izna to Air First Japan Variety Show on ABEMA on June 10
izna's first Japan variety special on ABEMA KWORLD links the June 8 comeback to member games, team battles and new-fan entry points.
Six-member group izna will meet new viewers through its first solo variety program in Japan. Airing on ABEMA KWORLD at 9 p.m. on June 10 and June 17, the program is designed to show the faces, names, speaking styles and in-team roles of all six members at once. Its placement also ties directly into izna's comeback schedule, coming immediately after the release of the group's third mini album, "SET THE TEMPO."
The key question is which members first-time viewers will remember after watching, and which songs they will go back to hear again. The program is less about simple comedy than about giving viewers clear points of observation. Watching who understands each game first, who loosens the atmosphere, and where expressions different from the group's stage image emerge makes it easier to grasp izna as a team.
The first episode airs at 9 p.m. on June 10, 2026. The second episode follows at 9 p.m. on June 17. The channel is ABEMA KWORLD, and the MCs are Pekopa, the Japanese comedy duo. The six participating members are Mai, Bang Jee-min, Koko, Yu Sa-rang, Choi Jung-eun and Jeong Se-bi.
The album schedule should be viewed together with the broadcast plan. izna will release its third mini album, "SET THE TEMPO," at 6 p.m. on June 8. The variety show arrives right after the music release. Viewers who listen first to the title track "METRONOME" and then watch episode one may find the members' rhythm and characters in the games easier to see. Conversely, those who enter through the variety program can naturally move from the broadcast to the highlight medley and the title-track performance.
Episode one is built around team battles. Team A consists of Mai, Yu Sa-rang and Jeong Se-bi, while Team B consists of Bang Jee-min, Koko and Choi Jung-eun. A pedometer dance match lightly shows the performance team's sense of physical movement, while Jenga reveals concentration and reactions. The segment in which members guess objects hidden inside a box is especially favorable for newcomers because it inevitably produces big reactions.
In this episode, distinguishing the members comes before wins and losses. If memorizing all six members at once feels difficult, viewers can start by watching them in teams. Checking who takes charge of explanations, who accepts jokes, and who quietly organizes the flow helps attach names to faces much faster. Members who pass by one cut at a time in stage videos remain longer in variety through their speech and expressions.
Episode two includes many scenes in which all six members move together. The announced segments are a two-choice quiz, a relay drawing game in which members draw for 10 seconds each, and a talk segment built around each member's "favorite photo." The quiz shows the process of guessing one another's thoughts, while the drawing relay is a cooperative mission that requires understanding within a short time and without explanation.
The "favorite photo" segment is especially useful for new viewers. Photos personally selected by the members, rather than stage shots or concept images, reveal taste and a more everyday sense of personality. That is where the tone of the broadcast changes. If episode one is the process of putting name tags on the members, episode two becomes the time to confirm what kinds of personalities and relationships stand behind those names.
"SET THE TEMPO" contains five tracks. The title track is "METRONOME," and the B-sides are "R.I.P.," "INFINITY," "ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS" and "LEAN ON ME." In the official highlight medley, scenes from three concept shoots repeat confident gazes, clear poses and dreamlike colors. Rather than a comeback driven only by brightness, the project appears closer to emphasizing the group's own beat.
When listening alongside the variety show, it is best to begin with "METRONOME." Because the title evokes a steady beat, the way each member moves during the team battles becomes more noticeable. After that, "ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS" is worth connecting to the viewing experience. The game format inside the broadcast and the playful image of the song title overlap, showing that this comeback has not separated stage performance from variety content.
After watching the broadcast, viewers can check which scenes are preserved in official clips or highlights. For new fans, the moments that last are usually short reactions rather than long explanations. A member giving an unexpected answer, or naturally accepting a teammate's mistake, can become the moment that makes a name stick.
The program has three checkpoints: whether viewers can distinguish faces and names in episode one on June 10, whether teamwork becomes clear in episode two on June 17, and whether the broadcast sends them back to the songs on "SET THE TEMPO." If those three points connect, this variety special can move beyond simple comeback promotion and become a fast entry point for viewers encountering izna for the first time.
