Twice gets ‘Fancy’ for its latest release: The girl group shows off a sexier look with new song
The members of Twice sport a new look as they perform “Fancy,” the lead track off of their new EP “Fancy You,” at a showcase in Gwangjin District, eastern Seoul, on Monday. [JYP ENTERTAINMENT]
The group’s seventh EP, with its lead track “Fancy,” marks a departure from the nine-member girl group’s usually bright and bubbly image, giving way to a more mature and polished look.
Unlike Twice’s earlier songs, “Fancy” is a mellow pop-dance track. The song talks of someone who is determined to hold on to their love interest with lyrics like “I don’t want just anyone” and “Cause I need you.” The biggest transformation, though, is perhaps the group’s style in the song’s music video. For the first time in their four-year career, the girls are going for a decidedly sexy look, dressed in black, skin-tight garments adorned with dangling metal chains that add an extra edge.
The members were excited to show off a different side of Twice during their album showcase on Monday in Gwangjin District, eastern Seoul, ahead of the EP’s release later that day.
“We’ve always shown our bright and energetic side in the past, but with this album, we wanted to express a more mature image,” said Jihyo, the group’s leader. “We were getting concerned that our fans might become bored of our image, but we coincidently received ‘Fancy’ and thought that, with this song, we could still keep our identity but also challenge ourselves with a new transformation.”
“When we first heard ‘Fancy,’ the members all had different reactions,” added Nayeon. “Some immediately liked it while others were a bit more reserved. But when we listened to the song again after all our parts were recorded, everyone liked it.”
“Fancy” was co-written as a collaboration between Jeon Gun and music production duo Black Eyed Pilseung, who is behind many of Twice’s hits, including “Like Ooh-Ahh,” “TT” and “Likey.”
The group’s seventh EP features six new tracks. [JYP ENTERTAINMENT]
Like with their sixth EP “Yes or Yes,” members of the group contributed to writing lyrics for many of the songs on “Fancy You.”
Jihyo wrote the lyrics for “Girls Like Us,” an uplifting track about not giving up or being too harsh on yourself in moments of despair. International artists like Maya von Doll and Dimitri Tikovoi, as well as singers MNEK and Charlie XCX, participated in composing and arranging the song.
Momo wrote lyrics for “Hot,” another encouraging song about being confident. MOONSHINE and Cazzi Opeia, who were behind last summer’s hit “Dance the Night Away,” contributed to the track. Chaeyoung wrote lyrics for “Strawberry,” an appeal to listeners to like Twice because, like strawberries, they are best in their natural state.
Sana wrote the words for “Turn It Up,” a song about how Once, the name of Twice’s fandom, encourages the group when they shine their lights during concerts as Twice performs on the dark stage.
“When I heard the song, it sounded very upbeat and reminded me of Once,” said Sana. “I thought that it would be nice to enjoy this song with Once, and wrote the lyrics thinking about the feelings we get when we see Once from onstage.”
Twice’s transformation seems to have paid off. As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, “Fancy” has topped the charts on some of the largest local music streaming platforms including Mnet, Genie Music, Soribada and Bugs.
The girls also reaffirmed their global influence with the release of “Fancy You.” The music video for “Fancy” reached 34 million views on YouTube as of 2 p.m. on Tuesday, just 20 hours since it was uploaded. According to JYP Entertainment, the groups’ management agency, “Fancy You” topped the iTunes album charts in 25 different regions including Singapore, Thailand, Greece, Germany, Brazil and Mexico, as of Tuesday morning.
The new EP comes right after Twice made industry history by becoming the first K-pop girl group to embark on a dome tour in Japan. A dome tour typically features stops at Japan’s largest venues, such as the Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Nagoya Dome in Nagoya and the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo. The girls performed in front of a total of 220,000 people across six shows on the tour, which wrapped earlier this month.
“So many people came to the Dome Tour that it’s still unbelievable,” said Momo, one of three Japanese members in the group, along with Sana and Mina. “It was a dream-like time and I am thankful for Once because they’re the reason we were able to perform in such large venues.”
Twice is soon set to kick off another series of shows for their upcoming world tour, which includes stops in nine cities in North America and Asia.
The girls will start by performing in Seoul on May 25 and 26, then at Bangkok on June 15, Manila on June 29, Singapore on July 13 and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Aug. 17.
In North America, the group will be holding shows in Los Angeles on July 17, in Mexico City on July 19, in Newark on July 21 and in Chicago on July 23. The global tour will mark the first time Twice will perform solo in front of an American audience.
BY KIM EUN-JIN [kim.eunjin1@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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