It’s impossible to talk about Twice without mentioning how much they have grown throughout the years.
While the super cutesy days where “Like Ooh-Aah” and “Cheer Up” are long gone, the essence of it permeates throughout their discography, mixing in with more sophisticated and mature concepts. This fusion allowed Twice to evolve and establish their sound, and I have to say, I’m hooked. With their recent comeback, “Scientist”, the members embrace their femininity and cute nature while remaining polished and elegant, and the whole MV is just so fun.
Upon listening to “Scientist”, the first thing most listeners notice is the fact that the members are singing in a lower register which is much more comfortable for them. It pairs with the synth-heavy track perfectly, and allows them to perform with ease. (It also makes it a lot easier for me to sing during karaoke night.) The comfort of the members allows them to have more fun with the song and the performance as a whole, and it translates nicely into the MV. They’re enjoying their time performing and despite the chorus not being as catchy or as powerful as their other title tracks, it is made up for by the energy of the members themselves.
One thing many people tend to forget about is how important the idols’ energies are when it comes to delivering a performance. We, as viewers, enjoy seeing people having fun, and when that happens, we would also want to have fun with them as well, even if the performance is not necessarily the best.
Take the biggest Japanese idol group for example: AKB48. Even if all the members are not super polished when it comes to singing and dancing, they always look like they are having so much fun when they perform, and that kind of energy is infectious enough to encourage the audience to have fun with them. With Twice being a lot more comfortable in their performances, it encourages them to have more fun with it. Because of its infectious nature, viewers gravitate back to the MV, humming along to the chorus.
The MV itself is bright, bubbly, and fun, using a lot of vibrant colours and visuals to engage the audience. The costumes also follow the pastel pink and blue colour scheme for most part, aside from when there’s a system failure in the lab, and the members are dressed in red and white. The last costume change we see is at the end of the MV, during the dance outro, where they are wearing outfits similar to workplace wear. Particularly, the costuming of the MV stands out, for it depicts a sense of independence and strength whilst still embracing femininity and the “cute” aspect of things.
The members definitely look more comfortable and very much in charge – not to say that they were not in charge before, but rather, because of how formulated their concepts and branding was, it seemed like they were in a box as opposed to expressing themselves freely. The entire group comes together as a collective whole and it no longer feels like one member is being overshadowed by others, though I will say that I wish we got to see more of Tzuyu and Jeongyeon as their scenes were considerably short as compared to everyone else.
This more relaxed tone is also shown in the lyrics itself, for it asks the listener to not overthink when it comes to love. There is more of a mature atmosphere as opposed to the peppy vibe that came with previous releases that had a cute concept. Twice has always kept us hooked with their catchy choruses and dance moves through songs like “TT” and “Knock Knock”, and there was definitely more of an emphasis on singing at a higher tone, or making certain facial expressions that fits the typical “cute” formula. As the group grows, their sound matures as well, but never losing that quintessential Twice sound that makes it seem like we are viewing a completely different group.
“Scientist” incorporates a lot of changes that stray away from what we normally see in a Twice title track. For example, it is Mina who starts the song as opposed to Nayeon or Jihyo; Momo sings in a much lower register and simply cruises through her lines in a laidback manner; and the chorus is much tamer, which is why some may feel that the chorus is a little understated as opposed to previous releases. Although vibrant colours and happy vibes permeate throughout the MV, the more child-like silliness has dissipated, and instead we’re seeing the girls fully embracing their femininity and youth even as they mature.
Twice has always been a group to look out for, and with the members having more fun with each other and their performances, they have become a group that I enjoy seeing during various music stages, for I know that their performance will be one that puts a smile on my face. Their maturity has led to tremendous growth in terms of their music, and I’m sure that all of us are eager to see what they will do next.
(YouTube. Images via JYP Entertainment.)
