Q&A: K-pop girl group Twice exploded in the last decade. Then ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ came calling

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/03/2026 (225 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The only thing rarer than success in the global pop music industry is longevity. But K-pop girl group Twice make resilience look easy.

Last year — Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu — celebrated their 10th anniversary with the release of “TEN: The Story Goes On.” It’s mostly composed of solo songs from its nine members, extending into genres far beyond the bubblegum pop they popularized: “Fix a Drink” is country, “Chess” samples Beethoven’s “Für Elise,” and so on.

But that’s not the only thing they’re celebrating: Not so long ago Sony Pictures Animation reached out to the group to participate in a new project they were working on: “KPop Demon Hunters.”

The movie, which Netflix has said is its most watched film of all time, has amassed hundreds of millions of hours viewed worldwide. It was also the highest charting soundtrack of 2025 with eight of its songs landing on the Billboard Hot 100. It also made a splash in theaters in August and got a subsequent release over Halloween weekend.

Next week, it’s up for two Oscars at the Academy Awards. Not a bad call to get.

Below, Twice discusses “KPop Demon Hunters,” being a decade into their career and evolving definitions of success.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

AP: To celebrate 10 years of the group, you released “TEN: The Story Goes On.” And for the first time, all of you have solo tracks on a Twice record.

MINA: For Twice’s solo songs, it seems like each member chose a concept that suited them well. And for the group songs, because we’ve been together for 10 years, we know each other’s vocal colors and strengths, so we’re able to assign parts that highlight those individual characteristics, allowing us to showcase our personalities even more.

AP: How has your definition of success changed over time, 10 years later?

JIHYO: We’ve worked incredibly hard for the past 10 years, but honestly, I’m not sure what the criteria for success really is. We’ve just consistently and diligently done what we’ve been doing, and if the fact that many people have listened to our music, loved it, and felt encouraged by it constitutes success, then perhaps we have achieved success. However, I still think there’s so much more we can do.

AP: I’m curious how the conversations begin for you when it comes to putting out a new comeback release. What are those early chats like?

DAHYUN: First of all, we have a lot of group chats. We have a company group chat, a member group chat, and several other group chats. When we can’t meet in person, we discuss things there, and sometimes we even use a voting feature to make decisions by majority vote, choosing from various options. We also hold meetings in person at the company. Both the members and the company staff work together, discussing things and trying their best to make a great album.

AP: How do you keep moving forward?

JIHYO: It feels like there’s also a broader generational trend at play, and when looking at what’s popular these days, we tend to choose things that align well with Twice. We try to do what we can at that time, and we also try not to repeat what we’ve done before. We consider many different opinions, and although the process gets more difficult with each album, we’re still enjoying it.

AP: What’s your relationship to your individual voices now, as opposed to 10 years ago?

JEONGYEON: I think I understand it well now. Ten years ago, my voice was one that was trying very hard to sound good, but now I’m recording with the mindset of singing in my natural voice, just being myself.

AP: And what’s your relationship to perfectionism?

CHAEYOUNG: When recording, I think we try our best to perform our parts well, listening to it repeatedly and rerecording. Since performing well is our job, we naturally feel that we have to do it perfectly.

AP: We have to talk about “KPop Demon Hunters.” I mean, Jeongyeon, Jihyo, and Chaeyoung, your version of “Takedown” is in the credits. And the group song, “Strategy,” was also featured on the soundtrack. How did being a part of this project challenge you creatively?

JEONGYEON: Twice’s music is very bright, cute, and generally requires a refreshing vocal style, but the song “Takedown” in “KPop Demon Hunters” is a very powerful song. In fact, during my trainee days, I only sang powerful songs. So, it brought back memories of my trainee days, and I remember having a lot of fun recording it.

AP: You’re one of a small handful of people that can relate to the girl group narrative in “KPop Demon Hunters.” Were there specific moments in the film that hit home for you?

CHAEYOUNG: There were several scenes where Mira (a member of “Kpop Demon Hunters” girl group HUNTR/X), was constantly eating something. Although the eating scene was portrayed dramatically in the animation, we also eat a lot after concerts because we had spent so much energy, and we need that energy replenishment. I think those aspects were portrayed quite well. Those parts really resonated with me. The costumes were also great.

AP: What are you hungry for at this point of the journey? What is it that you want right now as a group?

MOMO: We’ve done a lot already, but our goal is to meet our fans for a long, long time, perform together, try new things, and continue to connect with our fans for many years to come.

AP: How do you kind of balance, your personal goals, your goals in your various subunits and the goals of the group?

JIHYO: Well, so far, I honestly think that over the past 10 years, we’ve put a lot of emphasis on the group. But recently, we’ve shown some unit activities, like the MiSaMo subunit (made up of Momo, Sana, and Mina) and some members performing at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and I think those are also part of Twice’s activities.

Dahyun is pursuing an acting career for example, but ultimately, I think these activities don’t negatively impact Twice’s activities; in fact, they bring many positive benefits, so I don’t feel like there’s much of a difference.

___

AP Music Writer Maria Sherman in New York and writer Juwon Park in Seoul contributed to this report.