Twice (Twice album)

In early February 2017, Twice launched their Japanese website and other social media channels. Large photos and ads of Twice were seen on the walls of busy shopping districts and subway station in Tokyo on February 8.[10][11][12] On February 24, they officially announced that their Japanese debut was set for June 28, 2017. It was revealed then that they would release a compilation album titled #Twice which consists of 10 songs including both Korean and Japanese-language versions of "Like Ooh-Ahh", "Cheer Up" and "TT." On the same day, five Japanese morning programs informed viewers of the upcoming debut and featured Twice in an interview.[4][13][14]

On May 31, Twice released details of the album, including the track listing. It has three versions: Standard Edition, First Press Limited Edition A (CD and photo book) and Limited Edition B (CD and DVD).[5][15][16][17]

On June 7, Warner Music Japan uploaded a short recording video of Twice for the Japanese version of "Like Ooh-Ahh" on YouTube. A week later, Twice digitally released "Signal (Japanese ver.)", along with the short version of its music video, as a preview and countdown to album release.[18][19] #Twice was officially released on June 28. It was also released as a digital download in EP format on various portals, including South Korean music sites distributed by Genie Music, containing the five Japanese-language songs.[2][20]

On June 14, 2017, it was announced that Twice would have a collaboration with Shibuya 109 store's 109 Summer Sale campaign for 2017 to mark the album release of #Twice. The store hosted pop-up stores called #Twice Pop-up Store and #Twice Gallery at its Tokyo and Osaka branches throughout July.[21][22] They also launched a promotion campaign with Tokyo Tower. On June 29–30, letters "TT", which represent the title track, were displayed in bright pink lighting on the Japanese tourist destination.[23]

The group performed "TT (Japanese ver.)" for the first time on a television program on the June 30th episode of Music Station, the first South Korean girl group to perform on the show since 2012. They appeared on the two-hour special episode along with Exile The Second, Kanjani8, Keyakizaka46, Dean Fujioka, Tomoyo Harada and Hey! Say! JUMP.[24]

On July 2, Twice held their two-part debut showcase titled Touchdown in Japan in Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, where they performed their first five Japanese songs, "Touchdown" from Page Two, "Jelly Jelly" and "One in a Million" from Twicecoaster: Lane 1 and a medley of their first five Korean singles. It was attended by a total of 15,000 people.[25][26][27]

Twice greeted more than 10,000 fans through a "Hi-Touch", an event where you can share high fives and handshakes in a close position with the band members, held at Makuhari Messe in Mihama-ku, Chiba on August 5 and at Intex Osaka in Suminoe-ku, Osaka on August 6.[28][29]

#Twice debuted at number 2 on the Oricon Daily Album Chart on June 27, 2017, selling 46,871 physical copies. It then claimed the top spot of the daily chart on its fifth day.[30][31][32] The album charted at number 2 on Oricon Weekly Album Chart, which sold 136,157 units, the highest first week album sales among K-pop artists in Japan in the last two years.[7][33] On Oricon Digital Album Chart, it debuted at number 1 with 6,295 download count.[34] It also peaked at number 2 on Billboard Japan Hot Albums recorded 137,642 copies sold and was charted for 25 weeks in 2017.[35][36][37]

On July 6, it was reported that over 210,000 copies of #Twice were shipped out within a week since its release.[38] On December 4, it was announced that it topped Tower Records Japan's 2017 best-selling domestic albums by K-pop artists.[39][40] The album exceeded 326,400 shipments on February 23, 2018.[41]

According to Billboard, #Twice is also the group's most-consumed album in the United States—which accounts for streaming and sales—with 69,000 equivalent album units. This is likely due to the fact it was available on all streaming platforms, like Spotify where the group's full Korean discography was only added in 2018, as one of the few ways for fans to listen to their hit songs, even if in Japanese.[42]

Credits adapted from album liner notes.[43]

JYP Entertainment staff

Japanese version recording staff

• Goei Ito (Obelisk) – recording director
• Yu-ki Kokubo (Obelisk) – recording director
• Satoshi Sasamoto – Pro Tools operation

Design staff

Movie staff

Other personnel