Between 1&2

Between 1&2 (stylized as BETW9EN 1&2) is the eleventh extended play (EP) by South Korean girl group Twice. It was released on August 26, 2022, by JYP Entertainment and Republic Records and consists of seven tracks, including the lead single "Talk That Talk", which reached the top 20 of the Circle Digital Chart and the Billboard Global 200.

The album was a commercial success, exceeding 1 million pre-orders, making Twice the third female K-pop group to do so at the time after Blackpink and Aespa. In South Korea, the album debuted at number two on the Circle Album Chart with nearly 1 million physical copies sold. In the United States, it debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 with 100,000 equivalent album units and became the sixth best-selling album of 2022 in CD album sales. The album also reached the top ten in Japan, Finland, Poland, Sweden, Uruguay, and Croatia.

Background

Between 1&2 followed Celebrate, Twice's fourth Japanese studio album, and served as the group's first Korean release in 2022. On May 16, after concluding their second worldwide concert tour in Los Angeles, a cryptic post featuring the dates "2022.06.24" and "2022.08.26" circulated Twice's social media accounts, leading to fan speculation. June 24 was later revealed as the release date for Nayeon's solo debut EP, Im Nayeon.

On July 2, while hosting an episode of MBC's Show! Music Core, Twice member Dahyun announced that Twice would be making a comeback, stating that "it is planned, so please look forward to it". On July 12, all members of Twice renewed their contracts with JYP Entertainment. One day later, the label announced a "mini album" titled Between 1&2 with a planned release date of August 26.

Title and composition

Similar to Formula of Love: O+T=<3, the EP's title, Between 1&2, represents the connection of Twice with their fandom, Once. Members Chaeyoung, Dahyun, and Jihyo wrote lyrics of some songs on Between 1&2, with the latter also being credited as a composer on the song "Trouble". The EP's second track, "Queen of Hearts", an English song, features a drum beat and guitar sound mixed with Twice's "cool" vocals in harmony. "Brave" was described as a dance-pop track centered on the group's fandom, called Once, which "gives Twice the courage to become themselves". Lyrically, the song expresses "the sincerity of Twice members".

Release and promotion

A promotional poster with the phrase "Tell Me What You Want" written above a light switch was posted onto Twice's social media accounts on July 13, 2022. On July 26, the tracklist of Between 1&2 was released. On August 5, JYP Entertainment released a timetable for the EP. On August 9, Twice released an opening trailer for the EP and a snippet of lead single "Talk That Talk". On August 17 and 18, individual teasers and group photos demonstrating the concept of the album were posted on Twice's official social media accounts. On August 19, the group released snippets of the second track, "Queen of Hearts", and fifth track, "Brave". On August 23, the group released a sneak peek to the album. On August 24 and 25, the group released two teasers for the music video of "Talk That Talk".

Critical reception

Writing for NME, Tanu I. Raj noted that while Between 1&2 looks back on Twice's "growth with fondness and pride, and leave[s] us with the promise of better things to come", it suffers from some "road bumps".

Commercial performance

On August 25, 2022, it was reported that pre-order sales of Between 1&2 had surpassed 1 million copies, exceeding Twice's previous career high of 700,000 pre-orders for Formula of Love: O+T=<3, and making Twice the third female K-pop group to exceed 1 million pre-orders after Blackpink and Aespa. Between 1&2 debuted at number 2 on South Korea's Circle Album Chart with 995,614 units sold. In Japan, it debuted at number 4 on Oricon's Digital Albums Chart and at number 10 on Billboard Japan's Hot Albums chart. In October 2022, it became Twice's first album to be certified Million by the Korea Music Content Association.

In the United States, the EP peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200 with over 100,000 equivalent album units. Of these, 94,000 were pure sales, 6,000 were streaming-equivalent units, and a negligible number were track-equivalent units. It is their fifth and best selling album on the chart after Formula of Love: O+T=<3. According to Luminate's Year-End U.S. Report, Between 1&2 was the sixth best-selling CD album of 2022 in the United States, with 199,000 copies sold.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.

Charts

Certifications and sales

See also

• List of certified albums in South Korea

Notes