Maps of Music

Eyes Wide Open (2020)

Where the lyrics of Eyes Wide Open take you, and where it was really made.

An album about insomnia and anxiety became Twice's highest US Billboard 200 entry at the time, peaking at number 72.

Key places

Recorded at JYPE Studios in Seoul (2020)

Recording site Big Hit Studios, Seoul — The album's recording is credited to JYPE Studios in Seoul. The point is placed at city-center level, so it does not mark the exact studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: Private company studio, not open to visitors.

Album story

Overview

• Second Korean studio album (fourth overall) by South Korean girl group Twice
• Released October 26, 2020 by JYP Entertainment and Republic Records
• First Korean full-length album in nearly three years, following Twicetagram (2017)
• 13 songs, including lead single "I Can't Stop Me"
• Released in the week of the group's fifth anniversary
• Primarily a pop record with retro-synth, dance-pop, Japanese city-pop and contemporary R&B elements
• Producers include Melanie Fontana, Josh Record, LDN Noise, DJ Swivel and Dua Lipa
• J. Y. Park serves as executive producer
• Members took part in production as songwriters on six of the 13 tracks
• Lyrical themes include love, insomnia, self-confidence, self-encouragement and anxiety

Background

• Followed the commercially successful EP More & More (2020)
• Reports of an October 26 comeback circulated on Korean media sites before the label confirmed them
• Album announced October 1 via the group's official SNS accounts, with release date and promotional schedule
• Album title announced October 6
• Tracklist and lead single "I Can't Stop Me" revealed October 10
• Three group teaser images released October 11 with the digital album cover
• Leader Jihyo said the message of the album and its title could be summed up in one phrase about opening one's eyes to a new sense
• Member Jeongyeon took a hiatus due to psychological anxiousness and did not take part in promotion for the album (announced October 17, 2020)

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed under the Mnet survival show Sixteen (2015) by JYP Entertainment
• Nine members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, Tzuyu
• Debuted October 20, 2015 with the EP The Story Begins
• Fans are called Once

Members

• Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, Tzuyu
• Jihyo serves as leader

Career

• 2016 single Cheer Up topped the Gaon Digital Chart and was the best-performing single in South Korea that year
• 2016 single TT topped the Gaon chart for four consecutive weeks
• Debuted in Japan in June 2017 with the compilation #Twice; first Korean girl group to earn RIAJ platinum certification for an album and CD single in the same year
• 2017 Twicetagram became the first female K-pop act to top Billboard World Albums and World Digital Song Sales simultaneously
• 2021 The Feels became the group's first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100
• 2024 With You-th topped the US Billboard 200
• Headlined Lollapalooza Chicago in 2025; the This Is For World Tour concluded in July 2026 with 81 shows in 44 cities

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Beats Per Minute: Chase McMullen gave the album 79/100, calling it evidence of the group's ever-surprising ability to evolve
• Beats Per Minute: the reviewer described the material as the group's most sophisticated sound and presentation so far
• Beats Per Minute: included the album at number 45 in its "Top 50 Albums of 2020" list, praising the group's greater creative control
• Time: included the album in "Songs and Albums That Defined K-Pop's Monumental Year in 2020", noting the strength of all 13 tracks and their theme of light against darkness
• South China Morning Post: Tamar Herman included the album in its "Top 15 K-pop group albums of 2020", citing a move toward more mature, dramatic pop
• Billboard: included the album at number 6 in "10 Best K-Pop Albums of 2020: Critics' Picks", describing the group as reaching a new artistic high
• MTV News: Lai Frances described the album as the bigger, bolder sister of More & More
• Idolator: Mike Wass ranked the album at number 41 in "70 Best Pop Albums of 2020"
• Rolling Stone India: Riddhi Chakraborty ranked the album at number 2 in "10 Best K-pop Albums of 2020" and called it the group's best record to date
• South China Morning Post Youngpost: Natasha Ho praised all 13 tracks, naming "Depend On You" as the highlight, but found the track sequencing too quick in its shifts of genre and emotion

Records

• Gaon Album Chart: peaked at number 2
• Sold 416,939 copies by the end of October 2020, ranking 6th among albums sold that month
• US Billboard 200: debuted at number 72, the group's highest entry on the chart at that time
• Made Twice only the third K-pop girl group to enter the top 100 of the Billboard 200, after 2NE1 and Blackpink
• Billboard World Albums: number 2
• Billboard Top Album Sales: number 12
• KMCA: 2× Platinum certification on April 8, 2021 for sales over 500,000 copies
• Second Twice release to receive 2× Platinum certification, after More & More
• Lead single "I Can't Stop Me": number 8 on the Gaon Digital Chart, the group's 14th top-ten single and its third single to top the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album was released in the same week as the group's fifth anniversary.
• Dua Lipa participated in the composition of "Behind the Mask", the thirteenth track, along with Heize, who also took part in the songwriting.
• Momo said this was the group's first attempt at a retro concept, pointing to the synth notes heard throughout the title song.
• Twice performed "Depend On You" at the Time 100 Talks event held by Time magazine on January 28, 2021.
• The group performed the lead single on its United States television debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert's "#PlayAtHome" series on November 30, 2020.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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