ILLIT Announces Comeback With “MAMIHLAPINATAPAI” and Confirms Return for April 30

ILLIT officially kicked off its new comeback era on March 15, 2026, during the second night of its “PRESS START♥︎” concert in Seoul. At the end of the show, the group surprised fans by announcing its return with “It’s Me” on April 30 at 6 PM (KST). The following day, BELIFT LAB confirmed that the release would be the group’s 4th mini album, titled “MAMIHLAPINATAPAI,” turning the on-stage reveal into the first official step of the comeback campaign.

In the official description released by the agency, “MAMIHLAPINATAPAI” was introduced as an album about the emotions that emerge as a relationship with someone begins to deepen. The title track, “It’s Me,” was described as a song that captures the moment after a first meeting, when the definition of the relationship starts to carry more weight and those feelings begin to be expressed more directly. The album title also drew attention for coming from the language of the Yaghan people, and was described in Korean media coverage as a word connected to a silent gaze shared between two people. It was also noted as a term often associated with the idea of a “word that is very difficult to translate,” which helped make the album name one of the first major points of curiosity in this new era.