“Feel Special (Japanese Version)” is a Japanese song released by TWICE, a girl group from JYP Entertainment. It is the fourth track from their third Japanese compilation album, #TWICE3. The song was officially released on September 16, 2020.The uplifting song celebrates the feeling of being there for someone. “Feel Special” also brings an encouraging message for fans who often feel lonely and depressed. The song gained a positive response in Japan. “Feel Special (Japanese Version)” successfully has reached top positions in numerous Japanese music charts soon after the initial release.
Background of “Feel Special (Japanese Version)”
The original Korean version of the song was released on September 16, 2019, and shortly became a hit K-pop song in South Korea as well as globally. The original song topped popular song charts like Billboard and GAON.This led to JYP Entertainment’s decision to include the Japanese version of this track on TWICE’s third Japanese compilation album #TWICE3.On July 19, 2020, through a Korea JoongAng Daily news article, it was officially confirmed by JYP Entertainment that TWICE would be releasing its third compilation album later in September. It was also announced that the album would consist of 12 tracks which include both Japanese and Korean versions of “Feel Special.” A few weeks prior to the release (August 28, 2020), the spoiler video for #TWICE3 was uploaded on YouTube by TWICE Japan’s official account. The video also included the 30-second track preview for the Japanese version of “Feel Special.” A day later, TWICE Japan released the information video about the album. In the same video, it also revealed the official tracklist of #TWICE3 with “Feel Special (Japanese Version)” as the third track in the album. The same information was also published on TWICE’s Japan official website right after the video was released.The compilation album was officially released on September 16, 2020, through various digital music platforms such as Genie, GAON, Apple Music, and Spotify.
Story of “Feel Special (Japanese Version)”
The song was composed by J.Y. Park, Ollipop, and Hayley Aitken. It is one of the special songs where JYP was directly involved in the writing aside from “What Is Love?” or “Signal” on TWICE’s previous album.Hayley Aitken is an Australian pop singer-songwriter who has experience composing songs for prominent SM and JYP girl groups. She also previously worked with JYP on the composition of “What Is Love?”Ollipop (Olof Lindskog) is a Swedish songwriter, music producer, and multi-instrumentalist. In the past, he has written chart-topping songs for Girls Generation and Red Velvet. Writing “Feel Special” was the first time he collaborated with Park Jin Young and Hayley Aitken.“Feel Special” is a disco-inspired party pop track that features quirky synth and groovy bass beats. The fast beating drums toward and throughout the chorus makes the song a lot more vibrant and cheerful. At the same time, these powerful beats also make the chorus sound more impactful, hence easier to emphasize the main message of the song. The lyrics of “Feel Special” were written by J.Y. Park and Natsumi Watanabe. Natsumi Watanabe is a prominent Japanese lyricist widely known in the J-pop industry. Aside from “Feel Special,” she also wrote lyrics for the Japanese versions of TWICE’s songs such as “One More Time” and “The Reason Why.”As mentioned in the Billboard article, the original lyrics were mainly inspired by the feelings of TWICE’s members after four years since their debut based on internal conversations with Park Jin Young. The lyrics describe someone who tries to uplift people who feel depressed or hopeless.
“Feel Special (Japanese Version)” MV
TWICE did not produce a music video for “Feel Special (Japanese Version)” as “Fanfare” was the lead single of the album. In the album package B, they only included “Fancy.”Instead, TWICE Japan uploaded the audio version of “Feel Special (Japanese Version)” on YouTube. Recently, the song has been played more than 1.5 million times.
“Feel Special (Japanese Version)” Performance
As of September 2021, the Japanese version of “Feel Special” has never been performed on television music shows. This is because at the time of the album launch, TWICE had been focusing on promoting other songs on the album such as “Fancy (Japanese Version)” and “More and More.”TWICE performed the Japanese version of “Feel Special” once during their second online concert Twice in Wonderland. “Feel Special (Japanese Version)” was the 13th song TWICE performed in the concert. Compared to any other previous concerts, Twice in Wonderland had a completely different concept. The virtual concert was broadcasted with a mixture of augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality. All members looked so sharp and bold in their black and red attire. They performed the Japanese version of the song with the choreography based on the original MV.
“Feel Special (Japanese Version)” Achievements
Just like the original version, “Feel Special (Japanese Version)” instantly became a hit in Japan. Shortly after the initial release, the song successfully topped numerous Japanese music charts such as Line, Apple Music, and Oricon. The song also once entered the Worldwide iTunes Song Chart.
“Feel Special (Japanese Version)” Weekly Charts
