Twice secures biggest sales for female K-pop album in US

Between 1&2  takes No 3 spot on Billboard 200

Twice enter this week’s Billboard 200 Album Chart at No. 3 with their 11th mini album, Between 1&2, which dropped August 26th via JYP Entertainment/Imperial/Republic Records. The critically acclaimed EP now holds the biggest pure sales week for an album by a female K-Pop act in the Uzd, with nearly 94,000 traditional albums sold and 9.18 million streams accumulated (6K album equivalent units) in its first week. In total, that brings the group to an impressive 100,000 total units sold in the US alone in its first week. This debut extends the K-pop superstars’ record for the most top 10 debuts on the chart among all K-Pop female acts. Other notable chart placements include No. 1 spots on Billboard’s Top Album Sales and World Albums charts, as well as Billboard’s Artist 100 chart.

The album’s smash lead single “Talk That Talk” also saw major movement in its first week, with strong debuts on Billboard’s Global 200 chart, where it reached top 20, and Billboard’s Global Excl. US chart, where it reached top 10. The single now ties with Twice’s 2021 smash single “The Feels” as their highest charting single on the latter chart. Other notable placements include Spotify’s Global and US Daily chart, where “Talk That Talk” entered the top 50 and top 100 respectively (a first entry on both charts for the group). On Spotify’s Global Weekly Song Chart, “Talk That Talk” entered the top 100. The single’s music video topped YouTube Music’s Video Trending Worldwide chart four days in a row upon release, and has to date accumulated nearly 60 million views on the platform since its release on August 25th.

Between 1&2 signifies the strong bond between Twice and their loyal and unrelenting army of fans, called Once, to whom the group dedicated the title of the new mini album. Twice members Chaeyoung, Jihyo, and Dahyun all contributed lyrics to select tracks on the album. Chaeyoung wrote the lyrics for “Basics,” Jihyo composed, wrote lyrics, and provided vocal direction on “Trouble,” and Dahyun received credit for writing the lyrics on “Gone,” and “When We Were Kids.” Additional tracks featured on the album include “Queen of Hearts,” and “Brave.”

Between 1&2 marks the group’s first US release since their recent contract renewal with JYP Entertainment, and follows what has already been a massive, record-breaking 2022 for the group. Last month, the group was nominated for their second consecutive MTV Video Music Award in the category of “Best K-pop” for “The Feels,” and, in May, the group played back-to-back, sold out performances at Los Angeles’ Banc of California Stadium – encore performances of their sold out 4th World Tour III. 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, proving that the K-Pop powerhouses are continuing to grow as a global force. Following these shows, the group headed to New York to make their US broadcast debut with a performance of their Billboard Hot 100 hit, “The Feels,” on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com