Take A Look Back At TWICE's Career Ahead Of Their Singapore Concert
What was your favourite era?
TWICE has come a long way. With nine members—Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu—TWICE has earned the titles of "Top Girl Group," "Nation’s Girl Group," and "Final Boss of Girl Groups," among many others. The group has more than seven years of experience under their belt and a broad discography that has put them on the world map. From the bubbly cute concept to the girl crush concept, this K-pop group has done them all. Consider their plethora of brand partnerships, too: Innisfree, Estée Lauder and Nintendo Korea, just to name a few. Each member has also been named brand ambassadors or been chosen as campaign models for luxury brands like Michael Kors, SK-II, and even Graff.
Singaporean ONCEs will be happy to learn that the girl group will be hitting our shores this weekend for their TWICE 5TH WORLD TOUR 'READY TO BE' concert. Tickets can be purchased here. Ahead of their concerts, we compiled a list of their various eras from pre-debut to their latest mini-album, READY TO BE, and picked one fan-favourite member each who owned that particular era. (No worries, we think every member killed it in each era.) Scroll ahead and take a walk down memory lane.
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Before we begin with appreciating the group's evolution, we need to see TWICE's beginnings as a young group. Posted on July 10, 2015 (yes, we scrolled that far back), the group amassed 14k followers in a matter of two hours after launching the official group Instagram account on 10 July.
Billboard said it best when they wrote, "the decade-defining girl group solidified their legacy with this gooey synth-pop track that created a new go-to phrase for K-pop fans worldwide. The song boasts an earworm for anyone and everyone's taste." Nayeon, also known as the group's "fake maknae" despite being the oldest member, suited the bubblegum concept perfectly.
Jeongyeon's iconic short bob looked ultra-cute in this era. Fans who have streamed the MV multiple times (I know I have) would instantly recognise her red hoodie moment.
When this Taiwanese member made her debut, many were mesmerised by her visuals, and the "Signal" era helped enhance her charisma on screen. With her cute jumps and attempts to keep a straight face while her members made comedic faces, Tzuyu's performances were beyond adorable.
Fans were delighted to see the dancer break it down in this MV, earning her the title of TWICE's "Dancing Machine".
The only way to justify this choice is to reference the meme that dominated this era - “is Sana gay?” The line from the start of the song's chorus was misheard by non-Korean ONCEs, and many simply couldn't unhear it. What's more, Sana hugged different members at the end of every performance of "Heart Shaker," so she was most definitely the era's star.
Dahyun not only pulled off a commercial break for Acuvue contact lenses during this era, but even donned fake facial hair to play the titular character from French film, Léon: The Professional. We love a girl who can do both.
The maknae of the group pulled off effortless beachy waves in these promotional pics.
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I imagine Dahyun's choices for her pink-purple ombré hair were "Yes or Yes." Even the blonde locks she reverted to during promotions were iconic.
This era marked a turning point for TWICE with the title song "Fancy" bringing out their sultry and mature voices. As main dancer, Mina nailed her powerful moves, and her high ponytail with bangs only made her features look even more defined.
Did you know JYP wrote this song as a way to cheer the members up? In an interview with CNN Brazil he revealed that, "During that time, Sana was going through a hard time, and I saw how the members helped her and that touched me. I wrote the song about their friendship." Nayeon wrote the lyrics for "Rainbow" and stole fans' hearts when she was featured in the teaser for the "Feel Special" MV.
The title song for this era included artists like Uzoechi Emenike (MNEK), Justin Tranter, Julia Michaels and Zara Larsson in the song production and writing, while the album shifted to embrace genres like tropical pop and new jack swing. Momo's ethereal visuals, juxtaposed with her powerful moves, captured her charisma both on screen and on stage.
This era featured Chaeyoung as the ultimate girl crush wearing menswear vests, ties, shirts and trousers. You can't stop me from loving her in this era.
For those in touch with the indie artists in Korea, you would be happy to learn that this song was co-written by various artists including Heize. Wearing hats and grey hair, Chaeyoung's visuals looked stunning during her performances.
While she was on hiatus halfway through the group's "I Can't Stop Me" era, Jeongyeon returned for "Alcohol-Free" and fans supported her throughout. In a video on channel ODG, the star mentioned, "This Alcohol-Free was my comeback stage in a few months. It was like that, and I was terribly nervous. It made me feel as nervous as my debut stage." In the end, her performance was nothing short of perfect.
Mina's dark hair with bangs stole fans' hearts. The song may have not received the same acclaim as others by the group, but it's still a bop featuring a blend of deep house, dance-pop and 80s synth beats.
Jihyo owned this era with her superior visuals, sharp bob and bangs.
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In an interview with Soompi, the leader revealed that, “Our title track ‘SET ME FREE’ holds the meaning of ‘Let’s break away from everything that binds us and love freely, to our heart’s content.’ I figure that many people will be able to feel another kind of TWICE’s charms. I hope people listen to our song and watch our performance enjoyably.” This continuation of her bob era leaves us excited to see more from both Jihyo and the other members.