TWICE to drop new EP 'Between 1&2'

By Shim Sun-ah

SEOUL, Aug. 26 (Yonhap) -- Popular K-pop girl group TWICE will return Friday with its 11th EP, "Between 1&2," the group's management agency said.

The album consists of seven tracks connected under the theme of the bond between ONCE, the group's global fandom, and TWICE as the title "Between 1&2" implies, according to JYP Entertainment.

The EP had already surpassed 1 million copies in preorders as of Wednesday, heralding the band's rise to be the third K-pop girl group with a million-selling album after BLACKPINK and aespa.

Included on the album are the lead single, "Talk that Talk," and the English-language song "Queen of Hearts."

"Talk that Talk" is an upbeat summer song with a retro vibe that reminds listeners of the year 2000, which is related to "Alcohol-Free," the lead single of the group's 10th EP released in June last year, according to the agency.

The new song was composed by local composer collapsedone, behind the group's previous hits "Knock Knock," "What is Love?" and "The Feels."

Member Nayeon said in a press release from JYP that the song is an addictive retro style track about trying to get the other person to say everything on his or her mind. The agency included a transcript of its interview with band members in the release to promote the album.

Momo said the song is good to hear at this time of year, when summer is about to end.

In "Queen of Hearts," the band expresses its thanks to all those who helped create its precious memories. The British production team LDN Noise, which is responsible for many of K-pop's biggest singles in the past few years, participated in the song's production.

The band said the EP feels all the more meaningful because its release comes after all nine bandmates recently renewed contracts with their agency.

"So, I'm even more excited about our forthcoming activities with the album," Jeongyeon said.

"Since we're returning after nine months and it's our first album as a full group this year, I'm very excited and nervous. Most of all, I'm so excited to meet ONCE in person after a long time," Momo added.

The contract renewal broke the so-called seven-year curse, a crisis experienced by many K-pop idol groups around the seventh year of their debuts. The term is used by K-pop fans to refer to many idol groups' tendency to disband or start to leave their companies and groups after seven years in the industry, which is the standard length of exclusive contracts between K-pop idols and their agencies. This "curse" has hit numerous groups, such as 2NE1, Miss A, GFriend, Lovelyz and April.

The last album participated in by all of the group's nine members was "Formula of Love: O+T=<3," its third full-length album that debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 main albums chart following its release in November. In June, Nayeon reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200 with her solo debut EP, "Im Nayeon," becoming the highest-charting K-pop solo artist.

"Between 1&2" will drop at 1 p.m., when it will be midnight in the United States (Eastern Standard Time). TWICE will perform the album's tracks live for the first time through its YouTube channel at 9 p.m.

sshim@yna.co.kr
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