K-Pop group TWICE released a new album, and anyone who likes upbeat 1980s music will love this. PHOTO CREDIT: Amazon.com
TWICE’s highly-anticipated third album, “Formula Of Love: O+T= <3,” consists of 17 songs in total, including their first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and their first fully English language single “The Feels.” On this album, the nine members, Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu, prove once again that any style and theme can suit them all.
Over the course of the last few years, K-Pop has slowly gained massive popularity in the West, and now many new fourth generation K-Pop groups, such as ITZY, Stray Kids, TXT, ATEEZ, EVERGLOW and many more, have quickly become popular in America.
The title, “Formula Of Love: O+T= <3,” pays homage to the band’s fanbase, ONCE. The O stands for ONCE, plus the T standing for TWICE, equaling the classic heart emoji.
The opener, “SCIENTIST,” is a slow, yet upbeat, song that’s very easy to dance to, with a music video released the same night of the album that reached 16 million views in 24 hours. It’s a very catchy and poppy song to listen to and enjoy. I found myself listening to this one over and over again and somewhat retaining the Korean lyrics.
“MOONLIGHT,” the second track, is my personal favorite from the entire album. This is another fully English song, and it’s got a 1980s vibe, being very much a groove, dance track. It’s also got a driving down the road with the windows down in summer kind of vibe to it as well. To me, it’s one of their best songs that they have recorded.
“CRUEL,” written by member Dahyun, is another upbeat pop dance track and another one of my favorites off the album. It delivers a serious message about how sometimes we can be hypocritical to our partners and not even notice it.
“REAL YOU,” the fifth track, was written by member Jihyo, and also has a 1980s pop tone to it. Essentially, all the songs on this album are catchy dance songs. This one is a love song, and it talks about people in a relationship opening up and showing each other their true selves. It’s a song that fits TWICE’s theme very well.
“F.I.L.A (Fall In Love Again),” the sixth track, was written by member Nayeon, with more of a 1970s disco vibe. This is another one of my favorite songs because it’s so catchy. It gives me images of a roller-skating party night in the late 1970s; big hair and bright colorful outfits all around.
“선인장 (CACTUS),” is the 10th track, written by member Jihyo. It’s another slow-paced song that has more of a sad vibe to it. It sounds like a breakup song, but sadly, I don’t know exactly what the Korean lyrics are saying.
“PUSH & PULL,” the 11th track, is sung by Sana, Jihyo and Dahyun. This is another upbeat pop song, and it’s very easy to dance to this song with its fast-paced beat. It really gives each member the chance to shine for a little longer than they normally do. Most members don’t get many lines in a song, so these sub-unit songs are everything. This is my third favorite off the album.
“HELLO,” the 12th track, is sung by Nayeon, Momo and Chaeyoung. This song is a hip hop/rap song with an awesome beat to it. It’s one of those main character slow-motion songs. Again, it gives the members more of a chance to shine.
Jeongyeon, Mina and Tyuzu sing the 13th track, which is titled “1, 3, 2.” This song is more slow-paced and calming, and it’s got a good beat to dance to. This is a fun little two-step song to dance to at any event and my second favorite song off the album.
“The Feels” is only on the digital version, and it’s an upbeat happy pop song that has a lot of dancing in it. All of their songs just get stuck in your head, and all the members work hard to make sure that each song is unique and somewhat different. The Korean version is only available on the physical album/CD, with lyrics written by member Chaeyoung.
This album is my favorite of all their albums, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves upbeat 1980s-like music. Although I didn’t mention all the songs, I love each one equally, and they’re so addictive and catchy, you can’t help but listen to them on repeat.