K-pop group releases 12th mini album. PHOTO CREDIT: Rolling Stone
TWICE released their 12th mini album “Ready To Be” on March 10, and I was ready to be blown away by their talent and flawless album once again.
Sorry, that was a bad joke, but I laughed.
TWICE never stops working and putting out content for their fans. They literally came out with their 11th mini album back at the end of August 2022. They are such hard workers and all of their work never ceases to amaze and impress me and other ONCES.
So, I knew that they wouldn’t disappoint with this new album, especially since they released one of the songs, “Moonlight Sunrise,” almost two months prior on January 20. When this pre-release English single dropped I immediately fell in love with the concept, the choreography and the vocals.
I won’t get ahead of myself and review it now, I’ll review it with the rest of the songs.
Along with this album being released, TWICE also announced on their official group Instagram and Twitter account that they will be going on their fifth world tour. I can’t lie, when I saw that post I fell out of my bed and ran to my brother and mom telling them that we’re going.
Not asking, telling them.
My brother and mom have loved K-Pop ever since I introduced it to them. My brother knows more about it than my mom, but she loves listening to the songs I suggest to her. So, I know we’ll have a lot of fun at this concert.
I also really want to go because I missed their last concert and tour they went on last year following the release of their third full album “Formula of Love.” I am determined to attend this concert because TWICE is my favorite K-Pop girl group, and to see them live in concert is a dream. I don’t even care if I get seats in the nosebleeds, I just want the experience of hearing their voices live.
Alright, let’s get into this album.
“Set Me Free” is the title track for this album and oh my word is this song absolutely iconic. That wasn’t a question, that was a true statement and if you disagree it’ll go in one ear and out the other. Nayeon, Jihyo and Jeongyeon on the chorus was everything I could have asked for and wanted in this song. When those three get on the chorus, you know the song is going to be good. Momo, Chaeyoung and Dahyun also came in clutch with the rap verses while Sana, Mina and Tzuyu gracefully sang the verses, melodies and pre/post choruses.
“Moonlight Sunrise” was absolutely amazing and beautiful to watch. The vibe and scenery of the music video was just so beautiful and aesthetically pleasing. I said this in the favorite song of the month article, but I’ll say it again because it’s true. The choreography, the vocals and the outfits. This concept really suited all of the members and I really loved all of their voices. Mina and Tzuyu killed it with their parts on the chorus, and Nayeon and Jihyo held it together with their angelic ad libs in the back. Chaeyoung’s rap verse was also smooth and her flow was so crazy good. This song makes me feel so happy and reminds me of summer.
“Wallflower” was my favorite song off of the album because of how soft and sweet it was. It’s a song you just really vibe and sway to while you’re listening. Dahyun and Chaeyoung’s rap verses near the end of the song going into the final chorus was so good and almost made me crash my car. I really have to stop driving and reacting to albums. Anyway, Nayeon and Jihyo once again killed it on the chorus and had such deep raspy voices when singing which made their parts so good.
“Got The Thrills” is such an awesome song and all of them owned this song equally. This made me wanna dance when I first listened to it, and I did dance to it; not well though. I do have to say that Jeongyeon, Momo and Jihyo were the true queens of this song with their parts. Jeongyeon’s voice/vocals are my favorite in the band. She has such a strong deep voice and everytime I hear her sing I fall in love with her voice even more.
“Crazy Stupid Love” and “Blame It On Me” were really good songs with great beats and all of the members sounded amazing on those tracks. I really enjoyed all of their voices on this song and out of the nine of them I really can’t choose a favorite. I will say that Jihyo’s high note in “Blame It On Me” was so amazing and powerful.
“Set Me Free (English Version)” was really good. When K-Pop bands do English or Japanese versions of their Korean songs, and vice-versa, they are sometimes not the best, but they aren’t awful. Which is understandable, because it’s hard to translate exact words and phrases from one language to another in a song, and to also match the beat. However, the English version of this title track is really good, almost as if it was written in English first.
TWICE is so amazing and talented and I love that more and more people are getting into them. They are reaching global popularity and with their fifth world tour I hope that they can gain more fans in the states!