After having their first encounter with the world nearly 12 months ago, TWS is now wrapping up their inaugural year with the lead single “Last Festival” off their debut single album, Last Bell. We spoke to PLEDIS Music Production to give us the inside scoop behind the hit new group’s first year on the scene, and how TWS is wrapping up 2024 after debuting with “plot twist” by exploring the simultaneously melancholy and bright promise that comes with bringing the year to a close in “Last Festival.”

TWS’s single “Last Festival” is a reinterpretation of the song of the same name by Seo Taiji. Why was “Last Festival” the phrase chosen to sum up TWS’s first year?
PLEDIS Music Production: The focus of Seo Taiji’s song “Last Festival” is on a farewell, but for TWS’s song, we wanted the focus to be more on all the great memories made since first getting to know each other despite saying goodbye, coupled with the hope that there’ll be more days ahead to see each other again. We were also inspired by how Seo Taiji’s lyrics portray goodbyes and farewells without solely expressing them in terms of sadness. We ended up reusing some of his lyrics, like, “Don't forget the warmth we shared / When we meet again,” and, “Before I drift off … Remember us,” to fully express that sentiment.

What significance does the song hold in relation to TWS wrapping up their first year together after debuting?
PLEDIS Music Production: Since these latest promotions mark the conclusion of the school series that started with “plot twist,” we spent time carefully deciding what TWS should say. One of the ideas that came up was how we thought of it not as an end but as a chance to wrap up and start again, and that’s how the theme behind “Last Festival” was born. The boys’ first encounter didn’t go to plan in “plot twist,” but they were naturally drawn together like magnets in “If I'm S, Can You Be My N?” and developed a friendship, finally arriving at a place where they have to face the reality of being separated. It’s within this framework that they begin to discover a sense of melancholy from saying goodbye but also an excitement for what new things the future might hold and that’s the story we wanted to share in TWS’s latest single.

“Last Festival” includes the phrase “the first encounter” in its lyrics, which harkens back to the group’s debut song, “plot twist.” What message were you hoping to get across to listeners with this, especially given “Last Festival” is positioned as a song wrapping up TWS’s first year?
PLEDIS Music Production: Since “plot twist” was so well-loved, we thought it would be meaningful to reference “the first encounter” as a way for TWS to show how 42 and everyone who has supported them have meant everything to the group from the very outset. Also, while “plot twist” has lyrics like, “What’s your name?” and, “My name is,” showing that feeling of a fresh start when you first meet someone new, the track “Highlight” off Last Bell takes things further with lyrics like, “Your name, the one that inked me,” and, “Underline your name and highlight it,” as the boys grow more confident in expressing their feelings. Similarly, the feeling from the song “BFF” off their first mini album where they sing about how “‘alone’ is not an option” evolves into one where “being alone / That’s a feeling I don’t want to get used to” in “Last Festival.” It shows how the boys’ brief brush with being alone by choice has been replaced with confident displays of emotions to others, and hopefully that point about them having undergone personal growth gets across.

Musically speaking, “Last Festival” takes an Afrobeats rhythm and adds fireworks to the beginning for a festive mood, while layering on dreamy synths to capture the mixed emotions of how endings can be both a cause for celebration and bittersweet at the same time. Could you share the process that went into crafting such complex emotions?
PLEDIS Music Production: “Last Festival” explores a mood TWS hasn’t before, so I think the song lays the groundwork for them to try out an even greater variety of styles moving forward. When I first heard the finalized version of the song, it felt nostalgic despite the lighthearted beat, with an atmospheric, dreamy vibe. To date, TWS has mainly focused on songs about friendship, but with this track, we wanted to explore the emotional complexity of the boys looking back on all the great memories made since first getting to know each other despite saying goodbye, and how they promise they’ll see each other again someday. To highlight this new side of TWS, we experimented with Afrobeats, layering the top line and tracks one by one until we could really channel the group’s signature overflowing excitement in the final chorus, where the arrangement really bursts with the breezy energy and emotional side TWS is known for. I think it really brings out the “TWS-ence” that everyone knows and loves.