Watching TWS’s Plot Twist‘s unlikely rise to the top of the Korean charts has been an absolute joy. The digital charts tend to be a tough place for boy groups — especially rookies with a bright pop sound. However, the song has caught on and truly lived up to its name sake. This is a thrilling development and hopefully bodes well for more bright boy group music in the future.
Like most HYBE-associated acts, TWS are releasing several music videos from their album. As far as I’m concerned, Sparkling Blue is all killer, no filler, though I would’ve chosen the excellent First Hooky for promotion over BFF. BFF is probably my least favorite song on the album, but I see why they’ve selected it. It fits very well within the “boyhood pop” schtick the guys are going for.
As a plonky mid-tempo, this is better than most. That’s down to strong melodies and a few unexpected production choices. The chorus is sticky from the get-go and I love the filtered brass that underlines it. Put together, the two elements radiate joy, and that may be TWS’s biggest weapon. Their music simply feels good while also coming across as authentic to them.
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.5 |
Grade: B
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
#teamfirsthooky since day one and I’m sick of Pledis continuing to pay it dust. it’s the only song from the EP without a single performance.
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I know!! 😡
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Well, they *are* Seventeen’s baby brothers, so immediate success in Korea isn’t too surprising. We’ll just have to see if they pull it off the next couple comebacks since even 4th gen bgs that did well in Korea at first didn’t necessarily sustain the gp’s long term interest.
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By your logic TXT should have immediate success right after they debuted too but I don’t remember crown to be remotely close to plot twist in term of success.
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Love this one, together with the whole album, while also agreeing that it’s my least favorite on it at the same time.
I saw a lot of people, just about any 4th gen boy group fans, questioning TWS’s charting, and it’s been going on ever since they started charting, together with Love 119. People just couldn’t seem to get around it, and I mostly also saw them defend the point that it’s not music actually playing the part. To me it just seems as such a stretch to say that it’s not really up to music. I know it’s been weird that those groups debuting since 2019 didn’t chart that well, while at the same time doing well internationally..I mean, at the end of the day it’s the general public listening, what do they know other than the sound?
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To be honest, I don’t put much stock into what international fans have to say about the taste of the Korean public. It’s two different audiences, and Plot Twist has clearly struck a chord with those who stream music in Korea.
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Yep, their reasoning just isn’t faithful enough, the 4th generation obviously proved just how shockingly different those two audiences are.
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