Twicecoaster: Lane 1

On October 10, 2016, JYP Entertainment first confirmed details about Twice's upcoming EP titled Twicecoaster: Lane 1 by releasing a promotion time table through the group's official homepage and SNS accounts, showing their promotion schedule beginning October 10 until the release of their album which was slated on October 24.[1] On October 11, Twice uploaded an intro video which depicts the group returning to their dressing rooms following a performance of their previous single "Cheer Up", before each member received a text message which leads to them frowning and making a pose forming the word "TT".[2] On October 12, the group released an album preview revealing its contents and packaging.[3] On October 13, Twice uploaded an image of the album's track list, revealing its lead single to be "TT" and featuring seven songs in total. An image titled "TWICE MV UNIVERSE" was also released on the same day, suggesting that the in-universe events of the upcoming music video for "TT" would be connected to the music videos of Twice's previous singles "Like Ooh Aah" and "Cheer Up".[4][5]

Twice uploaded their first group teaser photo on October 14. A second group photo was uploaded later on the same day depicting the members sitting on chairs which are arranged similarly to that of a rollercoaster.[6][7] On October 15, two group teaser images featuring Jeongyeon, Mina, Nayeon, and Momo were released.[8][9] On the same day, the group released a second album preview revealing that two versions of the album: apricot and neon magenta, are available. The two available versions for the album are references to Twice's official colors which they announced earlier in September.[10][11] On October 16, two group teaser images featuring Jihyo, Tzuyu, Sana, Chaeyoung, and Dahyun were released.[12][13] On the same day, members Mina and Chaeyoung made an appearance on the 2016 KBO League held at the Jamsil Baseball Stadium in order to throw the ceremonial first pitch for the match between Nexen Heroes and LG Twins, wherein they showed the "TT" pose, attracting attention.[14] On October 17, three individual teaser films featuring Nayeon, Jeongyeon, and Momo were released, which depicts each member encountering their own disappointing situations which leads to them forming the "TT" pose.[15] This was followed by the teaser films featuring Sana, Jihyo, and Mina released on October 18.[16] On October 19, the last batch of individual teaser films featuring Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu were uploaded.[17]

In celebration of Twice's first anniversary since debut, the group unveiled the EP's seventh track "One in a Million", the song they dedicated to fans, through a live broadcast on Naver V Live titled Twice 1st Anniversary V on October 20 at 22:30 KST.[18][19] On the same day, they uploaded the first music video teaser for "TT", depicting a Halloween-themed concept and featuring two children entering and exploring a gloomy mansion for trick-or-treat.[20] This was followed by a second teaser clip uploaded on October 21, which featured the members greeting the children while also revealing a part of the song's opening verse and its choreography.[21] On October 22, the group released pastel-toned individual teaser photos for each member. It was also revealed that the physical album has nine random CD covers featuring the each member of the group.[22][23] The following day, Twice released a highlight medley featuring audio snippets for all the songs in the EP alongside a series of choreography teasers which illustrate the dance moves of each member, for their title track “TT,” in characterized diagrams.[24]

The album was officially released on October 24 at 12AM KST. It was also released as a digital download on various music portals.[25]

Twicecoaster: Lane 1 is an EP consisting of seven tracks which features various genres including electropop, dance-pop, deep house, R&B, and rock, among others. The title track "TT" is produced by South Korean producing duo Black Eyed Pilseung, who also worked with Twice for their previous singles "Like Ooh Aah" and "Cheer Up". It is sonically described as an electropop and dance-pop song set to a steady deep house beat. With its title referring to the emoticon used to express crying or sadness, the song lyrically describes a girl's pounding heart as she falls in love for the first time. Speaking about the song, member Jihyo stated that the track "best shows Twice's energetic, bright vibe that [they've] shown since 'Like Ooh-Ahh' and 'Cheer Up'".[26][27][28]

The song "1 to 10" is classified as an R&B track reminiscent to songs released during the 1990s, featuring the usage of synth music mixed with heavy drums, bass, and acoustic guitar. "Ponytail" heavily features the usage of rock. "Jelly Jelly" is described as a pop song which mixes Moog bass and synth music. "Pit-A-Pat" is classified as an energetic fusion pop dance song that lyrically talks about the excitement of a girl. "Next Page" is described as an upbeat song with an urban atmosphere. The title of the album's closing track, "One in a Million", refers to the group's signature introductory greeting and was written for fans, with the acoustic track lyrically describing its listeners as a special "one in a million" person.[29]

Upon the release of the EP, Twice held their showcase for the EP on October 24, 2016, at the Blue Square located in Seoul, South Korea. They performed songs from their previous albums: "Like Ooh-Ahh", "Do It Again", "Precious Love", "Cheer Up" and "Candy Boy". They also performed "One in a Million", "Jelly Jelly" and "TT" for the first time at the showcase, which was broadcast live through Naver V Live.[30][31]

The group promoted their album in several South Korean music programs, starting with their appearance on M Countdown on October 27 in its special broadcast episode held in Jeju Island.[32][33] The episode held in Jeju gathered 10,000 local and international fans and was broadcast in thirteen countries.[34] This was followed by performances on KBS2's Music Bank on October 28,[35] MBC's Show! Music Core on October 29,[36] SBS MTV's The Show on November 1 wherein the title track "TT" received its first music show win,[37] and on MBC M's Show Champion on November 2,[38] among other performance dates. The album's lead single went on to garner an accumulated 13 music show wins, with its last win being on Music Bank in its episode aired on January 6, 2017.[39]

Twice performed "Jelly Jelly" for the first time in a music program on the November 27th episode of Inkigayo.[40]

Upon the release of Twicecoaster: Lane 1, its title track "TT" went on to achieve an 'all-kill' by topping the realtime charts of all eight major South Korean music sites Naver Music, Melon, Mnet, Olleh Music, Genie Music, Bugs, Monkey Music, and Soribada.[41] On October 31, it was reported that the EP recorded more than 165,000 physical copies sold on Gaon Chart within a week, recording the highest sales for a Korean girl group album for the year 2016. With this, the group surpassed the five-month sales of their previous EP release Page Two in only seven days.[42][43] The album also debuted atop the Weekly Gaon Album Chart.[44] It also entered the Billboard World Albums chart at number 3 in its chart issue dated November 12.[45]

Twicecoaster: Lane 1 then became the third best selling album on the Gaon chart for the month of October, recording 166,810 copies sold.[46] On November 22, it was reported that the EP had surpassed 200,000 physical sales, making Twice the only K-pop girl group who had sold over 200,000 album copies throughout 2014 to 2016.[47] By the end of the year, the album became the fifth best-selling album release and the best-selling Korean girl group album for 2016, recording 350,852 copies sold.[48] The EP held the record of having both the highest first-day and first-week sales for a Korean girl group album until it was surpassed by Twice's succeeding release Signal in 2017.[49]

On December 5, 2016, Twice first announced through their official SNS channels that they would be releasing a Christmas edition of Twicecoaster: Lane 1, which is a version wherein the album's jacket photos are changed to that of Twice wearing holiday outfits but essentially having the same track listing as the original release. Pre-orders was scheduled on December 12 and the album release slated for December 19.[50][51] On December 7, the group released two group teaser photos of the members wearing Christmas attire.[52] Upon its release on December 19, the Christmas edition sold over 115,000 copies in pre-orders.[53][54]

Credits adapted from album liner notes.[56]