Fancy You is Twice’s 7th mini album and their 12th overall release (counting Japanese releases it is their 15th). Twice is widely regarded as the “Nation’s Girl Group” in Korea (although that is a topic of debate as many still see that as SNSD/Girl’s Generation) and they are extremely popular in Asia, especially in Korea and Japan. They debuted with Like Ooh-Ahh and the mini album The Story Begins in 2015 and blew up with their second release-Cheer Up and Page Two-the following year. Since Cheer Up, their releases have been fun, upbeat, and cutesy, and always well regarded by the general public (with their spring release winning the Song of the Year award at the Mnet Asian Music Awards every year since 2016).
Fancy, the title track for their new mini album Fancy You, is a step in a new direction for Twice. Fancy takes on a new, slightly darker concept, reminiscent on Itzy’s take on a girl crush concept (still bright and bubbly, just much less cutesy). The music video is stunning, with a lot of fantastical effects, my personal favorites being Dahyun’s scene showing her lying on the ceiling with paperclips flying up and Tzuyu’s scene where she holds a bouquet of planets. The music video actually reminds me a lot of Itzy’s Dalla Dalla music video, although I prefer Twice’s music (Dalla Dalla just wasn’t for me).
Music wise, I adore Fancy. The song does a really good job of keeping Twice’s aura and style while still showcasing a new side of the girls. All of them seem very comfortable with the concept, especially Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung, which I think is especially good because they didn’t stand out as much with the cuter concept. Chaeyoung especially (although I may be biased because she is my favorite member) stands out to me a lot in Fancy, with her little part of “Fancy, woo!” at the end of each chorus and her pinkish-blonde hair. All of them look amazing, and the song and mini album are great. My favorite song is probably Hot, but Girls Like Me is a close second. I would definitely recommend the whole mini!