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Twice "FANCY" MV Review

The group hailed as the "Nation's Girl Group" for all of Korea almost disappointed me! Dive into the MV with me and let's check out what changed my mind!

By Autamn WPublished 5 years ago 6 min read
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TWICE's "FANCY YOU" has the K-Pop universe shook with intense concept change!

I’m not gonna lie: upon my first listen to this song, I was not a fan.

Being one who has a bit of trouble stepping into the turbulent waters of girl k-pop idol groups (essentially resisting it if at all possible), I have been fairly tentative with Twice from the very beginning. Their early work was not impressive to me at first. It just sounded like over-produced, super sweet, bubble-gum pop—and that’s something I’ve never been a big fan of, no matter what music I’m listening to.

I mean, Twice is Korea’s sweethearts, "The Nation's Girl Group." They are the epitome of Korea’s perfect girl-group.

Because of this extremely tentative approach to them, you can only imagine how it felt to realize that Twice had completely changed up their concept—and not the same way they transitioned from “Like OOH AH” to “Cheer Up.” This is probably the biggest step into a different concept, both visually and musically, that I’ve seen them take (in my admittedly limited experience with them). I was a little shocked, and quite frankly, unimpressed.

It took a few careful listens before I finally started to warm up to it, but I can now say (especially now that I have also listened to the rest of the album) that I can see the value in these artistic choices and how this is a kind of growth for Twice—a maturity, if you will.

Let’s jump into the review!

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You can see the difference in lighting, staging, and even videography.

From the very beginning, I could tell that the MV was going to be VERY different from their previous MVs simply on a production level.

Twice has never been shy about using digital art or even animation in their music videos, but “FANCY YOU” just feels more digital on a different level. The videography is somehow crisper, maybe clearer, and they aren't relying on a visual that makes them look as if they are performing on some kind of stage or set as they had previously seemed to favor for their MVs.

Rocking the 90's pop style like they own it.

Another prominent element that has caught my attention is the SUPER. RETRO. VISUALS.

Their fashion seems to be drawing inspiration from past decades. I get some mixed feels from the late 70s, 80s, and early 90s with Chaeyoung’s bell-bottomed, vibrantly checkered two-piece outfit, neon skin-tight mini dresses with colorful midi-boots (which they replaced for high socks and the trendy mesh sneakers), and, most importantly, all of the patterns.

Neon. Patterns. Go-Go. What more could we ask for?

You can also see some retro media elements being applied to the sets. From Mina and Momo's night-time cityscapes that hint a little at a kind of film noir aesthetic, the vibrant colors and argyle patterns during the chorus, to the lighting used in both Jihyo and Jeongyeon’s solo scenes, and even the super retro-future-esque neon lights that shoot around during some of the dance scenes and the fun rollercoaster simulation at the end that are both rather reminiscent of Tron. Even some of the poses they enter into are rather reminiscent of some kind of 70s Go-Go choreography.

A lot of neon. A lot of patterns. What's more retro than that??

The music itself draws a bit of influence from these decades as well. I can hear that the beat under the melody is layered with some electronic sounds that almost sound like those electronic keyboards that were really popular in the late 80s and 90s when the "Pop" genre was first beginning to really come to life. It gives me Spice Girls vibes.

It all feels and sounds very nostalgic, like you’re listening to some kind of re-vamped 80s dance track or something, and I kind of love it.

Despite it being produced with a lot of electronic background sounds and instrumentals adding to the melody and beat, I still feel like you get the chance to hear each of the members’ voices very well; even the rap line who we got the pleasure of hearing some amazing vocals from. You can hear the texture of each of their voices, how they reverberate and stretch with a distinct color.

One note that will probably always strike me is Jihyo’s extended note coming out of the bridge. It was beautiful and I hear the texture of her voice throughout the entire note—it didn’t sound like it had been mixed or smoothed during production. Another member that stuck out to me was Jeongyeon with her deeper, almost-alto tones during some lines.

Nayeon and Jihyon carried the chorus as they have in various past productions, including the most recent comeback before this one with "YES OR YES." But, despite this, I feel like the line-distribution was quite fair and I enjoyed seeing all of the members get equal parts.

And while the concept and music have changed very drastically, I can see the little pieces of what we know Twice to be still there. The chorus is still a very “Twice” chorus—it's upbeat and utilizes the members’ high-toned voices to draw you in with catchy lines and melodies that are very unique in style to the group.

What is super cool about all of this is how they managed to balance these retro-esque elements with a modern production style, both visually and musically. Despite my original worries, I can now claim that Twice successfully pulled off this concept with amazing style.

In fact, the entire album is noteworthy because I’ve found that every single track posses some kind of nostalgic, retro-esque element to it—making the entire album very cohesive and well-curated.

Whether this concept change will survive the rest of the world (most specifically, Korea) is still to be seen. Sometimes, as with just about any artist, fans don’t take too well to artists changing up their concepts this drastically. I mean, I haven’t even been a girl-group fan for very long and I had my reservations upon first listen, also.

But if you’re asking my honest opinion, I think Twice is at a point in their career where they’ve established themselves as a respected idol group—not just in Korea, but globally—having proved their durability over and over again, and I think they deserve some time to finally get to play around with their music and their concepts.

They are seasoned artists who have developed an image for themselves, but they’ve also proved that they have the elasticity to approach any concept with exceptional style, and this title track (and entire album for that matter) is proof.

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There you have it! Now you know exactly how Twice won me over with "FANCY YOU," even after a bit of a rough start. In fact, if you were to ask me, an honorable mention (and probably my favorite song from the album) would be “GIRLS LIKE US.” Be sure to check out the entire album on your favorite streaming site!

P.S. Come chat with me on Twitter and tell me what your favorite Twice song is! Link in my bio!

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About the Creator

Autamn W

Oh, hi (:

I'm Autamn and I seem to have a lot of things to say, so I figured I'd share them with you. I hope you enjoy! 🌼

Come chat with me! Twitter -->; https://twitter.com/autamn_w

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