Summer is getting near and whenever summer comes, it’s time for TWICE to make a comeback. Known as summer queens, in 2020, TWICE made a comeback on June 1st, 2020. Even though TWICE don’t always make comebacks in summer, their freshness and cheerfulness always remind us of summer. With their 9th EP album, More & More, TWICE still displayed the freshness they have always had, only slightly different this time. Their 9th mini-album that includes seven tracks, has the genres of latin-pop, tropical house, bass music, and new jack swing. It’s a bit different from what TWICE had given their listener so far.
Background of “More & More”
TWICE 9th EP album More & More has a main track of the same title. “More & More” is their recent comeback after 9 months of hiatus due to Mina’s mental health issues. The first confirmation about their “More & More” comeback was made by TWICE members in their YouTube series TWICE: Seize the Light where the members talked about their comeback date.
Story of “More & More”
“More & More” is showing their maturity as artists and as women. With the tropical house and latin genre, TWICE showed the new side of them and tried to bring the lyrics about intensifying emotions in a romantic relationship that moves forward. The title track “More & More” was written by J.Y. Park including several international songwriters and producers like MNEK, Zara Larsson, and Julia Michaels. It is said that “More & More” is about the eager desire that TWICE members tried to reflect in their concept and also the desire to know more and more about the person they fall in love with while also act as a bold declaration that makes one unable to hold back form knowing the person that they love. Other than J.Y. Park, MNEK, Zara Larsson, and Julia Michaels, several people like Choi Hye-jin and Eom Se-hee also act as recording engineers, while Lee Tae Seob and Lim Hong Jin play an important part as mixing engineers. Different from their previous comebacks, “More & More” combines the nature concept and the hippie concept as a sign of innocence and maturity that contrast each other. “More & More” is also binging a theme of temptation and also the desire to free oneself from the fantasy of purity.
MV of “More & More”
In “More & More” TWICE are trying to show the contrast of innocence and maturity. At the beginning of the music video, it is shown that the members Sana, Momo, and Tzuyu sit and lie down with a rabbit near them. While the other member, Mina, Dahyun, and Nayeon are shown in a garden that has butterflies flying around them and apple trees. It’s a sign that the setting of this MV is the garden of Eden as shown by the apple which is the forbidden fruit and the snake that is lurking around them trying to tempt them to eat the forbidden fruit. But in the second scene, the scene changes from Tzuyu being around a Lion that is a symbol of freedom and an untamable animal. The garden they live in is also indicative of their illusion of purity and TWICE are trying to break the illusion as shown by their attempt to come out to the more realistic world with fewer fairy or fantasy animals around them.
The MV of “More & More” is directed by NAÏVE Production, while Kim Yeong-jo and Yoo Seung-woo are the video executive producers. When talking about TWICE and their “More & More”, we would be amiss if we don’t make note of their energetic and notable dance. The dance of “More & More” was developed by choreographers Kiel Tutin and Leejung Lee. In the first 24 hours after the release of the music video, “More & More” reached 19,1 M views on YouTube and 2,2 M likes.
“More & More” Performance
Like many other groups, TWICE also promoted their song on music shows. Their first promotion took place on June 4th, 2020, on M! Countdown. Then they promoted their song on Music Bank and Inkigayo. TWICE received their first win for “More & More” in Show Champion. They also got a win on Music Bank. TWICE are one of the groups that have managed to accumulate 100 music show wins throughout their career.
“More & More” Achievements
The EP of “More & More” received a notable response with it being said that this album shows the girls’ maturity in music. With the variety of music genres, it’s possible that this will give TWICE strength and could lead to the possibility of collaboration with international artists. The album also received positive feedback as it had a more mature concept of TWICE without abandoning their trademark as a bright demeanor. The sales of the album are also remarkable as it has become one of the best-selling albums. On May 27th, 2020, the number of pre-orders for More & More surpassed 500,000 copies and the album sold over 260,000 copies on the first day on Hanteo. This made TWICE the first Korean girl group that surpassed the 200,000-album sales on the first day of release. Not only that, but Gaon also confirmed that on July 2nd, 2020, More & More reached 563,000 copies sold and it debuted at number 1 on the Gaon Album Chart with the title track topping it. This EP is a TWICE best-selling album that also entered the Billboard 200. This made TWICE the fourth girl group that has entered the Billboard 200 along with Girls’ Generation, 2NE1, and Blackpink. “More & More” Achievement Chart With the initial success of “More & More”, the group then released the English version of the song on August 21st, 2020.
