Maps of Music

Formula of Love: O+T=<3 (2021)

Where the lyrics of Formula of Love: O+T=<3 take you, and where it was really made.

The title works as a formula, Once plus Twice equals love, and before the album was even released it had become Twice's most pre-ordered and best-selling album.

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Album story

Overview

• Formula of Love: O+T=<3 is the third Korean studio album (sixth overall) by South Korean girl group Twice
• Released November 12, 2021, by JYP Entertainment and Republic Records
• Sixteen tracks, including the group's first English single "The Feels" and lead single "Scientist"
• Mainly disco-pop and synth-pop, with Latin pop, hip hop, and R&B elements
• Opens with "Scientist", a song blending dance-pop and deep house
• Three sub-unit tracks: "Push & Pull" (Jihyo, Sana, Dahyun), "Hello" (Nayeon, Momo, Chaeyoung), and "1, 3, 2" (Jeongyeon, Mina, Tzuyu)
• Closing track "Candy" is a pop song dedicated to the fandom, Once

Background

• Twice's third Korean-language studio album, following Eyes Wide Open (2020)
• The group's third release of 2021, after the tenth Korean EP Taste of Love and the third Japanese album Perfect World
• First teased by Chaeyoung on September 13, 2021, in the behind-the-scenes video of her OhBoy! magazine photoshoot
• Name and release date revealed on October 8
• Preview of the four physical versions posted October 12, with pre-orders starting the same day
• Track listing announced October 29
• Members Nayeon, Jihyo, Dahyun, and Chaeyoung took part in writing some songs
• Outside writer-producers included The Stereotypes, Melanie Fontana, Tommy Brown, and Anne-Marie

Recording

• JYPE Studios credited for recording all tracks
• Mixing split among several studios, including Klang Studio, Glab Studios, Joe Lab, and Beach Wave Sound
• Mastering by 821 Sound for all tracks

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed under the Mnet survival show Sixteen (2015) by JYP Entertainment
• Nine members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, Tzuyu
• Debuted October 20, 2015 with the EP The Story Begins
• Fans are called Once

Members

• Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, Tzuyu
• Jihyo serves as leader

Career

• 2016 single Cheer Up topped the Gaon Digital Chart and was the best-performing single in South Korea that year
• 2016 single TT topped the Gaon chart for four consecutive weeks
• Debuted in Japan in June 2017 with the compilation #Twice; first Korean girl group to earn RIAJ platinum certification for an album and CD single in the same year
• 2017 Twicetagram became the first female K-pop act to top Billboard World Albums and World Digital Song Sales simultaneously
• 2021 The Feels became the group's first entry on the US Billboard Hot 100
• 2024 With You-th topped the US Billboard 200
• Headlined Lollapalooza Chicago in 2025; the This Is For World Tour concluded in July 2026 with 81 shows in 44 cities

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metacritic: mean score of 88 from 5 reviews, indicating universal acclaim; one of the highest-rated K-pop albums on the site
• Sputnikmusic (Raul Stanciu): 3.8 out of 5, praising the producers for a "cohesive record" but saying it "could have been trimmed to 10 strong cuts"
• Sputnikmusic: noted a slight drop in quality in the second half
• NME (Tanu I. Raj): five-star rating, called it a masterful win befitting Twice's global expansion
• South China Morning Post (Tamar Herman): a groovy, bouncy addition that feels true to the group
• Beats Per Minute (Chase McMullen): 82 out of 100, applauding the group's ability to crank out pop bliss and the album's irresistible eclecticism
• PopMatters (Ana Clara Ribeiro): proof for anyone who thought Twice was one-dimensional
• AllMusic (David Crone): said it is Twice's best release to date and surpasses expectations
• Rolling Stone Korea: called it the pinnacle of Twice's career history and one of K-pop's best albums of 2021
• Idology: said it was Twice's best album to date, with the group's move beyond bubblegum pop finally bearing fruit

Records

• Over 700,000 pre-order sales; Twice's best-selling album to date, surpassing More & More (2020)
• Billboard 200 debut at number 3 with 66,000 album-equivalent units, the group's fourth and highest entry
• First US week: 58,000 pure sales and 8,000 streaming-equivalent units
• Highest-charting album for Twice in the US and Canada; Canadian Albums Chart number 17
• Eight consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200
• Gaon Album Chart number 1, Twice's tenth number-one album on the chart
• Japan: Oricon Albums number 2; Billboard Japan Hot Albums number 17
• Billboard Tastemakers number 7, Top Album Sales number 2, World Albums number 1
• KMCA certified 3× Platinum on May 12, 2022, after more than 750,000 units sold

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• "Cactus", a ballad written by Jihyo, was inspired by the death of a houseplant and is written from the plant's point of view.
• The title can be read as "Once plus Twice equals love", with O and T for Once and Twice and the heart symbol for love.
• The group sang "Candy" at the H6me Party livestream on October 20, 2021, during its sixth anniversary week.
• On October 24, JYP Entertainment released a mockumentary-style trailer with members dressed as scientists at the "Twice Love Lab".
• The album was pre-ordered over 630,000 times by November 8, before its release.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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