"Scientist" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Twice. It was released on November 12, 2021, by JYP Entertainment and

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

as the title track of the group's third Korean studio album and sixth overall, '' Formula of Love: O+T<3''.

Background

On October 1, 2021, Twice released their first English single, " The Feels". At the end of the song's music video, an upcoming full-length album and tour were teased. On October 24, JYP Entertainment released a trailer featuring Twice members dressed up as scientists at the "Twice Love Lab", a laboratory where they conduct "love experiments". On November 5, a snippet of the song was uploaded to Twice's

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account.

Composition

"Scientist" has its lyrics written by Sim Eun-jee and music composed by

Anne-Marie Anne-Marie Rose Nicholson (born 7 April 1991) is an English singer. She has attained charting singles on the UK Singles Chart, including Clean Bandit's "Rockabye (song), Rockabye", which peaked at number one, as well as "Alarm (Anne-Marie song ...

Melanie Fontana Melanie Joy Fontana (born October 3, 1986)Joyce Cohen''New York Times'', December 26, 2004. is an American singer, composer and songwriter signed to Universal Music Group. Early life Fontana was born in Newington, Connecticut. She moved to New Y ...

, Michel "Lindgren" Schulz, Tommy Brown, Steven Franks, and 72. The song has been described as a blend of

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and

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

with 80s synth beats. Lyrically, it expresses that "love is not something you can calculate, study and try to find an answer to but is something you should follow with your heart." Running for more than 3 minutes, the song is composed in the key of F♯

mixolydian Mixolydian mode may refer to one of three things: the name applied to one of the ancient Greek ''harmoniai'' or ''tonoi'', based on a particular octave species or scale; one of the medieval church modes; or a modern musical mode or diatonic scal ...

and has a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 113 beats per minute.

Critical reception

Bailey Kanthatham of the ''

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'' acknowledged the song's "innocent approach to love", contrasting it with Twice's most recent singles, " Alcohol-Free", "Perfect World", and " The Feels".

Year-end lists

Promotion

JYP Entertainment released several concept photos and video teasers to promote '' Formula of Love: O+T=<3'' and "Scientist".

Live performances

Twice performed "Scientist" on several music shows in South Korea, including

KBS2 The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, a ...

's '' Music Bank'', MBC's ''

Show! Music Core ''Show! Music Core'' (), or simply ''Music Core'' is a South Korean music television program broadcast by MBC. It airs live every Saturday at 15:30 (KST). The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform live on stage. ...

'', and SBS's ''

Inkigayo ''Inkigayo'' ( ko, 인기가요; English title: ''The Music Trend'', previously ''Popular Song'') is a South Korean music program broadcast by SBS. It airs live every Sunday. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who p ...

''. In the United States, the group appeared on the

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news show '' Fresh Out Live'' on November 13 with a performance of "Scientist".

Music video

"Scientist" was released on November 12 with an accompanying music video. Directed and produced by Rima Yoon and Dongju Jang of Rigend Film – who previously worked with Twice on ''Formula of Love: O+T=<3''s album trailer and " Alcohol-Free"'s music video – the music video is primarily set in a laboratory where the members of Twice are depicted as scientists researching about love. Its dance was choreographed by La Chica, a dance trio who have worked with Aespa,

BoA Kwon Bo-ah (; born November 5, 1986), known professionally as BoA, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer and actress. One of the most successful and influential Korean entertainers, she has been dubbed the " Queen of K- ...

Chungha Kim Chung-ha (, born Kim Chan-mi []; February 9, 1996), known mononym, mononymously as Chungha (stylized as CHUNG HA), is a South Korean Pop music, pop singer, dancer and choreographer signed under MNH Entertainment. She finished fourth in Mn ...

, and

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Japanese version

The Japanese version of "Scientist" was released as a digital single on March 2, 2022. The Japanese lyrics were written by Yuki Kokubo.

Accolades

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Twice's official website.

Recording

* Recorded at JYPE Studios (

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

, South Korea) * Mixed at JYPE Studios (Seoul, South Korea) * Mastered at 821 Sound Mastering (South Korea)

Personnel

* Twice – vocals * 72 – composer *

– composer * Kwon Nam-woo – masterer * Lee Tae-seop – mixer *

– composer, background vocals * Michel "Lindgren" Schulz – composer, producer * Tommy Brown – composer, producer * Sim Eun-jee – lyricist, vocal director * Sophia Pae – background vocals * Steven Franks – composer, producer