One of the groups kickstarting the final week of October is TWICE, with their highly anticipating comeback, I Can’t Stop Me (the title track) and Eyes Wide Open (the title of their second studio album). It follows on from their More & More comeback from earlier in the year. While this is great news for ONCEs, unfortunately promotions for their new song and album will not feature Jeongyeon (my favourite member of the group) for health reasons. Hopefully we will see her soon! But in the meanwhile, here is my review for I Can’t Stop Me.

I might be in the minority when I say this about I Can’t Stop Me, but I don’t see anything special with this track. For me, TWICE is renowned for their really catchy hooks in their song and these hooks usually employ a vibrant kick in the instrumentation and/or some really addictive repetition. I Can’t Stop Me doesn’t have any of that and hence it just feels flat. This might be a perspective of style, given that the producers opted for a mature take on the retro trend that has re-emerged in KPOP this year. I really liked this aspect of the song, given that it was a logical choice for TWICE and that the song did come off somewhat refreshing. Not only does retro and TWICE click together in your mind without any issues, but I Can’t Stop Me intersects with their continuation of mature sounding songs. But the KPOP industry has very creative minds throughout (as evident by the quality of music that we listen to everyday and I review) and I am sure someone could have come up with a catchier hook that allows TWICE to maintain their well-known techniques, but also embrace their new sound. What we did get was decent and had potential but I wished they somehow amplified the retro instrumentation a bit more to make the song a tad stronger. And I feel that the hooks may have benefited from this. Vocal wise, it seems like they didn’t push themselves hard enough and it felt a little dull for my taste. On the flip side, they might have pushed too hard when it came to the ad-libs, as they felt strained. Likewise, the rapping had the same issue. Together, they might have done this intentionally to fit the style of the song, so this might go back to stronger instrumentation to amplify everything else in I Can’t Stop Me.

I think JYP Entertainment outdid themselves with the green screen this time around. I mentioned in the music video review for More & More that JYP Entertainment made magnificent music video with the use of sets and green screens. This time around, I was wowed by the blooming flower at the start of the video, revealing the members within the blooming flower. The galaxy background for that part was captivating. The members closeups all looked stunning and I really enjoyed that hexagonal pattern for the second verse. I felt like the music video featured two sets that felt similar to other music videos – namely the train station platform from BLACKPINK’s As If Its Your Last and the mountains from Red Velvet’s Bad Boy. I am not saying they are copied, but they felt familiar. The ending was also pretty interesting with the cliffhanger of the train at the edge of the cliff.

The choreography was excellent. I really liked the energy they put into moves, particularly when it came to the chorus. I also liked their instrumental break that follows the first and final choruses. I also liked that they carried over the flower formation from the start of the video.

Song – 6/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.3/10