Masterpiece is the debut extended play by MiSaMo, a sub unit of girl group Twice. It was released by Warner Music Japan on July 26, 2023. The EP contains seven tracks, including the lead single "Do Not Touch" and pre-released single "Marshmallow".

Masterpiece
Regular edition cover
EP by
ReleasedJuly 26, 2023 (2023-07-26)
GenreJ-pop
Length22:23
LanguageJapanese
LabelWarner Japan
MiSaMo chronology
Masterpiece
(2023)
Haute Couture
(2024)
Singles from Masterpiece
  1. "Marshmallow"
    Released: June 16, 2023
  2. "Do Not Touch"
    Released: July 14, 2023

Background

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Momo, Sana, and Mina released the song "Bouquet" for TV Asahi's television series Liaison: Children's Heart Clinic [ja] on January 25, 2023.[1] On February 9, JYP Entertainment announced that the trio would debut as MiSaMo with an extended play of six tracks, including "Bouquet", on July 26.[2] On June 14, they confirmed Masterpiece as the title and revealed the tracklist, which now included seven songs. "Marshmallow" was pre-released digitally on June 16, alongside its music video.[3][4][5] The lead single, "Do Not Touch", was pre-released digitally on July 14 with an accompanying music video.[6][7]

Composition

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When we are releasing as Twice, all the music in those albums represent things we wanted to express and could only say as Twice...With MiSaMo, we really wanted to show the type of music that only the three of us could do and something we couldn't release as Twice members until now.

— Sana and Mina, in an interview with NME[8]

Masterpiece was in development for over a year, with MiSaMo contributing to the sound and creative concept of the album. In an interview with NME, they revealed that R&B track "Do Not Touch" was chosen as the lead single after "days of agonising over whether or not it was the right choice", and the vocals were recorded right before the North American leg of Twice's Ready to Be World Tour.[8] The lyrics, written by Park Jin-young and Mayu Wakisaka, are a play on the phrase "do not touch" often displayed near works of art in museums, and highlight the importance of consent and boundaries in relationships.[9][10] Jazz-inspired "Behind the Curtain" was not originally part of the track list, and was added later because it would be a great opening song for MiSaMo's debut showcase.[8][11] "Marshmallow", the pre-release single, is a chill song with hip hop elements and positive lyrics that encourage self-love.[3][5]

Each member co-wrote lyrics for a track on the EP, with Momo choosing "Funny Valentine" because she could imagine a performance stage with the song.[8] Mina's lyrics for "It's Not Easy for You" were inspired by comments from fans, and the song is about "being totally obsessed with something, like being stuck in a swamp".[12] Sana was inspired by Twice's "Cry for Me" (2020) when writing the lyrics for "Rewind You", a melancholy R&B song.[8] The closing track, "Bouquet", conveys the positive message of "it's okay to be me".[13]

Promotion

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To promote the EP, MiSaMo performed "Do Not Touch" on TV Asahi's Music Station, on July 21.[14] All seven tracks from the EP were performed during the group's debut showcase, MiSaMo Japan Showcase "Masterpiece", held in Osaka and Yokohama over five days with a total audience of 40,000 fans.[15] On August 19, the group performed "Behind the Curtain", "Marshmallow", and "Do Not Touch" on Venue101 Presents MiSaMo Masterpiece Show, a special live broadcast of NHK's music program Venue101.[16]

Commercial performance

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Masterpiece debuted at number 1 on the weekly Oricon Albums Chart with 154,880 copies sold.[17] This was the highest first week album sales for a female artist in 2023.[18] The EP also topped the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart, selling 200,986 copies and 1,529 downloads.[19]

Track listing

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Masterpiece track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Do Not Touch"
  • Hyuk Shin (153/Joombas)
  • Ashley Alisha (153/Joombas)
  • MRey (153/Joombas)
MRey3:05
2."Behind the Curtain"
  • Yun So-young (153/Joombas)
  • Yuki Kokobo
  • Alysa
  • JJean
  • Justin Reinstein
Alysa2:58
3."Marshmallow"Shoko Fujibayashi
  • Rasmus Gregersen
  • Daniel Michael Victor
  • Julie Aagaard
  • Yu Hyuk
  • Gregersen
  • Victor
3:02
4."Funny Valentine"
  • Momo
  • Yuka Matsumoto
  • Realmeee
  • Ejae
  • Realmeee
  • Ejae
  • Scott Bruzenak
  • Realmeee
  • Ejae
  • Bruzenak
3:17
5."It's Not Easy for You"
  • Nicolas Farmakalidis (Number K)
  • Rachel West
  • Carly Gibert
NicoTheOwl (Number K)2:20
6."Rewind You"
  • Sana
  • Ayushy (The Hub)
  • Frankie Day (The Hub)
  • Charlotte Wilson
  • Chanti (The Hub)
  • Ayushy
  • Day
  • Wilson
  • Chanti
  • MarkAlong
  • Brian U (The Hub)
  • MarkAlong
  • Brian U
3:17
7."Bouquet"Katsuhiko YamamotoYamamoto
  • Takashi Fukuda
  • Yamamoto
4:24
Total length:22:23
Deluxe edition DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Masterpiece" (Jacket Shooting Making Movie) 
2."Bouquet" (Making Music Video (full version)) 
3."Bouquet" (Making Music Video Behind Movie) 
4."Opening Trailer Making Movie" 
5."Short Film of MiSaMo in Kansai" 
Mina edition DVD
No.TitleLength
1."It's Not Easy for You" (Q&A with lyricist Mina) 
2."Masterpiece" (Jacket Shooting Making Movie by Mina) 
3."Short Film of MiSaMo in Kansai" (Mina) 
Sana edition DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Rewind" (Q&A with lyricist Sana) 
2."Masterpiece" (Jacket Shooting Making Movie by Sana) 
3."Short Film of MiSaMo in Kansai" (Sana) 
Momo edition DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Funny Valentine" (Q&A with lyricist Momo) 
2."Masterpiece" (Jacket Shooting Making Movie by Momo) 
3."Short Film of MiSaMo in Kansai" (Momo) 

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications for Masterpiece
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[27] Platinum 250,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Cho, Yong-jun (February 9, 2023). "Girl group Twice's first subunit, MiSaMo, to debut in Japan in July". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  2. ^ Chin, Carmen (February 9, 2023). "TWICE's Sana, Momo and Mina drop trailer for Japanese sub-unit debut as MISAMO". NME. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Twice's sub-unit MiSaMo to drop 'Marshmallow' before its debut". Korea JoongAng Daily. June 16, 2023. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  4. ^ "TWICE日本人メンバーユニットMISAMO、初MV「Marshmallow」に反響「予想超えてきた」「8年目で新たな一面」". Oricon News (in Japanese). June 16, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Ji, Min-kyung (June 16, 2023). "트와이스 첫 유닛 미사모, 日 앨범 수록곡 'Marshmallow' 선공개". OSEN (in Korean). Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  6. ^ "TWICE日本人ユニットMISAMOが名画に 「Do not touch」MVに反響「最高傑作すぎる」「日本の宝」". Oricon News (in Japanese). July 14, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  7. ^ Ziwei, Puah (July 14, 2023). "TWICE's MISAMO drop edgy music video for 'Do Not Touch'". NME. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e Bhutani, Sarina (August 11, 2023). "MISAMO come full circle with 'Masterpiece': "Everything we've ever experienced has led to this moment"". NME. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  9. ^ Haddad, Hanan (July 14, 2023). "TWICE's Sub-Unit, MiSaMo are Works of Art in Their Latest MV, "Do Not Touch"". L'Officiel Singapore. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  10. ^ "MISAMO Pre-releases Japanese Debut Song 'Do not touch'". Dispatch. July 13, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  11. ^ MiSaMo Japan Showcase "Masterpiece" (Blu-ray). Warner Music Japan. December 20, 2023. 11 minutes in. We had initially planned to release a total of six songs. But we ended up with a total of seven songs because we decided to include 'Behind the Curtain'...Yes [response to 'Were you looking for a song that would be a great opener for this showcase?'], especially since MiSaMo is a new unit, and this would be our first stage performance, we thought 'Behind the Curtain' would be the ideal song to show a new beginning.
  12. ^ "MINA「It's not easy for you」Lyrics Behind+Snippet" (video). Twice Japan Official YouTube Channel. July 5, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2024 – via YouTube.
  13. ^ "TWICE、MOMO&SANA&MINAが歌う「Bouquet」が山崎育三郎主演の医療ドラマ『リエゾン』の挿入歌に決定". The First Times (in Japanese). January 12, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  14. ^ "TWICEユニットMISAMO&NiziU、JYP日本人メンバー同士の交流明かす MOMOとRIOは初電話で1時間". Oricon News (in Japanese). July 21, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  15. ^ "TWICE日本人ユニットMISAMO初ショーケースは応募総数60万超の大盛況 最終日はナヨン観覧のサプライズ". Oricon News (in Japanese). July 27, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  16. ^ "MISAMOが「Venue101」スピンオフ登場、生パフォーマンスやメンバー思い出の地を巡るロケOA". Natalie (in Japanese). July 29, 2023. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  17. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2023-08-07" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on August 2, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  18. ^ "TWICEの日本人ユニット・MISAMO、「アルバム」初登場1位 女性アーティスト今年度最高の初週売上【オリコンランキング】". Oricon News (in Japanese). August 1, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  19. ^ "MISAMO『Masterpiece』が総合アルバム首位獲得" [MISAMO's "Masterpiece" topped the overall album charts]. Billboard Japan (in Japanese). August 2, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  20. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2023-08-07" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  21. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Combined Albums: 2023-08-07" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  22. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums – Week of August 2, 2023". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  23. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  24. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2023-07" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on August 9, 2023. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  25. ^ 【オリコン年間ランキング2023】King & Prince、「シングル」「アルバム」ともにミリオン達成で「音楽」3ジャンルで首位 YOASOBI「アイドル」が3冠 (in Japanese). Oricon. December 20, 2023. p. 3. Archived from the original on December 20, 2023. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  26. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums Year-End 2023". Billboard Japan. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  27. ^ "Japanese album certifications – MiSaMo – Masterpiece" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved September 8, 2023. Select 2023年8月 on the drop-down menu