TWICE - Breakthrough Review (Regular CD Edition)

It's been forever and an eternity, but I have finally got a new computer! My old one completely died on me to the point where it couldn't open pictures anymore. I've got a nice new one now so I can post a bit more now. Luckily I had all my blog pictures back up on a hard drive so they were easy to move over. I thought today I would post a music review as it has been a while since my last one. If only I had more hours in the day to post endless music reviews as I'd love to do that. However with work and being tired after work, it's not that easy. Anyway today's post is about TWICE's Japanese single Breakthrough!

Breakthrough is TWICE's fifth Japanese single and was released in July 2019. The single was released in four editions: Limited Edition A CD+DVD, Limited Edition CD+DVD, Regular CD Edition and ONCE JAPAN CD Edition. I brought the Regular CD Edition from Yahoo Auctions direct from Japan. The Regular CD Edition includes the following contents:

• CD- 4 track single
• Lyrics booklet
• Jewel case
• OBI Strip
• 1 of 10 Photocards

I brought this single in a set along with their other Japanese single HAPPY HAPPY and I love the contrasting concepts for these two singles. Breakthrough has that classic girl crush that everyone is so hot on in K-Pop in recent years whereas HAPPY HAPPY is more on the cute and summer concept. All four editions of the single have the same concept and there is a beautiful 80's inspired aesthetic as the background for the single designs. This was the first physical Japanese single I brought of the group and honestly the design of the single was the main draw point for me. The front of the Regular Edition has a group shot and the back contains an image of the palm tree which is featured as the backdrop in the group image. The track listing and credit information are listed on the back as well.

Inside the jewel case, there is more gorgeous flora inspired 80's aesthetic to admire. I love the design of this CD as it matches the concept of the single and goes outside the standard box of just having the group or song title. I'm so over boring CD artwork and if you've read my other reviews, you'd get why I go crazy for interesting designs. I know some people are over 80's inspired stuff in K-Pop and J-Pop but I'm all for it! Those songs are often my favourite and the concepts are a breath of fresh air compared to the same cargo pants and crop top look I see a lot with some groups.

Of course I had to include a photo of the OBI strip as I'm in love with them. Nowadays I only buy items that come with the OBI as that's part of the whole package for me. TWICE's OBI's look quite nice when you stack them together and once I get more editions of Breakthrough, it will be nice to see how they go together. This OBI doesn't contain as much information as other group's releases do but I think the simplicity works.

The lyrics booklet is your typical standard Japanese lyrics booklet. It has the single cover on the front, then just text on all the other pages. I think I was spoilt after all of CLC's lyrics booklets which contained lovely photos all throughout. The booklet contains the lyrics to both songs included on the single along with credit information on the back page.

Onto the songs on the single! Each edition contains the same track listing and it's a enjoyable CD to listen to! I've actually turned into quite a TWICE fan this year, I wasn't too interested in them when they first debuted and never really listened to much of their stuff until their first Japanese EP #TWICE was released. And boy I missed out! Love all their title tracks and there are some great B-sides. I personally prefer their Japanese releases as I'm more into J-Pop style music and some songs I like the Japanese lyrics over the Korean ones. Maybe cause I heard that version first and it's easier to sing along with. The first song on the single is the title track Breakthrough which is an electro-pop sounding song with a powerful chorus. The unique vocal stylings of each member is always a favourite of mine in TWICE songs and it works well in this song. But now onto the best TWICE track in my opinion and that is the Japanese version of Fancy. Honestly this song was one of my top songs of 2019 and I'd rank it pretty high this year too. It's just a classic for me and is everything I want in a pop song. Catchy lyrics, upbeat sound and unforgettable chorus. I wish everyone I know in real life could appreciate the majesty of this song but alas it cannot be. So I'll just jam to it in my own world! The other two songs on the single are a remix of Breakthrough and the instrumental. Thank you JYP for the instrumental as I'm all about those instrumental. Also can we get a Fancy instrumental soon? Please and thank you! Here is the track listing for the Breakthrough single:

1. Breakthrough
2. Fancy [Japanese Version]
3. Breakthrough (taalthechoi remix)
4. Breakthrough (Instrumental)

Managed to pick up a photocard with the single and it was a group one! I quite like the TWICE photocards and I try to buy from listings that include them. There must be so many of these going around as TWICE sells quite a few CD's in Japan and you often see them on Yahoo Auctions. It would be amazing to have a complete set of every single one and I can't imagine how much that would cost! It's hard for me to pick my bias in TWICE as I feel it changes all the time but Jeongyeon always ranks pretty high each release for me so she'd be one of my faves. Anyway here is the stunning group photocard that I received from the seller ♡♡

That's all for this CD review and it really turned into me just fangirling about TWICE near the end. Gosh I wish I could just collect all their releases but my wallet would hate me haha. Maybe one day I'll get the other editions of Breakthrough but for now I'm happy with just the Regular Edition. I picked this one up used from Yahoo Auctions a while back and the single is still available to buy from most Japanese or Asian music stores. I also just brought their recent Japanese single Fanfare so I can't wait to get my hands on that when it arrives in a billion months due to current shipping times. I'm off now to listen to more Fancy, bye!!!