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Strategy (EP)

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Strategy
Twice members pose in front of a black van, with 'Strategy' in bold red text at the bottom of the image.
Digital cover
EP by
Twice
ReleasedDecember 6, 2024
Length20:45
Language
  • English
  • Korean
Label
Twice chronology
Dive
(2024) 		Strategy
(2024)
Singles from Strategy
  1. "Strategy"
    Released: December 6, 2024

Strategy is the fourteenth extended play by South Korean girl group Twice. It was released on December 6, 2024, through JYP Entertainment and Republic Records. The EP consists of seven tracks, including the group's fourth original English-language single "Strategy" featuring American rapper Megan Thee Stallion. The album blends electro-pop, R&B, and the group’s signature bubblegum pop, fusing '80s influences with Y2K sounds. It debuted at number one on the South Korean Circle Chart and number four on the US Billboard 200.

Background

[edit]

In 2024, Twice released their thirteenth Korean EP, With You-th on February 23.[1] The album became their first to reach number one on the US Billboard 200.[2] They followed it with their fifth Japanese studio album, Dive on July 17.[3][4]

On October 20, Twice held a fan meeting titled "Home 9round" to commemorate the ninth anniversary of their debut. During the event, they performed the unreleased track "Sweetest Obsession" and announced their fourteenth EP, Strategy, set for release on December 6.[5][6][7] On October 25, Twice was featured on a remix of American rapper Megan Thee Stallion's "Mamushi", which was included on Megan: Act II, the deluxe reissue of her third studio album Megan.[8] In turn, it was announced that Megan Thee Stallion would feature on Strategy's lead single of the same name, "Strategy".[9][10][11] On November 21, Twice headlined Amazon Music Live and gave a quick preview of "Strategy" during the show.[12][13]

Promotion

[edit]

On December 4, Twice held a premiere event for fans at New Millennium Hall, Konkuk University, where they introduced the songs in the EP. During the event, they screened the "Strategy" music video and performed "Magical" for the first time.[14] To promote the EP, Twice performed "Strategy" on the music program Music Bank on December 6.[15] That same day, they performed "Strategy" on the late-night music talk show The Seasons: Lee Young-ji's Rainbow, with host Lee Young-ji performing Megan Thee Stallion's rap.[16] Twice's planned promotion on music programs was cut short, as Show! Music Core and Inkigayo were canceled due to South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law and the subsequent impeachment votes against him.[17][18] Twice's pre-recorded performance on Show! Music Core was broadcast on December 15, and they also performed on Inkigayo that same day.[19]

Composition

[edit]

The EP shows a shift in style, blending electro-pop and R&B with the group's usual bubblegum pop sound. While experimenting with new genres, they still include tracks that stick to their classic pop roots, balancing fresh ideas with the familiar.[20] The sound of Strategy blends eras—some tracks capture the breezy '80s-inspired pop that feels straight out of a "vintage teen movie soundtrack." On the other, tracks like "Like It Like It" and "Sweetest Obsession" channel Y2K nostalgia, pushing the group’s sound into the early 2000s.[21]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
NME[21]

In a review for NME, Rhian Daly gave the album four out of five stars, describing it as influenced by 80s and Y2K pop. She characterized it as an upbeat and "bubbly" album, taking place "in a world where flirtations and the potential of romance can solve any problem". Daly finished her review by writing that "as they enter their 10th year together, Twice are still flying incredibly high all on their own."[21]

Commercial performance

[edit]

Strategy topped South Korea's Circle Album Chart for the week ending December 7, 2024, with over 800,000 copies sold.[22] In the United States, the EP debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 with 88,000 equivalent album units, as reported by music data tracking firm Luminate. Of these, 81,000 were pure sales, 6,500 were streaming-equivalent units, and less than 500 were track-equivalent units. Strategy is Twice's sixth top-10 record on the chart.[23]

Track listing

[edit]
Strategy track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Strategy" (featuring Megan Thee Stallion)
  • Earattack
  • Matthews
  • Tighe
  • Lee Woo-hyun
  • Earattack
  • Lee W.
3:22
2."Kiss My Troubles Away"
  • Aquilina
  • Stanaj
  • Marrone
  • Marrone
  • The Imports
2:54
3."Like It Like It"
  • Youra (Full8loom)
  • Chari (153/Joombas)
  • Rizin (153/Joombas)
  • Lee Hyeong-seok
  • Gabriel Benjamin
  • Sofia Quinn
G. Benjamin3:03
4."Sweetest Obsession"Geum Ru-na (Lalala Studio)
  • Lauren LaRue
  • Brandon Benjamin
  • Xansei
  • B. Benjamin
  • Xansei
2:47
5."Keeper"Dahyun
  • Rachel West
  • Malia Civetz
  • Barry Cohen
  • Rob Grimaldi
  • Gingerbread
  • Grimaldi
2:36
6."Magical"
  • Johan Fransson
  • Autumn Marie Buysse
  • Fransson
  • Buysse
  • Oliver Lundström
  • Fransson
  • Lundström
3:16
7."Strategy"
  • Matthews
  • Tighe
  • Earattack
  • Matthews
  • Tighe
  • Lee W.
  • Earattack
  • Lee W.
2:47
Total length:20:45

Personnel

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Musicians

  • Twice – vocals, background vocals (tracks 1, 7)
  • Earattack – all instruments (tracks 1, 7)
  • Lee Woo-hyun – all instruments (tracks 1, 7)
  • Kim Jong-seong – guitar (tracks 1, 7)
  • Shorelle – background vocals (tracks 1, 7)
  • Ryan Marrone – drum programming, guitar, synthesizer programming (track 2)
  • The Imports – drum programming, keyboards (track 2)
  • Albert Stanaj – piano (track 2)
  • Sophia Pae – background vocals (tracks 2, 4–6)
  • C'Sa – background vocals (track 3)
  • Gingerbread – drums, programming, synthesizer (track 5)
  • Rob Grimaldi – drums, programming, synthesizer (track 5)
  • Johan Fransson – bass programming, drum programming, keyboards, string arrangement (track 6)
  • Oliver Lundström – keyboards, additional programming (track 6)

Technical

  • Kwon Nam-woo – mastering
  • Shin Bong-won – Atmos mix engineering
    • Park Nam-jun – Atmos mix engineering assistance
  • Lee Kyung-won – digital editing (tracks 1, 6, 7)
  • Earattack – recording and vocal direction (tracks 1, 2, 6, 7), vocal production (tracks 1, 7)
  • Seo Eun-il – recording (tracks 1, 4, 5, 7)
  • Lim Chan-mi – recording (tracks 1, 7)
  • Shawn "Source" Jarrett – recording for Megan Thee Stallion (track 1)
    • Dominique "Cookisdope" Cook – engineering assistance (track 1)
    • Dylan Spence – engineering assistance (track 1)
    • Trinity "Aux" Wohlferd – engineering assistance (track 1)
  • Leslie Brathwaite – mixing for Megan Thee Stallion (track 1)
  • Lee Tae-sub – mixing (tracks 1, 7)
  • Goo Hye-jin – digital editing (track 2)
  • Kwak Bo-eun – recording (tracks 2, 6), digital editing (track 4)
  • Park Eun-jung – mixing (track 2), digital editing (track 5)
  • C'Sa – digital editing, vocal direction (track 3)
  • Lee Chang-hoon – recording (track 3)
  • Lim Hong-jin – mixing (tracks 3, 5)
  • Sophia Pae – vocal direction (tracks 4, 5)
  • Choi Hye-jin – mixing (track 4)
  • Eom Se-hee – mixing (track 6)

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Strategy
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[24] 143
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[25] 90
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[26] 56
Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ)[27] 18
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[28] 2
Japanese Combined Albums (Oricon)[29] 46
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[30] 22
South Korean Albums (Circle)[22] 1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] 47
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[32] 6
US Billboard 200[33] 4

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Cho, Yong-jun (January 3, 2024). "Twice to drop 13th EP 'With YOU-th' in February". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on January 3, 2024. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  2. ^ Garcia, Thania (March 4, 2024). "Twice's 'With You-th' Becomes K-Pop Group's First EP to Hit No. 1; SZA's 'Saturn' Launches to Top 10". Variety. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  3. ^ Kim, Ju-yeon (May 1, 2024). "Twice prepares to 'Dive' back into Japanese music scene with new album". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  4. ^ Lee, Jung-youn (May 1, 2024). "Twice to drop new Japanese album in July". The Korea Herald. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  5. ^ Kim, Soo-jin (October 22, 2024). 9주년 그룹 트와이스, 전세계 원스와 포에버♥ '글로벌 최정상 걸그룹' 트와이스, 오는 12월 새 앨범 발매..데뷔 9주년 기념 단독 팬미팅 성료. Star News (in Korean). Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  6. ^ Yoon, So-yeon (October 21, 2024). "Twice to release 14th EP 'Strategy' on Dec. 6". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  7. ^ Yoo, Hong (October 21, 2024). "Twice to drop new EP Strategy in December". The Korea Herald. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  8. ^ Saponara, Michael (October 23, 2024). "Megan Thee Stallion Reveals 'Megan: Act II' Track List Featuring Twice, Flo Milli & RM of BTS". Billboard. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  9. ^ "TWICE To Feature Megan Thee Stallion On Title Track 'Strategy'". Billboard Philippines. October 31, 2024.
  10. ^ Lee, Seung-gil (October 30, 2024). [공식] '12월 6일 컴백' 트와이스, 신곡명은 'Strategy'…메간 디 스텔리온 지원사격. My Daily (in Korean). Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  11. ^ Rawat, Abhilasha (October 30, 2024). "Twice And Megan Thee Stallion Announce Second Collab Song "Strategy"". Times Now. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  12. ^ Lee, Gyu-lee (November 24, 2024). "Twice makes successful debut on Amazon Music Live". The Korea Times. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  13. ^ Benjamin, Jeff (November 25, 2024). "Twice Take Over LA With Record-Breaking Events Before Strategy Album". Forbes. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  14. ^ Ahn, Byeong-gil (December 7, 2024). 트와이스, 팬들과 특별한 추억쌓기. Sports Kyunghyang (in Korean). Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  15. ^ Lee, Nam-hee (December 7, 2024). [뮤직뱅크] 트와이스, 힙 감성으로 돌아왔다...'스트래티지' (in Korean). KBS. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  16. ^ Kim, Ye-sol (December 7, 2024). 트와이스 "지효·나연·정연, 연습생 시절 다크호스" 주먹다짐까지? ('더시즌즈') [종합]. Osen (in Korean). Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  17. ^ Jo, Yeon-gyeong (December 6, 2024). 가무도 멈춘다…MBC '음악중심'·SBS '인기가요' 싹 결방. JTBC News (in Korean). Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  18. ^ Cho, Seong-woon (December 5, 2024). 트와이스, 'Strategy (feat. Megan Thee Stallion)' 발매 직후 음방 달린다. Sports Donga (in Korean). Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  19. ^ Jeong, Bit (December 15, 2024). '음중'이냐, '인가'냐…MBCvsSBS, 음방으로 맞붙는다 [Is it 'Music Core' or 'Inkigayo'...MBC vs SBS will face off on music shows]. Sports Chosun (in Korean). Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  20. ^ Saulog, Gabriel (December 6, 2024). "TWICE Release New Mini-Album 'STRATEGY' – Listen". Billboard Philippines. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  21. ^ a b c Daly, Rhian (December 6, 2024). "TWICE – 'Strategy' review: ending the year on yet another high". NME. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  22. ^ a b "Circle Album Chart – Week 49, 2024". Circle Chart (in Korean). Retrieved December 12, 2024.
  23. ^ Caulfield, Keith (December 15, 2024). "Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department Logs 17th Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  24. ^ "Ultratop.be – Twice – Strategy" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  25. ^ "Ultratop.be – Twice – Strategy" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  26. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Twice – Strategy" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  27. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista (fizikai hanghordozók) – 2024. 50. hét". MAHASZ. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  28. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2024-12-23" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  29. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Combined Albums: 2024-12-16" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on December 12, 2024. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
  30. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums – Week of December 11, 2024". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  31. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Twice – Strategy". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  32. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
  33. ^ "Twice Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
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