The Return of TWICE

The K-pop queens are back with a new album and tour

- ROXY SIMONS

TWICE ARE READY TO START THE next chapter of their career. The nine members of the Korean girl group are established titans of K-pop, but Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu are seeking out new ways to connect with-and surprise-their loyal fanbase.

The group debuted in 2015 after the members were selected through record label JYP Entertainment's competition survival show, Sixteen. TWICE's songs "Cheer Up" and "TT" became global viral hits. The group has released seven studio albums and 12 EPs, and in South. Korea they have been dubbed the "Nation's Girl Group."

TWICE released their twelfth EP Ready to Be on March 10; the upbeat pop album features seven tracks, two in English. The group is now preparing to embark on their biggest world tour to date, stopping off in the U.S. and Canada from June 10 to July 9 after performing in South Korea, Japan and Australia this spring.

The group tells Newsweek they are excited to perform normally in front of fans again after years of disruption because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We always thought that meeting fans with our new album was a given," Jeongyeon says, "but the pandemic made me realize that it's not something that we can take for granted. I realized how precious our fans are."

Sana agrees, adding that releasing new songs and performing on TV during the pandemic was tough without fans. "We did a lot of pre-recordings for music shows but our fans were not allowed to attend. Before, there were times when it was really hard to perform but we were able to do it because of our fans. So not having them there was pretty difficult during the pandemic."