[Review] TWICE - Cheer Up

Now that the semester is over, I can finally start to (or attempt) catching up with the plethora of releases I've missed over the weeks. With that, I'm also going to be trying some new formatting images with the reviews. This will be a pilot review to see how future pieces will look under this new structure. Bear in mind, I'm no good with programs like Photoshop so this is all very ghetto. If everything looks good, this will officially start the 7th season of reviews!

Twice is a force to be reckoned with, quickly rising through the ranks since their debut with "Like Ooh-Ahh" and recently claimed the #9 spot for Girl Group Power Rankings. Now they've come back with "Cheer Up," and this is their chance to impress me. I like to think that for rookie groups, the 2nd release is perhaps even more important than the debut, because that determines whether or not you have staying power. Let's see how it goes.

What's up with Twice having really good choruses but subpar verses? This chorus is so lovely and really makes the song so much better. Jihyo and Nayeon are a good 1-2 vocal punch, and Jihyo definitely will be earning her stripes as the group progresses (awesome long note!). But I simply can't ignore the disaster that was the pronunciation of "cheer up" as "chol up." I'm sorry, I know Jihyo isn't a native English speaker, but when that is the title of your song, you should really get that right. Additionally, the various inflections throughout the song (for example, 0:41 and 1:15) don't sit well with me. I've never seen a song that uses those raises effectively and until proven otherwise I don't think I will ever like those.

The verses are an improvement from "Like Ooh-Ahh," in that they actually sound like part of the overall song and flow into the choruses well. This is mostly thanks to the prechorus of Momo and Jungyeon. Keep your eyes (or rather ears) peeled for Jungyeon. She seems pretty underrated so far but her voice is quite good, and honestly may be better than Nayeon's in terms of power. Everyone else does a respectable job, lacing their voices with aegyo and the innocent sound befitting of their age.

I may have called the chorus of "Cheer Up" the best part of the song, but the bridge gives some serious competition. Mina is surprisingly wonderful with her part, and having Jihyo as follow-up is no joke. The chorus is the hook, but the bridge is probably my favorite section in the song. The chanting after that, however, not so much. I know it's cute, and they're all in cheerleader outfits so it matches the theme, but I didn't like chants during "Like Ooh-Ahh" and I don't like it now. It's sort of similar to f(x)'s "4 Walls," where an extra section could've been omitted and the transition would still have been seamless. Oh well, can't win everything.

The rap showing from Dahyun and Chaeyoung was better this time around. Not only did they each get longer parts (almost doubled from "Like Ooh-Ahh), but the raps themselves weren't bad. While it's difficult for me to assess whether or not they grew since last time, it's still easy to see that they sound more comfortable here. On top of that, the fast lines sound much more refined than before. Chaeyoung is the more interesting rapper, mainly because her voice is better suited to rapping than Dahyun. Although, Dahyun actually reminds me of Hyelim a little with how she raps, which isn't that bad at all, especially for being a rookie. I'd like to see how each of them handle a solo rap, but who knows if we'll ever get to see that. Gotta share lines to everyone in a group this size, or at least try to.
Hm. For starters, this is a very cute dance. The entirety of "Cheer Up" is lively and bubbly, so this dance fits right in. Some of the moves during the chorus even look like possible cheerleader moves so that's pretty cool. There's a million formation changes, which keeps things fresh for the viewers and has a healthy combination of uniformity and individuality (like during Chaeyoung and Dahyun's rapping). Speaking of, please tell me I wasn't the only one to burst out laughing seeing Dahyun do that move at 1:38 in the dance version(s). Ironically, the worst part of the song - the chanting - gets the best part of the dance. Watching Twice "flex" is definitely something I never thought I'd see, and it's a treat.

While the usage of various themes for each member might not necessarily make the most sense when you look at the lyrics, it's the effort that matters, and this is quite the MV effort by Twice. Having different concepts is neat, and the last relevant video I can remember that did something similar was EXO back when they had superpowers and whatever. Anyway, my favorite parts of the MV are Chaeyoung's swag cowgirl look, Momo being a badass, and Tzuyu hilariously being pampered by the J-trinity. I'm not sure what's going for Nayeon's scenes. Is there an alien invasion and she's calling for help? Not with that kind of phone she isn't. Or maybe this was before she became unafraid of zombies, I dunno. Jungyeon also looks like she got the short end of the stick, as she mostly sits there. Seems that with a group this large, it's impossible to avoid having a visual hole, and that unfortunate honor goes to Jungyeon. It's not even that she looks bad (she's Gong Seungyeon's sister after all), but that haircut is not flattering in the slightest. As good as the MV of "Like Ooh-Ahh" utilized different colors, this one is even better. Having the different sets really helped add a ton of variety to the video. JYP has been doing quite the job with music videos this year. Hopefully other companies follow suit.

Twice has done a more-than-respectable job with this comeback. The choreography is pretty good, the music video is eye-catching, and they once again have an extremely high-quality chorus. They also made improvements in parts that were lacking in "Like Ooh-Ahh," such as the rapping and awkward verses. Mina's bridge was a lovely surprise and when all is said and done, it's a recipe for success. But man, I'm pretty sad the English got butchered so hard. Given their growth in "Cheer Up," I'm going to expect even better things next time!