TWICE: The Living Legends

Over the course of seven years, the girl group has matured and proved themselves to be a force to be reckoned with time and time again.

By: Elise Christopher

In the K-pop industry, the so-called seven-year curse looms over every group and their fans. After seven years of activity, groups undergo contract negotiations and ultimately confront the decision to either let their contracts expire or renew them. This time in a K-pop group’s career has become notorious for resulting in disbandment or the departure of one or more members. 

This past summer, the girl group TWICE solidified their place among the handful that have overcome the curse, renewing their contracts with JYP Entertainment. On October 20, 2022, the nine women—Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu—celebrated the seventh anniversary of their debut.

Each member posted old pictures on Instagram with long, heartfelt captions expressing hopes of creating new memories in the future. On the anniversary date, an exhibition highlighting the important and iconic moments of the group’s career and a pop-up store selling limited merchandise opened in Seoul. They also had a livestream to commemorate the event, and on October 26, they hosted a Halloween-themed fan meeting.

In an interview with NME, leader Jihyo spoke about the group’s difficult conversations and how hard the renewal process was, saying it was “related to their individual lives” and “decided their individual futures.” She also confessed that their decision wasn’t even set in stone until a few days before the renewal was announced to the media and that the group as a whole didn’t know how things would go until they sat down to sign. 

Seven years is a long time. For TWICE, it has been seven years of consistent music releases and promotions, touring, award shows, praise, and criticism. They completed their fourth world tour, “III,” in May 2022, selling out all dates: two in Seoul, three in Tokyo, and seven in North America. The nine women went from contestants aiming to debut in an idol group on JYP’s survival show SIXTEEN to the  “nation’s girl group,” as they were dubbed by the South Korean media and public. Now, TWICE is an internationally recognized talent. These accomplishments are no small feat; they have truly built a brand for themselves. While JYP Entertainment’s wealth and reputation may have initially helped out, the members’ individual skills and quirks and the TWICE sound now carry their own reputations . 

Momo’s dancing expertise, Jihyo’s “god” status, Tzuyu’s beauty, Sana’s charisma, and even Dahyun’s ability to spot every camera on her are just a few examples of well-known information about TWICE. Even if you aren’t aware of all the ins and outs of the group, there are certain things that you just know. Every TWICE comeback is highly anticipated by fans–known as ONCE—and casual listeners alike. Their latest album, Between 1&2, sold a million copies in pre-orders alone, and in the first week after release, 533,000 more copies were sold. People are always looking forward to what concept they’ll pull off next or what their summer song will sound like. 

This energy isn’t limited to Korean releases—their Japanese singles and albums are received just as enthusiastically. Having three Japanese members, Momo, Sana, and Mina, combined with consistent promotions in Japan, has helped the group to grow and maintain their popularity in the country. On top of that, their Japanese discography is just as good and sometimes better than their Korean or English tracks. “Breakthrough” is just one example of a Japanese song that received uber amounts of praise, thought by some ONCEs to be one of their best releases ever.

The group has set a high standard for themselves, and they haven’t fallen short yet. TWICE has stood firm and never wavered from their unique feel in an industry that is oversaturated with talents and constantly seeking novelty. 

The Evolution of TWICE

On October 20, 2015, TWICE debuted with the title track “Like Ooh-Ahh” and mini-album The Story Begins. And what a debut it was. “Like Ooh-Ahh” was accompanied by a quirky, zombie apocalypse-themed music video, with the members wearing outfits that were loud and a little all over the place.  The choreography included a memorable chorus and an iconic dance break performed by main dancer Momo. Although their concept—an amalgamation of eccentric, youthful, and cute—was only one out of many at the time, they stuck out with their sound and JYP-backed production. 

Then the group made their first-ever comeback, with “Cheer Up” as the title track. If “Like Ooh-Ahh” got them off the ground, “Cheer Up” took TWICE to space. Aside from being super catchy, the song and performance contained many unforgettable moments, from the chorus’s choreography to Sana’s legendary “shy, shy, shy” to Mina’s angelic bridge.

With these two title tracks, TWICE’s popularity grew, and they established themselves on the K-pop scene. But it wasn’t only their title tracks that garnered attention. “Touchdown” and the infamous  “I’m Gonna Be a Star”—hilariously disliked by center and lead vocalist Nayeon—are two renowned B-sides from Page Two, the EP that “Cheer Up” is also on.

Since “Cheer Up” in 2016, TWICE has gone on to have 15 comebacks, the last being “Talk That Talk” from the album Between 1&2, released this past August. For a while, the girls stuck to the bright, cute-weird concept, sometimes leaning more toward cute than weird and vice versa. 

Then came “Fancy” in 2019. 

This release marked the ultimate transition in TWICE’s concept from youthful to mature. At that point in their lives, the members were women rather than teenagers, the youngest member Tzuyu being 20, and the eldest, Nayeon, being 24.  It was time for their music to start aging with them.  “Fancy” was still TWICE: it was catchy and upbeat, had memorable choreography, and let the members shine in their individual parts. It was still them, but there was no trace of the girlish vibe that previously permeated their music. 

And since then, TWICE has fully embraced their maturity. The slow and smooth evolution of their concept has been nothing short of perfect, and they have continued to be well-received by the public—no surprise there.

The Triumphs of TWICE 

TWICE’s talents don’t only come in the form of performance. Starting in 2017, the members began to contribute to the making of their own music.

From a Western perspective, this might seem strange: typically, artists write their own songs, either alone or with the help of a team. The K-pop industry works differently. For the most part, producers within a group’s company create the music, or an outside producer sends a demo and the group participates in its recording. Companies loosen up and grant their idols creative freedom, but this typically happens after a few years of a group’s existence. 

In 2017, two years after debut, members Dahyun and Chaeyoung were the first to be credited for songwriting on “Missing U,” a B-side on their mini-album Twicetagram. Since then, TWICE has been writing lyrics left and right. Chaeyoung and Jihyo are currently the frontrunners in songwriting, but multiple other members have also showcased their writing prowess throughout their careers as well.

Aside from music, TWICE has put in the effort with group and individual schedules. In  June 2022, Nayeon made her solo debut with the self-titled mini-album IM NAYEON and the title track “POP!”. The track got her five music show wins and was practically inescapable as idols and fans did the “POP!” dance challenge for weeks. 

Not every member has had a solo debut (yet), but that doesn’t mean there’s a lack of content from them. Each member has a relatively large brand presence, whether in South Korea or abroad. All of them do endorsements for numerous fashion, cosmetics, and health brands. Momo just became an ambassador for the Japanese fashion brand Onitsuka Tiger, and Sana is a brand ambassador for Prada, representing them at the 2022 Milan Fashion Week. And even though they are not ambassadors, Dahyun and Chaeyoung had all eyes on them this past fall as Dahyun attended New York Fashion Week decked out in Michael Kors, and Chaeyoung was spotted in the front row next to Brent Faiyaz at the Ferragamo show in Milan.

They also get to flex their modeling skills in various photoshoots and magazine features. Sometimes these shoots only feature one or a few members, but they typically do them together. Some of the most well-known are their features on Allure Korea in 2019, Cosmopolitan in July of this year, and Jihyo’s solo Allure cover shoot in 2020. Being an idol isn’t solely about singing and dancing; they get to show off their beauty too.

The Perseverance of TWICE

TWICE’s journey until now hasn’t been without its ups and downs. As idols, the members have met their fair share of difficulties and bad attention.

In July 2019, Mina decided to take a mental health break and went on hiatus because of her anxiety. Of course, her fellow members, company, and fans understood this and wished her the best, but her absence was felt. TWICE as eight instead of nine wasn’t lacking in any way—it was simply that Mina was missed. She was absent for the release of “Feel Special” and most of the group’s world tour, “TWICELIGHTS.” She made her return with TWICE’s comeback “More & More” in June of 2020.

It was during this promotion period that the group received hate. After a “More & More” encore stage, the group’s vocal skills were bashed online. Momo, in particular, was singled out and ridiculed for her vocal tone; people were going as far as to question how she made it into TWICE in the first place. This incident noticeably affected the members: they seemed apprehensive in later encore stages and live events.

Shortly after, in October of that same year, Jeongyeon also went on hiatus because of her anxiety. She was absent for the promotions of their comeback “I Can’t Stop Me” but promptly returned in January 2021. However, she had another hiatus—again for mental health concerns—in August 2021. She participated in promotions for “Scientist,” which was released in October 2021, and made a full return for their most recent world tour. 

Through all of this, TWICE and ONCEs have stayed resilient. Dance routines made for nine were still performed amazingly by eight. Fans waited for Mina and Jeongyeon to return and offered their support. They loyally streamed music, purchased albums, and attended concerts while the group remained hard-working. Although they are concerned for the members: choreographies are getting increasingly complex, and they always have quite a few comebacks every year. ONCEs keep a wary eye on JYP Entertainment but are always happy for TWICE.

The Future of TWICE
With their contracts renewed, TWICE is stepping into their eighth year of existence. Given their track record, success certainly lies ahead. No one can know for sure, but there is exciting speculation of more solo debuts and activities in the near future. So far this year, the group dropped the pre-release single “Moonlight Sunrise,” the MiSaMo subunit—consisting of members Mina, Sana, and Momo—has been announced, and a new album titled READY TO BE is coming out on March 10. On top of all this, TWICE is going on their fifth world tour, titled “READY TO BE,” starting in April. The nine women have earned their flowers with both their talent and dedication. Most recently, at the 2023 Billboard Women in Music Awards, they were given the Breakthrough Artist Award. They have accomplished so much in the past seven years—TWICE and ONCEs deserve to feel proud.