TWICE

TWICE is a South Korean girl group from Seoul, formed by JYP Entertainment in 2015 and active since then. The group comprises NAYEON, JEONGYEON, MOMO, SANA, JIHYO, MINA, DAHYUN, CHAEYOUNG and TZUYU. Their name is explained as a reference to reaching people’s hearts twice, first through the ears and then through the eyes.

Formation and debut

The group is formed through the 2015 reality survival show SIXTEEN, which airs on Mnet. The programme selects seven winning members, and JYP Entertainment then adds MOMO and TZUYU to make a nine-member group. TWICE debuts in October 2015 with the extended play THE STORY BEGINS and the title track “OOH-AHH하게”.

Style, releases and achievements

TWICE’s music is associated with dance, dance-pop, electronica, j-pop, k-pop and pop. The group rises to wider fame in 2016 with “CHEER UP” from PAGE TWO, which reaches number one on the Gaon Digital Chart and is named Song of the Year at the Melon Music Awards and the Mnet Asian Music Awards. Its follow-up “TT” from TWICEcoaster : LANE 1 tops the chart for four consecutive weeks and becomes a major seller, while the music video reaches 100 million views faster than any K-pop group video at the time. Later in the year, “TT” also becomes the first video by a K-pop female act to pass 200 million views.

In 2017, TWICE hold their first solo concert tour, TWICE 1st Tour: Twiceland – The Opening, and release TWICEcoaster: Lane 2 with “KNOCK KNOCK”. Their fifth EP, SIGNAL, includes their first collaboration with JYP founder Park Jin-young as producer on the title track, while members JIHYO and CHAEYOUNG contribute to “EYE EYE EYES” and former Wonder Girls member HA:TFELT writes “Only 너 (Only You)”. The group also makes its Japanese debut with the compilation album #TWICE under Warner Music Japan. Later that year, their first full-length Korean album TWICETAGRAM includes significant member involvement in writing and composing, and “LIKEY” helps the album and single reach number one on Billboard’s World Albums and World Digital Song Sales charts, a first for the group and for a female K-pop act on both charts together.

Subsequent releases include Merry & Happy, What is Love?, Summer Nights and “Dance the Night Away”, which earns certification in streaming, download and album categories. TWICE then releases the Japanese studio album BDZ, followed by YES OR YES, #TWICE2 and the Japanese dome tour TWICE Dome Tour 2019 “#Dreamday”. In 2019, FANCY YOU and “Fancy” extend the group’s commercial success, and Feel Special gives them another Billboard World Digital Song Sales number one and their first appearance on the Canadian Hot 100. The group also releases Japanese singles “Happy Happy” and “Breakthrough”, and the Japanese studio album &TWICE.

International reach

TWICE continue to build a presence in Japan through albums, singles and tours, with multiple releases certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan. They also become the first female K-pop act to stage a Japanese dome tour. Their first official English-language single, “The Feels”, appears in 2021 and becomes their first entry on the Billboard Hot 100, while also charting in the UK.