Ready to Be

After the group's contract was renewed with JYP Entertainment in July 2022, they released Between 1&2 in August of the same year, which served as a celebration of Twice's eighth year as a group. It received generally positive reviews from contemporary critics and was their first album to sell one million copies. In December 2022, it was announced on the group's SNS that they would release an English single and a mini album in January and March 2023. The announcement was accompanied by a poster with the date and the phrase "Twice Our Youth", which led internet users to assume that the phrase would be the title of their new album. In January 2023, Twice released "Moonlight Sunrise", their second English single after "The Feels". In the following month, they confirmed the title of the mini album, Ready to Be, and its lead single, "Set Me Free". ==Composition==

Ready to Be is twenty minutes long and consists of seven songs. It is a primarily a pop record that heavily incorporates retro sounds. It features genres such as disco, pop-rock, blues, Miami bass, R&B, and dance-pop, with heavy influences from house, dream-pop, latin, and balearic beats. The lyrics revolve around the protagonists finding the courage to confess their love to a crush, with lines such as "I've been hiding how I feel for you forever" and "Now that it's off my chest there's room for you and me". The track incorporates a synth-pop arrangement with house influences, a dreamy melody, and lyrics that "explore the urgency of love." "Got the Thrills" is a Balearic beat-influenced dance-pop song. Some critics noted that "Got the Thrills" could be considered a sequel to "Talk That Talk" due to its similar synths and chord progression. "Got the Thrills" is followed by a rock and blues-inspired track, "Blame It on Me," whose lyrics were written by Twice member Dahyun. It is characterized by a "loud strum" of electric guitar, and a consistent chord progression throughout the track. Its lyrics talk about one-sided obsession with "a subtle touch of lust." Some critics described the song as an "ode to unrequited love and the consequences of not being reciprocated." The fifth song, "Wallflower," is a Latin-influenced track. Lyrically, it is about "confidently suggesting an intimate night and sharing a dance with one another." Dahyun also wrote the lyrics for the closing track, "Crazy Stupid Love." It is a pop-rock song describing a break-up and the "raging emotions of not wanting to deal with trivial lies and the toxicity that love can carry." ==Release and promotion==

On February 3, 2023, Twice officially revealed the album's title and cover, and announced its release date of March 10, 2023. The group revealed the official tracklist on February 17. On March 6 and 7, the group released two teasers for the music video. To promote the album, Twice performed "Set Me Free" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on March 9, and "Moonlight Sunrise" on The Kelly Clarkson Show on March 14. On the album's release date, the Empire State Building was lit up in Twice's official colors in collaboration with non-profit organization Musicians On Call, celebrating the "healing power of music". In April, the group embarked on their fifth world tour in support of the album. == Critical reception ==

Rolling Stones Tim Chan gave the album a positive review, stating that Twice "blows up the tired stereotypes and smashes through barriers with a seven-song set that’s as brash and compelling as anything in the pop music landscape today". Rhian Daly of NME gave the album a rating of four out of five stars, noting that it further refines Twice's sophisticated and retro-inspired sound, despite some "awkward junctures". Lai Frances, writing for Uproxx, praised the group's "newfound image of bringing sophisticated pop with mature themes." AllMusic's Neil Z. Yeung concluded his review by saying Ready to Be keeps "the energy and euphoria at a peak" and "is another serving of addictive pop moments from the confident and stylish nine-piece". Uproxx included the EP on a similar list, complimenting its production, versatility, as well as the group's live performances. Paste ranked it the 8th best K-pop album of the year, who called it "more sophisticated and mature than ever before with assertive claims of control and defiance made throughout the lyrics". == Commercial performance ==

On March 8, it was reported that pre-order sales of Ready to Be had surpassed 1.7 million copies, breaking the group's previous album pre-order record. The album debuted at number two on the United States' Billboard 200 with 153,000 album-equivalent units, including 145,500 pure album sales. It marks Twice's fourth US top-10 album and their highest-charting album in the US to date, as well as their biggest week by units sold. The album became the group's fourth best-selling album with over 286,000 pure physical units sold. With this Twice became the first female K-pop act to have three top-three albums and four top-ten albums in the country. The vinyl version sold 18,000 copies, achieving the highest first week vinyl sales in the United States for any all-female group since 1991. == Track listing ==

Credits adapted from Melon and album liner notes. Musicians • Twice – vocals • Dahyun – lyricist (tracks 4 and 6) • Nicole Neely – strings (tracks 1, 7) • Earattack – bass, drum programming, keyboard, producer (track 2) • LDN Noise – producer (track 6) • Lee Won-jong (이원종) – guitar, producer, keyboard, synthesizer (track 4) • Lee Woo-hyun (이우현) – bass, drum programming, keyboard, producer (track 2) • Lee Woo-min "Collapsedone" – electric guitar, keyboards, producer (track 3) • Lenno Linjama – producer (track 6) • Lindgren – producer (tracks 1, 7) • Lostboy – producer (track 5) • Melanie Fontana – background vocals (tracks 1, 7) • Mrch – background vocals (track 3) • Peter Rycroft – all instruments (track 5) • Shorelle – background vocals (track 6) • Sophia Pae – background vocals (tracks 2, 4–5, 7) • Sound Kim – background vocals (track 6) • Young Chance – background vocals (track 6) Technical • Curtis Douglas – mixing (tracks 1, 7) • Earattack – vocal directing (tracks 2, 5), recording (track 5) • Friday (Galactika) – vocal directing (track 1) • Gu Hye-jin (구혜진) – recording (tracks 1–2, 4–5, 7) • Haneul Lee (이하늘) – immersive mixing • Im Chan-mi (임찬미) – recording (tracks 1–3, 6–7) • Jung-hoon Choi (최정훈) – immersive mixing • Jvde (Galactika) – vocal directing (track 1) • Kang Sun-young (강선영) – digital editing (track 6) • Kwon Nam-woo (권남우) – mastering • Lee Kyung-won (이경원) – digital editing (tracks 1–2, 5, 7) • Lee Tae-seop (이태섭) – mixing (tracks 2, 4–6) • Lee Won-jong (이원종) – digital editing, vocal directing (track 4) • Lee Woo-min "Collapsedone" – computer programming (track 3) • Nicole Neely – sessions (track 1) • Park Nam-joon (박남준) – digital editing, mixing (track 3) • Shin Bong-won (신봉원) – mixing (track 3) • Sophia Pae – vocal directing (track 7) • Young Chance – digital editing, vocal directing (track 6) == Charts ==

Weekly charts Monthly charts Year-end charts == Certifications and sales ==