TWICE have been religiously releasing English versions of their Korean songs. Starting with “More&More“, “I Can’t Stop Me“, and “Cry For Me“, TWICE have been showcasing their dripping talent for singing. And when the time came for them to release their first English song, TWICE weren’t playing with the listeners’ feels. “The Feels” is the title of TWICE’s first official English single. “The Feels” was released on October 1st, 2021, not long after their album Taste of Love was released.
Background of “The Feels”
It was June 25th, 2021, when TWICE announced that they are gonna release their first official English single. But the title of the song was kept a secret until August 6th, 2021, when TWICE released a photo teaser showing a person holding a letter. The date of the song release was then announced on August 23rd, 2021, with an 11-second-long clip. The group concept photo for “The Feels” was released on September 24th, 2021, and the next day, TWICE released the individual concept photos from September 25th, 2021 to September 26th, 2021. Following was the release of the MV teaser on September 27th, 2021, and September 29th, 2021.
Story of “The Feels”
Love is the biggest mystery, or at least that’s what TWICE sing in “The Feels”. “The Feels” tells a story about a girl who has feelings for a boy. At first, she wants to keep it cool by hiding her feelings but her feelings start bursting and get her frozen every time she sees the boy. She hesitates about revealing her feelings to the boy but she feels like she has butterflies and they make her feel like Cupid is alive and she wishes the boy would tell her if he has the same feelings for her. “The Feels” is a retelling of a shy attempt at a confession to the person she feels a connection to and it almost feels like a supernatural attraction. Love is a funny thing, but she hopes that the boy who has stolen her heart also feels the same way as her so their feels are mutual. “The Feels” is a fast tempo disco-pop track that combines groovy bass sounds and disco synth beats. The lyrics were written by Anna Timgren, Boy Matthews, Justin Reinstein, and Woo Min Lee “collapsedone”, and Justin Reinstein and Woo Min Lee “collapsedone” also took part as producers. “The Feels”, acts as a bold introduction to a new chapter in TWICE’s career. The song showcases TWICE’s true colors and style and has great hooks on the song.
“The Feels” MV
TWICE members have been invited to the prom and they get the chance to be the dancing queens. But most importantly, there’s a mission they need to accomplish, which is confess their feelings to the boy who made them fall in love at first sight. The music video of “The Feels” is about the process of TWICE members falling in love and being shy about their feelings, as well as being shy in front of the boy, but soon enough realizing that they want to be with the boy. In order to be with the boy, they have no other choice but to confess their feelings and they put all their best efforts to do so no matter the outcome; they have at least confessed their feelings to the boy. “The Feels” might be about love, but the music video also conveys the confidence they have in love and all the feelings are what should be celebrated. That’s why in the music video, we can see TWICE transform themselves as prom queens, but even though the queen is the one who gets the crown, when Chaeyoung snatches the crown for herself, it could also mean that she can decide her love life by herself and she doesn’t need validation from others. Directed by Oui Kim, “The Feels” music video was released on October 1st, 2021, and until December 2021 it has gained more than 166 million views. The music video peaked at number one on the Youtube Weekly ranking of the most viewed music video in the world.
“The Feels” Performances
TWICE first performed “The Feels” on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon and they also performed “The Feels” on GMA3: What You Need To Know. But due to mental health issues, Jeongyeon wasn’t able to join the promotional activities for “The Feels”, so TWICE continued promotions with eight members.
“The Feels” Achievements
“The Feels” received praise as Allison S. Park wrote that “The Feels” was an excellent job of encompassing the all-consuming nature of love through its obsessive yet clichéd lyrics. The song also enter the Billboard Global 200 and topped the charts in several countries.
