Eyes Wide Open is the second Korean full albumnote by K-pop girl group TWICE, released on October 26, 2020, on the week of the group's fifth anniversary. Their first Korean full album since 2017's Twicetagram shows a darker and more mature side of the group with a sound prominently influenced by City Pop.
Following a short US leg of their 2019 tour, this album helped set the stage for their Western breakthrough, being their first release to make the top half of the Billboard 200note . To promote this album, they made their US TV debut with a performance of "I Can't Stop Me" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. However, Twice member Jeongyeon was on hiatus at that time due to health issues. An English version of "I Can't Stop Me" was released as a promo single on November 30, 2020.
Tracklist:
- "I Can't Stop Me" (3:29)
- "Hell in Heaven" (2:59)
- "Up No More" (3:34)
- "Do What We Like" (2:59)
- "Bring It Back" (3:28)
- "Believer" (3:16)
- "Queen" (3:13)
- "Go Hard" (3:01)
- "Shot Clock" (3:29)
- "Handle It" (2:51)
- "Depend On You" (3:18)
- "Say Something" (4:07)
- "Behind the Mask" (3:38)
We just trope hard:
- Breather Episode: The more ethereal-sounding EDM song "Do What We Like" breaks the spell of dark tracks for a while. Similarly, there is the comforting "Depend On You", which comes after the more somber "Handle It".
- Call-Back:
- "Go Hard" references the 2019 song "Feel Special".
- "Shot Clock" references the 2017 song "Likey"
- City Pop: A major influence on this album, most notably on "I Can't Stop Me", "Up No More", and "Say Something".
- Darker and Edgier: This is by far the darkest album Twice has done. It bears almost no resemblance to most of their other albums, especially their 2015-18 releases. It has themes of descending into evil ("I Can't Stop Me"), the painful side of falling in love ("Hell In Heaven"), insomnia ("Up No More"), struggling to accept a parting ("Handle It"), and feeling distant in relationships ("Behind the Mask").
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: "Shot Clock" lyrics, especially Chaeyoung's lines, might sound a little suggestive:"Beat the buzzer, uh, beat the buzz
Don’t stop, I’ll get you in the zone, ay
At that end, when everything is different
At that time, I’m gonna make you holler all night long"
(English translation
) - Face on the Cover: The nine members dressed in shades of grey.
- The Insomniac: The subject of "Up No More", a song written by Jihyo about her own insomnia.
- Lyrical Cold Open: The music on "Depend On You" starts a split-second after the vocal.
- Seduction Lyric: "Hell in Heaven" is probably the most seductive song Twice ever had:"My hope in hell, take me to your paradise"
- Race Against the Clock: "Shot Clock" invokes this in a figurative sense, trying to get someone to approach the speaker quickly."Beat the shot clock!"
- Sampling: "Hell in Heaven" has a sample from the 1942 film Eyes in the Night near the beginning.
- Self-Empowerment Anthem: Multiple, with "Go Hard" being a more subtle example due to Lyrical Dissonance. The opponent is referred to as "the woman in the mirror".
