NEW YORK, NY (January 20, 2023) – Critically acclaimed K-Pop superstars TWICE return today with their first release of 2023, “MOONLIGHT SUNRISE,” via JYP Entertainment/Imperial/Republic Records, on all digital and streaming platforms. Stream the track HERE; watch the music video HERE.
“MOONLIGHT SUNRISE” is the group’s second English single, following the massive success of their first English single – 2021’s smash hit “The Feels,” which marked the K-Pop powerhouses’ first career entry on The Billboard Hot 100 (#83) and earned the group multiple top 10 placements across various charts. “The Feels” also earned TWICE their first U.S. gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Written, composed, and arranged by K-Pop hit makers earattack and Lee Woo Hyun, “MOONLIGHT SUNRISE” is a pre-release from TWICE’s highly anticipated 12th mini album, due out in March. Nina Ann Nelson and Kaedi Dalley (of female acappella group Citizen Queen) also participated in the track’s writing and composition. The Miami bass-based pop song explores the feelings and excitement of falling in love with lyrics such as “baby come be my starlight moonlight sunrise” and “If I’m your moonlight you’re my sunrise babe,” alongside the music video’s dreamy, charming visuals.
TWICE is heading into the new year strong, following what was a massive, record-breaking 2022. Last year, the group was the most-streamed female K-Pop group on Spotify (US), and, in 2022 alone, they accumulated nearly 300 million steams (with cumulative streams of over 5.5 billion, to date). They were also nominated for three major music awards in 2022 – an MTV Video Music Award for “Best K-Pop,” an American Music Award for “Favorite K-Pop Artist,” and an MTV Europe Music Award for “Best K-Pop.”
TWICE kicked off 2022 with their 4TH WORLD TOUR Ⅲ in the United States where they played five cities – Los Angeles (The Forum), Oakland (Oakland Arena), Fort Worth (Dickies Arena), Atlanta (State Farm Arena), and New York (UBS Arena) – including two shows in both Los Angeles and New York due to popular demand. All seven shows sold out just hours after on sale, and made TWICE the first female K-Pop group to sell out two North American arena tours. Following this massive success, TWICE returned to the States in May to play back-to-back, sold-out encore performances at Los Angeles’ Banc of California Stadium. These performances were a major milestone for the group, as they made TWICE the first female K-Pop group to play a North American stadium.
In August 2022, they released their 11th EP, BETWEEN 1&2. The EP entered the Billboard 200 Album Chart at #3 and holds the biggest pure sales week for an album by a female K-Pop act in the U.S., which further extends TWICE’s record for the most top 10 debuts on the chart among all K-Pop female acts. Additionally, the mini album’s 2022 sales totaled 199,000, earning TWICE the #6 spot on 2022’s Top CD Albums Sales chart; they were the only K-Pop girl group to enter the chart last year. BETWEEN 1&2’s lead single “Talk that Talk” also performed well, reaching top 20 on Billboard’s Global 200 chart, and top 10 on Billboard’s Global Excl. US chart. The single is tied with “The Feels” as their highest charting single on the latter chart.
“MOONLIGHT SUNRISE” is out now via all digital and streaming platforms. Stream the track HERE.
Formed under K-pop powerhouse JYP Entertainment in 2015, TWICE is one of the best-selling K-pop girl groups of all time regarding physical album sales. The group first rose to prominence with their debut title song “Like OOH-AHH” and 2016 breakthrough single “CHEER UP,” which went on to top multiple Korean pop charts and won ‘Song of the Year’ at the Melon Music Awards and Mnet Asian Music Awards. The group has been included in numerous industry lists including Variety’s Youth Impact Report as the only K-pop group included in the list, Forbes Korea Power Celebrity issue in both 2019 and 2017, and Billboard’s 21 Under 21 2017: Music’s Next Generation issue in 18th place and as the only Asian act.
In 2019, the group successfully completed their World Tour, TWICELIGHTS, which included sold-out shows in the US at The Forum in Los Angeles and the Prudential Center in Newark. In 2020, TWICE’s album MORE & MORE made its first ranking on the Artist 100 and Billboard 200 lists. Their second album that year, Eyes wide open, hit the top five slot on the all-genre iTunes US Album Sales Chart and debuted at #8 on Billboard’s World Albums chart. The album’s lead track “I CAN’T STOP ME” debuted in the top 10 of the all-genre iTunes US Song Sales Chart, and they later performed the trach on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s #PLAYATHOME digital YouTube series.
The momentum continued through 2021 where they kicked off the year with a performance on TIME100 Talks followed by their first U.S. broadcast debut on The Kelly Clarkson Show and a performance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. That June, they released their 10th mini album, Taste of Love, which debuted at #6 on the Billboard 200 chart. The K-pop powerhouses followed this up with the release of their first full English-language single, “The Feels,” which earned the group their first career entry on The Billboard Hot 100 (#83) and multiple top 10 placements across various charts; they have performed the single on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and GMA3. The group has also been nominated for two MTV Video Music Awards for “Best K-pop” in 2021 and 2022 for “Alcohol Free” and “The Feels,” respectively.
Most recently, TWICE released their third full-length album Formula of Love: O+T=<3, which hit #3 on the Billboard 200 and stayed in the chart for eight consecutive weeks, and completed their sold-out 4TH WORLD TOUR Ⅲin arenas across the United States. In May 2022, TWICE headed back to Los Angeles to play two sold-out 4TH WORLD TOUR Ⅲencore performances, becoming the first female K-Pop group to perform a North American stadium. Their latest mini album, BETWEEN 1 & 2, was released in August 2022, and the group’s highly anticipated new single, “Moonlight Sunrise” is out now.
For more about TWICE, visit:
Twitter: @JYPETWICE
Facebook: @JYPETWICE
Instagram: @TWICETAGRAM
YouTube: TWICE
K-POP SUPERSTARS TWICE RELEASE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED SECOND ENGLISH SINGLE, “MOONLIGHT SUNRISE,” OFF FORTHCOMING MARCH MINI-ALBUM
