What a year it has been for our September issue cover girl, Sana, and her group, TWICE. Record-shattering group, sub-unit and solo releases aside, the nine-piece act is continuing to conquer the globe one stop at a time with their &ldquo;READY TO BE&rdquo; World Tour. This month, the super group arrives in Singapore and boy, are we ready

Two days after our September issue cover shoot with TWICE&rsquo;s Sana, news breaks that the super group has surpassed seven billion cumulative streams on Spotify in just 1,971 days &mdash; making them the K-pop girl group to achieve this feat in the shortest span of time. Eight years into Sana&rsquo;s and her band mates&rsquo; careers, the iconic act are far from resting on their laurels. In March, TWICE released their 12th EP, Ready to Be, which soared to the top of the South Korean albums chart and even launched at number two on the US Billboard 200. Just four months later, Sana &mdash; alongside band mates Momo and Mina (both of whom have also been L&rsquo;OFFICIEL SINGAPORE cover girls) &mdash;officially got her debut in MISAMO, TWICE&rsquo;s first ever sub-unit. To the delight of fans, their Japanese mini album, Masterpiece, debuted at the pole position on Japan&rsquo;s Oricon Albums Chart. And now is truly the time that Singapore&rsquo;s TWICE fanatics have been waiting patiently for: This month, Sana and the rest of TWICE arrive in Singapore after four long years for their &ldquo;READY TO BE&rdquo; concert dates. Ahead of TWICE&rsquo;s arrival, L&rsquo;OFFICIEL SINGAPORE speaks to Sana on the set of our cover shoot in Seoul.

L'OFFICIEL SINGAPORE September

L'OFFICIEL SINGAPORE Sept

The most recent TWICE EP, Ready to Be, had incredible success when it was released earlier this year. It reached number one on South Korea&rsquo;s Circle Album Chart, and also did exceptionally well on the Billboard 200. Congratulations. Do you remember how you and the girls reacted to this success?
In the eight years that has been our journey as TWICE, I&rsquo;m so honoured to be a part of so many different activities where I have received so much love and support from fans. I was surprised, thankful, and consequently, I felt so empowered and appreciated, allowing me to engage in and show even more diverse activities.

TWICE have earned eleven number one albums and EPs in South Korea, and is one of the highest selling girl groups ever in South Korea. How do you feel about these record-setting feats and do you have your own personal proudest moments with TWICE so far?
First and foremost, I&rsquo;m so proud to be a part of TWICE and feel so blessed to have our fans, ONCE, as well. For eight years we have received so much love and support, and I&rsquo;m so grateful and proud that we are continuing to break our own records &mdash; above all, I think it&rsquo;s much more meaningful that every step of the way and every moment, our fans ONCE are together with us. I&rsquo;m so happy to share these moments and showcase TWICE &mdash; together.

Our September issue will be coming out very close to when TWICE will be in Singapore (after four years!) for the &ldquo;READY TO BE&rdquo; concert dates. Do you have anything special to say to the fans in Singapore, and what are you most looking forward to when you visit us?
It has been so long since we&rsquo;ve been able to meet our ONCE in Singapore! With that in mind, we are counting down the days until we see you &mdash; we are so excited to see how our ONCE in Singapore will react to our upcoming performances on stage.

How does it feel that &ldquo;Do Not Touch&rdquo; and Masterpiece by MISAMO came out recently? Both the message of female empowerment and the video concept of the song are amazing. 
Masterpiece by MISAMO is an album filled with the unique colours and concepts of our three members, which we have not explored as TWICE before &mdash; I think this unit can present a side of us that ONCE might not have imagined.

How challenging and rewarding is it to balance the &ldquo;READY TO BE&rdquo; World Tour with MISAMO&rsquo;s activities and launches?
During the World Tour, we had to communicate without being affected by the time difference, and even when we were in South Korea doing a group shooting session, after finishing it, we would often do MISAMO scheduled events back-to-back and manage a tight schedule. But since we are the first unit to be launched from TWICE, we could not help but be ambitious and give it our all &mdash; and now we can look back on our album proudly and are so glad it&rsquo;s finally released into the world!

There are seven tracks on Masterpiece, and each of the members has writing credits. Could you tell us more about &ldquo;Rewind You&rdquo;, which you wrote lyrics for?
&ldquo;Rewind You&rdquo; originated from a desire to write lyrics that were different from conventional TWICE lyrics in the past. The first day I decided to write was a rainy and foggy day &mdash; it was in the midst of filming in the mountains. That dark, foggy and rainy day in the mountains, the scenery I witnessed became the backdrop for my initial lyrics. For the atmosphere and mood, I decided on tapping on dawn. The song is a love song about how you can&rsquo;t keep that special someone out of your head while looking at the rain, and they&rsquo;re on repeat &mdash; I tried to create a song that could comfort fans and that they can empathise with.

With the back-to-back demands of the Ready to Be release, the World Tour, and MISAMO&rsquo;s activities, how have you spent your precious free time this year?
I spent it with my loved ones &mdash; my parents and friend came from Japan to see me in South Korea, and I visited them in Japan as well.

Were there any self-care steps &mdash; rest, a beauty routine or exercise &mdash; that became especially important for you during this busy year?
I think I relieve stress through scents! So, whenever I am stressed, I start looking for scents first.

The September issue is dedicated to fashion. As you&rsquo;ve had an especially busy year, we imagine that your current favourite fashion items must be comfortable, and versatile to suit different needs and travelling. What are some of your favourite pieces at the moment?
My favourite fashion items at the moment are eyewear and shoes! I like my eyeglasses because I wear them regularly. Also, sunglasses are a must for this World Tour because most of the performances are in stadiums, and rehearsals are often when it&rsquo;s the sunniest! I am a big fan of shoes, and I adore slipper- type shoes because I can easily take them off and put them on while shooting &mdash; I can&rsquo;t go without them! And as someone who dances, sneakers are also a must-have item. Oh, did I list too many?

As we&rsquo;re reaching the last quarter of the year, what can fans expect from TWICE and Sana before the year comes to an end?
As for me, Sana, I am planning to attend the Prada show at the upcoming Milan Fashion Week. For TWICE, the World Tour will present performances in even more countries, and our schedule is jam-packed until the end of the year, so I think there is never a dull moment this year! Please continue to look forward to what&rsquo;s ahead.

Words &amp; Creative Direction IAN LEE
Photography JI+DOH
Styling CHOI MIN HYE / WHITECHAPEL
Hair CHOI JI YOUNG Makeup WON JUNG YO Photography team TETRIS Production manager KIM YOU HAH

Cover Story: Sana on the READY TO BE World Tour, and the Success of TWICE and MISAMO

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