TWICE 'Feel Special' M/V complete breakdown and why this changes K-Pop
Twice has dropped one of their greatest albums to date. They not only stunned fans with their new looks and sounds, but the lyrics in their title song have significant meaning. Feel Special was written by JYP, and he based it off of conversations he had with each of the members. All nine members have lines in the song that can be drawn back to their own personal struggles.
Feel Special is not only one of Twice’s best songs, but it also does something that might change K-Pop forever.
To understand what the music video is laying down, we must first understand what it is telling us. Each Twice member has their own unique concept. It is in these concepts that the story of the M/V can be uncovered. They are telling separate stories until the very end of the video.
What is being displayed?
As mentioned before, each member has their own concept. The unique thing about this though is the fact that all of them are alone in the beginning of the MV (aside from group choreo shots)
Nayeon
Dressed very elegantly and she is surrounded by diamonds as light flash on her face.
Jeongyeon
In a room, sitting on a “throne-like” chair. She is alone and has an expressionless face
Momo
Dressed very elegantly (with no bangs), and she is in a room surrounded by dollhouses in display cases.
Sana
Alone on a street corner as people walk past her. Sana sits expressionless as the rain continues to pour down on her.
Jihyo
In a room with several screen monitors pointed right at her. She remains expressionless in this room (but those pearls though…)
Mina
Looks to be lost in a forest. Wearing an all white dress, Mina looks to navigate a forest with trees that illuminate her “color” (mint).
Dahyun
In the same location as Sana. She walks along the street just like the other people, except she has an umbrella. The umbrella is colored with Once’s official colors (apricot and magenta)
Chaeyoung
Isolated in what looks to be a white dome in the same forest as Mina.
Tzuyu
In the same location as Momo. She is a doll in one of the dollhouses that Momo is surrounded by.
What Does It Mean?
The important detail to take away from what has been stated above is Twice starts the music video being alone.
Keying in on the backgrounds a little more, notice how each member complements their specific location with either an object or item of clothing (except for Mina…will explain more below). For example, Tzuyu complements her eccentric background with eccentric clothing.
Nayeon’s solo scenes have her matching the diamond background by wearing a dress and earrings that fit the theme. Jihyo stands in a dark room with TV monitors illuminating, and she wears dark clothes with bright pearls. So on and so forth.
While each member steals the scenes they’re in with their stunning visuals, their clothes are telling the story of Twice feeling like they “blend in” when they are alone. From a storytelling standpoint, the solo scenes make the members feel like they don’t “stand out.”
The Member Relationships
As JYP said, much of the song was inspired by real-life conversations he had with Twice. What lies below is purely hypothetical. This video can be interpreted in many different ways.
Nayeon & Jihyo
Theory 1: One explanation that could be used to describe the relationship between Nayeon and Jihyo in Feel Special is that Nayeon is a celebrity who is experiencing the lonely side of fame. Jihyo is a fan who is a big supporter of Nayeon. With Jihyo’s support, Nayeon doesn’t feel lonely and the two share a smile through the TV.
Theory 2: Jihyo feels like the public is peering into her life. Nayeon represents the public. There is a shot in the MV where Nayeon is featured on all the screens and she is staring directly at Jihyo. This could be inspired by the true life events that have taken place. Jihyo might feel like her private life has been invaded, but instead of Nayeon judging her, she smiles at her instead. This makes Jihyo feel better.
Jeongyeon & Twice
As an idol, Jeongyeon might feel like she has an expectation to live up to. Her sitting on a throne in a room all by herself could represent the emptiness she feels when she is alone. The public could be putting her on a pedestal (throne) that she doesn’t really want, and this makes her feel isolated. This is why the Jeongyeon on the throne looks at the Jeongyeon laughing with the members. She feels happiest when she is with all nine.
Momo & Tzuyu
Tzuyu is the maknae of Twice. Many fans also cite her to be the main visual of Twice. The music video represents this by having Tzuyu be a literal “doll.” In the MV there is a scene where Momo looks directly at Tzuyu. This action is a sign of acknowledgment towards Tzuyu. Momo recognizes Tzuyu as being more than just a doll.
Sana & Dahyun
After an Instagram post that was negatively interpreted by the Korean media, Sana was put on the spot and some netizens turned their back on her. It also reignited the argument against Japanese idols in K-Pop groups. This is clearly illustrated in the MV with Sana sitting alone in the rain. The rain represents the “hurtful words that stab me,” and Sana was getting soaked by the downpour. Everyone of the street carries an umbrella, but no one offers to keep Sana dry. This is meant to represent the sense of isolation she might’ve felt.
Dahyun is carrying a “Once colored” umbrella, and while Sana is never shown getting under the umbrella, one could assume that Dahyun is the one that will keep her safe from the rain.
Chaeyoung & Mina
Chaeyoung is seen in a white dome. This could represent the sense of isolation she has felt since becoming an idol. The dome has no windows or doors, meaning that she is stuck inside.
Mina is seen wandering a forest with trees laced in her signature mint color. Much of visual can be interpreted differently by others, but one way of looking at it is—Mina is lost within herself. As the lyrics go, “I just wanted to hide, didn’t wanna face the world…as if I have lost meaning.”
It was recently reported that Mina was dealing with clinically diagnosed anxiety disorder. These lyrics could be a reflection of how she truly felt upon this song’s creation.
All changes when the wall to Chaeyoung’s dome begins to break down, and the two come face-to-face. They share a smile together. Now neither of them are alone because they have found each other.
The Ending of the MV
The ending of the music video wraps up all the member relationships, and ends with a grand finale. Nayeon smiles at Jihyo, Mina and Chaeyoung find each other, Dahyun smiles at Sana, Jeongyeon looks happy with Twice, and Tzuyu and Momo share a moment.
The ending of the video also features something else that demands attention. In the finale of the song, the vocals drop, and the choreography becomes very intense, and it is different than what is seen earlier in the video.
There are only three shots in the whole music video with all nine members.
1) The gold rain room with the chandelier
2) Twice laughing on the stairs in the Jeongyeon’s solo scene
3) The colorful grand finale
Twice in the grand finale is colorful and bright. The elegance of the video transforms itself into a special display of light. All nine of the members are together, and while their clothes match the background, they “pop” in the finale. This is meant to show that the nine members “Feel Special” when they are all together. This is why this scene was saved for the end.
The video ends on the sound of rain. Beckoning to the fact that it won’t stop pouring, but no matter what, Twice has each other to rely on.
Lyrically
Feel Special is without a doubt one of Twice’s most meaningful songs. Some lyrics (translated) that resonate are…
“When I feel like I don’t belong anywhere
And my head is hanging down
Whenever those days come, you tell me
How precious I am”
“You make me feel special
No matter how the world brings me down”
“Even when hurtful words stab me
I smile again 'cause you’re there”
This song is based off of the real feelings of Twice, and that’s something that isn’t always seen with idol groups.
Why This Can Change K-Pop
K-Pop is increasingly becoming more popular on the international front. Certain groups are beginning to start tours in the West, and they are collaborating with more western artists. It seems like every new K-Pop song breaks the internet in some way, and streaming records keep getting higher and higher.
Despite the successes K-Pop has found internationally, people who are uneducated about the Korean music industry continue to look down upon its groups and artists.
This is a topic to be discussed for another time, but how does Feel Special come into play?
There is a running meme/joke amongst K-Pop fans. It typically follows this script
“I know K-Pop ain’t that deep but…”
It’s true. For newer K-Pop groups, individuality can tend to be stripped away. Many groups do not write their own music, and they are underneath the hand of a company that can controls everything they do. There are many popular groups that have fallen victim to this. In fact, there are only a handful of groups in the third generation that are involved in the music production process.
This isn’t because the group members lack talent, but because companies want to do what is safe, and what they know makes money.
When companies do this, they take away everything that makes the members—members. This isn’t to say that every song must have meaning, but it’s when there is no meaning, then a group’s individuality goes away.
Feel Special was written and composed by JYP. He wrote it about Twice’s personal experiences. The rest of the album was written by the members of Twice. 21:29 in particular, was written by all the members.
Feel Special feels extremely personal, and that’s something that doesn’t happen a lot in K-Pop. Hopefully this song and album encourages other companies to give a more personal touch to their artists. Twice is the highest selling K-Pop girl group of all time, and maybe the success of Feel Special will act as an example to other K-Pop companies to let their idols do more than just perform the songs. I believe that it can, and I believe it will.
Each time a group makes a comeback, they are seen in a new concept playing a new “character.” While Twice was without a doubt playing characters in Feel Special, it felt like those characters were a reflection of the things actually happening in their lives.
It feels like a response to all the times the members make a headline for something “non-group related.” People wonder how they might feel when bad things happen, and we may never know; but one thing is for certain, the nine of them are always there for each other, and Feel Special painted a real-life picture.
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