.Ji of IChillin’, Aria of X:IN and Dita of Secret Number — made its debut with its first digital single, “Halla,” on Monday.

Triple iz, pronounced “Triple eyes,” stands for Initiate, Individual and International. The name contains the message of “sharing minds beyond borders and reaching for one’s dreams by expressing individuality,” according to a press release from telecommunications company SK Telecom.

Formed and produced as part of an SK Telecom project for its Metaverse service ifland, Triple iz aims to connect with global fans through the platform. Fans will interact in avatar form, while feedback can be collected and used to update the platform and inform the group’s music activities.

Triple iz's debuting process was documented in the “Road to Debut” series uploaded to the group’s YouTube channel. The first episode premiered on Feb. 27.

Triple iz's "Road to Debut" series is streamed on screens in SK Telecom's Metaservice platform ifland. [SK TELECOM]

Also from February until the group's debut, global users from Indonesia, India, the United States and Philippines met on ifland weekly on Thursdays to discuss the group’s activities, according to SK Telecom. The users chose Triple iz’s fan club name, Izland, and the concept for the group’s music.

The members were chosen for their nationalities — Dita from Indonesia, Aria from India and E.Ji from Korea — specifically because of the high user rates from each country on ifland, according to SK Telecom.

Triple iz members' avatars on SK Telecom's Metaverse platform ifland [SK TELECOM]

“The Metaverse is a suitable space for global users to interact with K-pop culture without being constrained by the limits of time and space,” Yang Maeng-seok, head of SK Telecom’s Metaverse division, said.

“SKT will provide a high level of user experience through the fusion of the metaverse, AI technology and K-pop.”

Triple iz will carry out their activities in the form of extended reality (XR) live fan events and augmented reality (AR) concerts that use volumetric capture technology, allowing viewers to watch in 3D from every angle. More episodes of “Road to Debut” are also scheduled.

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]