In the music video for "I Got You," K-pop girl group TWICE are stranded at a tempestuous sea. Their ship waders and wobbles, thunder roars outside, but the nine members are safe and sound in the cabin — lying on cozy pillows and having a good time, they know all storms are temporary.
"I Got You" precedes TWICE’s thirteenth EP, With YOU-th, out Feb. 23, and the video mirrors their journey together so far.
TWICE members Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Jihyo, Momo, Sana, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu made their debut in Oct. 2015, after being selected through JYP Entertainment’s survival show "Sixteen." Almost a decade later, the group is now one of K-pop’s most influential, beloved names. They've even made history by becoming the first K-pop group to win a Breakthrough Award at the 2023 Billboard Women in Music Awards, and the first girl group and Asian female act to sell out Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium last year.
Achieving their level of success didn’t come easy. In songs like "Feel Special" and "One In a Million," they've openly shared the dedication and resilience it took to make it this far. They highlight the importance of unity and their special connection, both with each other and their fan base known as ONCE.
With YOU-th celebrates all that. It’s a journey navigating toward the calm after the storm, and a statement on the importance of friendship, love, and just having someone who can say "No matter what, you got me/ I got you/ And I wouldn’t want it any other way."
Ahead of the release, the nine members of TWICE (and a special appearance by Momo’s Norwich Terrier, Boo) chatted with GRAMMY.com over Zoom about their new album, the most significant moments in their career so far, and how they see themselves today.
The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Reflecting On The Present While Creating With YOU-Th
Nayeon: With YOU-th is meaningful in a way that it tells our story and reflects who we are at this moment.
Sana: Our [lead single], "One Spark," was supposed to be in one of our previous albums, but it didn't make it. [When] we chose it to be the single for this album, and we wanted to make it even better than it already was. We changed arrangements and the parts that we sang, and we also re-recorded the song to make it as perfect as possible.
Dahyun: The song that I wrote the lyrics for, "You Get Me," is a sequel to our pre-release single, "I Got You." The story continues in that there's a connection between the two songs. I also wrote lyrics for another song, but it didn't make it in this album and I'm hoping that it'll make it in the next album.
Experiencing An Unbelievable Debut — And Global Success
Jeongyeon: The first moment that really stuck with me was during the [2015 survival show] "Sixteen," where TWICE members were decided. Another moment was when we released our first single, "Like OOH-AHH." I cried a lot on that day.
Another moment [that I remember well] was the first time we topped the Korean music charts with [2016’s] "Cheer Up." It happened on May 5. I remember it very clearly.
Tzuyu: During the years that I was a trainee, some of the members were already chosen to debut [with TWICE], and I was not one of them. Whenever I watched them during monthly evaluations, I would always think about how perfect they are and how good they are. I never thought that I would be one of the members. The fact that I made it into TWICE and that it lasted so far is still really unbelievable for me.
Dahyun: When we first visited a broadcast station to perform on stage as TWICE, that was really memorable. I remember being so nervous in front of the fans. And I remember our first concert where I cried a lot.
Blinking Twice, Nearly 10 Years Have Flown By
Jihyo: I sometimes look up our old concert videos on the internet, and when I watch them, I am impressed by how much improvement we made, and also how young we were and how hard we worked.
Sana: When we debuted, I thought our eighth anniversary would never come, but it happened so quickly. Our eighth anniversary fan meeting was so beautiful and we cherished it with our fans and all nine of us. That was such a precious moment. I'm just so grateful that we made it this far and all of us are healthy and happy. I think that's what matters the most.
Mina: Right before we signed the contracts again as a group [in 2022], we had a concert at Tokyo Dome. At this point, none of us knew what would happen, so we cried a lot and we were very anxious as well. That performance really stuck with me.
Twice Have Had To Overcome Hardships As A Team
Jihyo: Because everybody else talked about happy moments, I'm going to talk about the difficult times rather than the good times. I think the hardships made us solid as a team, and it really made me feel that I'm not alone in this. Whatever we go through, I'm not alone.
That feeling struck me hard when I released my solo album, [Zone]. I got so many cheers from the members and they helped me by doing all these challenges for Instagram. I really felt like difficult things are easier to overcome when we're together.
Every time when we're so busy and all of us are sensitive, it's much easier to get over yourself and think that you're not alone in this. All of the members are going through the same thing. That kind of thought really helps.
Remembering The "Glamor" Of Touring
Momo: During our [last] tour, we would all get together in the hotel room and eat. For example, when we are in Japan, our favorite meal to eat together is udon noodles. And there was this one particular day that each of us got into the shower right after the concert, and the hot water didn't come out, so all of us in our respective bathrooms screamed at the same time. That was really funny.
Chaeyoung: Last year, during the promotions for "Set Me Free," we visited the United States for two weeks. Every day we had three or four [performance] schedules, and it made me feel like I was back to the newly-debuted times of our group. It was physically challenging, but we got over it, and it’s now a good memory. The most striking part was when we went to the Empire State, and they lit up the whole [Empire State] building with TWICE’s official colors.
Dahyun: There was also a concert in Japan where we performed on a big, round stage. I remember all of us members holding hands and circling around, and that somehow stuck with me. I also remember vividly the first time we got an award overseas, in America.
TWICE Want To Face The Future Together
Nayeon: In the last scene of the music video for "I Got You," we are sailing on a ship in the middle of the ocean. I thought that it was a reflection of where we are, career-wise and in our lives. Of course we had difficult times, but I think that going through all of it together solidified us as a group. I'm not going to say that we have a clear destination point now, but what matters is that we are together, and that is something very clear and solid.
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