It’s been over a year since TWICE took the world by storm with their first English release “The Feels.” In that time—and thanks in part to the virality of “The Feels”—the girl group’s popularity has shot off the charts, launching them to a new worldwide status of fame. With their twelfth mini-album on the horizon, the girls teased what’s to come for them in 2023 with the release of their latest English track, the incredibly alluring “MOONLIGHT SUNRISE.”

Whereas “The Feels” rode the retro wave that took K-Pop by storm in 2020, “MOONLIGHT SUNRISE” is something else entirely. Combining elements of R&B and city pop, with lyrics hinting at tantalizingly mature themes, “MOONLIGHT SUNRISE” couldn’t be more different from TWICE’s last foray into the western music scene. The song keeps a muted, mysterious edge throughout its entirety, never truly hitting a climax, but still letting the girls deliver some heart-stopping moments all the same.

Many title releases understandably tend to see TWICE’s powerhouse main vocals Nayeon and Jihyo take the lead, but “MOONLIGHT SUNRISE” highlights the understated voices of Tzuyu and Mina, two of the group’s more underrated vocalists. Trading in her usual higher timbre for a much more sultry tone, Chaeyoung has already commanded the attention of social media platforms with her mesmerizing low rap in the second verse. Similarly, Momo employs her lower register too, delivering a fatal blow with her take on the, “I guarantee I got ya,” line. 

If the song itself isn’t already suggestive enough, the music video for “MOONLIGHT SUNRISE” turns up the heat even more, switching between cuts of the girls longing for love at night and pondering their feelings in the morning. While the group has explored more mature concepts in some of their B-sides, this is a first for a title song, and they do it tastefully and flawlessly. If this pre-release track is anything to go by, 2023 is about to see a new TWICE—one I don’t think the world might be able to handle yet.

Watch the video for “MOONLIGHT SUNRISE” below and get ready for it to be your new favorite song.

Edited by Vivian N.