TWICE Reflects On 10 Years With New Album And New Era

In TWICE’s album This is For promotional teaser, the members – Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Jihyo, Momo, Sana, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu – are wearing the same blue outfit with the word “FOUR” on the skirt. Their long black hair is neatly in place and straight. They resemble perfectly identical dolls.

If you ask the group what the symbolism behind the concept is, leader Jihyo will reveal that the FOUR represents their fourth full-length album and the opening song, “Four.” She interprets the unified look as representing the group united as one.

“This is my opinion,” Jihyo admits through an interpreter over Zoom from Seoul. “I don’t know if it’s right or not, but since the song is about lifting everyone’s spirit and giving everyone confidence and strength. We wanted to express the nine of us as one person. We wanted this one being to be lifted up and feel powerful.”

The global superstars are no strangers to representing unity, power, and confidence. Since their debut in 2015, the group has become a juggernaut in the music industry. They’ve sold out concerts at the world’s largest stadiums, charted No. 1 on Billboard 200, Billboard’s Top Album Sales and World Albums charts, were the first Korean group to receive the Billboard Women in Music Award, are the first K-pop girl group to headline at Lollapalooza this August, and have broken countless streaming records.

Now, with their album finally released – and a Japanese studio album, Enemy, scheduled for next month, TWICE is ready to go on tour to perform the songs on their Asia leg of their This Is For World Tour Part 1, which begins two nights in Incheon on July 19 and 20. They will then head to four cities in Japan, then Macao, Bulacan, Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, and Bangkok.

"We started the album-making process at the end of last year and the beginning of this year,” Nayeon shares. “We really did it step-by-step, so it wasn’t too hectic for us, but now we’re just really excited to meet the fans with two new albums.”

As for the album’s name, it’s pretty apparent who the album is for, as TWICE has always paid homage to ONCE, the name for their fandom, in all of their creative work.

“This is for everyone,” Jihyo confirms. “As the lyrics say in our title songs, we wanted to lift people up and give them confidence through ourselves.”

It’s also for themselves to have the opportunity to shine as soloists and as units. Although the group has recorded unit songs and even albums, This Is For provided them with the opportunity to collaborate with different members and experiment with new styles. (Snippets from their solo songs have been posted to YouTube, but will not be on the main studio album.)

“Before embarking on a new tour, we wanted to try new things and new soundscapes with this album,” Nayeon explains. “We recorded a lot of different units and ensembles that have never been seen before.”

This Is For does display a whole new side of TWICE, giving the members a new genre to explore. From the high-impact electronic song “Right Hand Girl” to the old school hip-hop feel of Peach Gelato, it felt like an entirely different group with each song.

Jeongyeon revealed that this was the hardest album for her to record because of the diverse genres and styles she had to perform. She says, “Every single song was so hard for me to sing. It was really hard, but I want to give myself a pat on the back for stretching through it. I did it, so I’m very proud of myself.”

With the variety of music and genres that TWICE had to work with, they all agreed that the title track, “This Is For,” was the most positive in its messaging. Nayeon says it’s a message for everyone, including themselves. She smiled, revealing “Right Hand Girl” was also a personal favorite.

“If you look at the lyrics, it’s really about drawing strength from others so that I can go on,” she says. “These two songs – ‘This Is For’ and ‘Right Hand Girl’ – really stuck out for me.”

One of their unit songs, “G.O.A.T.,” which stands for “Greatest of All Time,” is performed by Mina, Dahyun, and Chaeyoung. The group laughs when asked who they believe is the G.O.A.T. in the industry.

Jeongyeon looked sweetly at her members, yelling out, “TWICE! My G.O.A.T. is TWICE! I love TWICE!”

Tzuyu gave a shoutout to BTS for their role in expanding K-pop globally. She shares, “There are so many K-pop artists who worked so hard so that K-pop can take the center stage. Many artists worked hard to contribute, and BTS played a big role in that.”

As for their upcoming world tour, fans can expect a different kind of staging than they’re used to. TWICE will be performing on a 360-degree stage, allowing fans to view them from every angle. They admit it’ll be difficult preparing the choreography and song arrangement, but they are ready for the challenge. Jihyo shares that, due to the changed song arrangement, there will be different versions of their old songs.

“To be honest, preparation [has] not [been] easy,” says Momo. “The arrangement has to be different, but we’re working hard on it. We’re going to have a lot of fun.”

Nayeon adds, “We could have chosen the easier, safe path that we have done before, but we thought it was time for [something new]. We wanted to challenge ourselves, and that’s why we chose to do a 360-degree stage.”

The group has always been open to new opportunities to grow and expand as artists. Jihyo, Jeongyeon, and Sana have their own YouTube shows. Dahyun made her acting comeback, starring in the 2025 South Korean coming-of-age romance film, You’re the Apple of My Eye. MiSaMo, the subunit consisting of Japanese members Mina, Sana, and Momo, have released two mini-albums. Nayeon, Jihyo, and Tzuyu have all released solo albums. Now, Chaeyoung is set to release her debut solo album at the end of 2025.

“It’s going to be an album that captures my tastes, thoughts, attitude, and personality,” Chaeyoung shares. “It’s my first solo album, and I’ve been looking forward to it just as much as the fans have. I’m most excited to finally share it, and I’m really curious to see how people will react.”

Another project, which has been gaining a lot of buzz, features Jihyo, Jeongyeon, and Chaeyoung’s musical participation in the hit Netflix film Kpop Demon Hunters. The trio sings the soundtrack version of “Takedown.” The soundtrack has broken records and has become a global phenomenon.

“We are very honored and proud of ourselves to be part of it,” says Jihyo. “Our existence itself has a huge presence in the K-pop industry, and we are very grateful and proud [to be part of the film].”

As they celebrate their 10th anniversary together, the group remains in disbelief over their accomplishments. Although they are humble about their success, they are simply too busy to dwell on it and stay focused on the performances and music ahead.

“When we break new records, it doesn’t really hit us,” says Sana. “It’s hard to believe because we’re in the middle of preparing something. We’re ready to perform at those award shows and want to [give] our best performances. It’s [tough] to realize that we’re receiving such awards, [because] performing well at those award shows is our top priority.”

Their other priority is to take care of themselves and each other. They emphasize their health as an indicator of success for them. Metrics and awards are nice, but they would mean nothing if they fell sick or became unhealthy.

“Health is the most important factor in achieving all of these [awards and goals],” Dahyun explains. “So I hope that myself and our members stay healthy so we can do more in the future.”

The members look out for each other. It’s hard not to after over a decade of friendship and the shared bond of being in a successful group. Mina emphasized how much their teamwork has sustained their bond as a team. She reveals, “Over the last 10 years, we learned how to be considerate of one another and how to gracefully accept others’ differences and make harmony with each other.”

Chaeyoung agrees, emphasizing the importance of staying consistent in the relationship: “I’ve learned how to be considerate, to respect each other, and to overcome challenges together.”

After a decade of success and growth, TWICE is ready for their next era. While they wouldn’t define what they called this new chapter, Jihyo summed it up with an old Korean proverb.

“There is a saying that (십 년이면 강산도 변한다) within a decade, [the] whole landscape changes,” she shares. “Since this marks our 10th year, we will be even more changed than the landscape. We are looking forward to showing our new and fresh sides.”

TWICE’s album THIS IS FOR is available now on all streaming platforms.