SEOUL – K-pop superstar IU has roped in Tweety Bird, the famous yellow canary character from the animated cartoon Looney Tunes, to promote her EP The Winning.

Apart from a special version of the upcoming record with Tweety Bird on the cover, there will also be various Tweety X IU merchandise, according to her record label Edam Entertainment on Feb 7.

The Winning is IU’s sixth EP, her first release since the launch of Pieces in 2021. It will drop on Feb 20, while the Tweety Bird limited-edition version will go on sale on Feb 22.

IU, whose real name is Lee Ji-eun, has been using Tweety Bird as the profile picture of her Instagram account for more than five years.

On Feb 6, the 30-year-old changed her photo to a new Tweety Bird picture.

In 2021, one of IU’s fans tweeted about IU looking like Tweety Bird. The post was retweeted by Looney Tunes’ official account on X, formerly Twitter.

“Please look forward to the synergy between IU – an artiste who is loved by fans at home and abroad for her positive and good influence – and Tweety Bird, who is engraved in childhood memories of people around the world,” said Edam Entertainment.

South Korean composer John Lee, who has worked with IU on her hit tracks such as Leon (2015), Twenty-three (2015) and Bbibbi (2018), took part in composing two tracks, Shopper and Spore, on The Winning.

The EP also includes Shh…, which features Hyein of K-pop girl group NewJeans; I Stan U with Joe Won-sun of South Korean rock band Roller Coaster; and Love Wins All, which was released on Jan 24.

IU, who had a hand in composing Shopper and Spore, and wrote all the lyrics on The Winning, is set to embark on her first world tour.

The 2024 IU H.E.R. World Tour Concert kicks off in Seoul in March and will take in Yokohama and Taipei before heading to the Singapore Indoor Stadium on April 20 and 21.THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK