TWICE on ‘Fresh Approach’ to Friendship and What Gives Them the ‘Confidence to Go On’ in New Album (Exclusive)

Often the longest friendships are what we hold most dear in our hearts. “Old friends” are the ones we not only invite to our weddings, but are also our bridesmaids. They are the ones who have shared our inside jokes, witnessed our worst moments, and loved us for who we are, even before we knew what that looked like.

Perhaps there is no other group that exemplifies this special relationship more than TWICE. It’s been a long journey for the nine young women since they joined forces in 2015.. From then on, the girls – Jihyo, 26, Nayeon, 28, Jeongyeon, 27, Momo, 27, Sana, 27, Mina, 26, Dahyun, 25, Chaeyoung, 24, and Tzuyu, 24 – soared to heights never seen before. they couldn’t have imagined, like she’s the first K-pop artist ever to be honored with a Billboard Women in Music “Breakthrough Award.”

Now, with the release of their 13th mini-album, WITH YOU, the girls are ready to pay tribute to the relationships they have built since their youth. It’s a love letter, written with nostalgia and hope for each other and for their fans, called ONCE.

“This album is about our friendship and how ONCE has always been there to watch us grow as friends and as a group,” Jihyo sums up.

TWICE.

JYP party

If the idea of ​​friendship evokes warm feelings, then you’re sure to have “The Feels” when the “One Spark” singers appear on Zoom to chat with PEOPLE. As they sit in two rows dressed in warm, comfortable sweatpants, they rub the sleep from their eyes after a long day.

There’s even an honorary tenth member of the group that makes an appearance: Mom’s white dog, who sits patiently on Jihyo’s lap and pants while the group leader strokes his fur.

Such a setting is nothing new for TWICE when we look back on their eight-year journey. Unlike other friendships, which usually grow at a distance, the group faced each new chapter of life together. Through noisy tidal waves of ups and downs, the girls successfully weathered each storm. However, in the face of the most terrible storms, their togetherness not only allowed them to survive, but to thrive.

Their pre-release single, “I Got You,” showcases just the kind of power their relationship possesses. As a nightmarish sea storm threatens to capsize their small sailboat, the girls aboard are anything but shaken. It’s hard to tell if they’re traveling to find land or treasure—but amid the warm caramel-colored interior, everyone’s face glows with certainty.

Such a storm is almost akin to the Roaring Twenties—a decade in which every young person seeks to discover who they are amidst a series of obstacles and challenges. Growing up in your late twenties under the spotlight can probably be just as difficult, but the girls manage to find the bright side.

“I think the difficult part of growing up in our late twenties is that the more we mature and meet fans as TWICE, there are so many things that we’ve introduced to them,” Jihyo says. “The hard part is coming up with new and fresh things as artists.”

“The good thing is that the years pass, our teamwork becomes stronger and as the years pass we get to know each other better,” she continues. “We have less conflict and the relationship is much easier now.”

TWICE.

JYP party

And indeed, the waves become just as smooth when the sky clears to reveal a shimmering azure sea. Instead of suffocating and drowning under the stormy raindrops of doubt, the red ribbon of fate binds them together. The tape becomes all the more important when the “Fancy” singers climb to greater heights because it saves them from potentially falling even further. But instead of cowering in fear, they each feel confident. After all, they are long past the trust drop.

The performers of “Talk that Talk” are as confident in their identity as a group over the years, and it’s anything but sugarcoated.

“Our identity has always been about showing our fans who we are without anything artificial, trying too hard to look better than what we are, and that honesty has been so well received by our fans,” says Dahyun.

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“I know we’ve tried a lot of new things, but I think our identity and our overall general concept has stayed pretty consistent over the years,” Nayeon adds of their diverse discography. “I don’t think the fans felt it was completely different, but rather a fresh approach to our consistent identity.”

TWICE.

JYP party

It quickly becomes apparent that the fans are completely inseparable from the minds of the members as they reflect on their careers. In fact, when asked to give their opinion on “What is love?” (the same name as their 2018 hit), the girls don’t even hesitate to answer:

“ONCE,” Dahyun immediately says, causing bursts of smiles from the members around her.

“I think it’s between us and ONCE,” Jihyo echoes back, having just added the puppy to Nayeon’s lap.

Indeed, fans have actually watched the girls grow up to become performers on and off the stage. However, even though the singers of “Bez alkohol” are very experienced as global superstars, the nerves never completely disappear.

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“It still goes on when we’re performing, but during our concerts or whenever we have stage performances, it’s the fans who give us the confidence and confidence to go ahead and perform for them,” Nayeon says of their stage fright.

What also does not remain alone, but only strengthens, is the feeling of nostalgia. It’s an incredibly powerful feeling and just one whiff of it can send anyone into a whirlwind of happy memories.

“Recently, we had our eighth annual fan meeting, and then some of us, including me-” Chaeyoung begins. “-Especially I am, I cried recently. I tried to hide it as much as possible, but one of the managers caught it all on camera, so it’s out.”

TWICE.

JYP party

For Tzuyu, nostalgic memories are also inextricably linked to fans.

“Sometimes they rent out the entire cafe to celebrate our birthdays, and the cafe is like covered in our photos and memorabilia,” she describes. “They put on such an event for us and every time I see it I’m so touched and I just feel loved.”

Seeing the younger groups emerging on the scene also took them back in time to their early days. While TWICE continues to lead alongside groups like BTS and BLACKPINK of the “third generation” of K-pop, the genre is well into its fourth and soon to be “fifth generation.” In particular, new girl group VCHA impressed the members of TWICE after seeing them perform as the opening act for their tour in Mexico and Brazil.

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“When I see younger groups coming up like this, I’m really impressed with how good they are already,” says Tzuyu. “There are a lot of things we learn from them as well, and their passion kind of brings us back to the time when we started. When I see their passion, I remember our days when we were just starting out.”

But don’t let the hyper-fast landscape of K-pop fool you — the “I Can’t Stop Me” singers are still as youthful in their humor as they are in their looks and age.

For example, Nayeon likes to play the extreme game, where the members are forced to choose between two difficult choices. Although simple, it can quickly become an addictive game that can be played for hours. However, the extremes are thrown out so quickly on the spot that it can be difficult to remember them. After a moment of thought, Nayeon tries to do just that:

“I remember asking one question: ‘How long can you stay away from home?’ She says.

“As long as you can get paid for it afterwards,” she adds.

This could be difficult, considering that most members like to stay at home and relax whenever they are not working.

“I try to stay at home as much as possible,” emphasizes Momo. “I don’t go out unless I have to — I just like to rest at home.”

Perhaps for Momo, her two dogs — one named Boo and the other named Dobby — are what keep her happy at home. When asked if they are known Harry Potter the elf influenced her choice of name, it is simple:

“No, it’s not,” she says with a laugh. “I didn’t name him Dobby after him Harry Potter, but there is a similarity, which is my dog’s ears.” After that concession, she raises her hands to her ears to demonstrate.

After all, their cute looks aren’t the best part of being a dog owner.

“[It’s the] the therapeutic aspect,” she explains. “When I go home, my dog ​​greets me and it’s totally therapeutic and really heals my soul.”

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Momo is not the only dog ​​lover in the group. Jeongyeon also chimes in about her two dogs, named Yuki and 백콩 (pronounced ttang-kong)which means “peanut” in English.

For cat lovers, don’t worry – many members’ relatives have cats of their own. Jeongyeon, Jihyo, Nayeon and Sana were quick to chime in saying that the representation of cats is good and alive among their family members.

However, it may take some time before members can spend a full day with their furry companion. They are currently in the middle of the second leg of their fifth world tour, “READY TO BE,” which will take them far and wide across Asia, Europe, Oceania, South America and into the US for a one-night-only encore performance.

While the girls have a lot to look forward to on tour and into the new year, they all agreed on an overarching priority.

“I think that the health of all members, including me, and having fun together is the first priority,” says Mina. “In the future we want to show ourselves as we are, as we always did ONCE.”

And after sailing forward into “I Got You,” the girls finally do make landfall in the end. But maybe they realize that the real treasure of their friendship has been with them all along. That’s what makes the journey, not the destination, the best part – and none of them would “have it any other way”.

“We will endure / As always”, they sing.

WITH YOU is now available for streaming.

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Source: HIS Education