Jaehwa Bernardo

K-pop group TWS poses for a photo during the media conference for their fourth EP 'play hard' in Seoul, South Korea, on October 13, 2025. Photo courtesy of Pledis Entertainment

Article (news)

K-pop group TWS channels 'burning passion' in EP 'play hard'

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17603446082641_TWS.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>K-pop group TWS poses for a photo during the media conference for their fourth EP &#x27;play hard&#x27; in Seoul, South Korea, on October 13, 2025. Photos courtesy of Pledis Entertainment</div>K-pop boy band TWS channel their burning passion into their fourth extended play (EP) &quot;play hard,&quot; which captures the exhilarating feeling one feels while pursuing what you love.At a media showcase in Seoul, Dohoon, one of the group’s six members, said the theme of passion was also reflected in the production of the six-track set, which was released Monday.&quot;The whole theme of our fourth EP is about having a burning passion for what you love,&quot; Dohoon said through an interpreter at the event, which was streamed to foreign media outlets.&quot;Working on this album gave me a chance to reflect on what I&#x27;m passionate about. We really worked on this album like crazy, so I hope you love it,&quot; he added.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17603448000622_TWS.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>(From left) TWS members Hanjin, Youngjae, Dohoon, Shinyu, Kyungmin and Jihoon</div>Shinyu, the group&#x27;s leader, said the EP&#x27;s message continues to reflect &quot;what TWS has always stood for&quot; even as &quot;the sound feels quite different from what we&#x27;ve done before.&quot;&quot;Just like the album title, &#x27;play hard,&#x27; suggests, TWS has always approached everything with passion. This time, we expressed that in a more intense way,&quot; he said.Serving as the EP&#x27;s lead single is &quot;Overdrive,&quot; which Dohoon said showcases both the &quot;bright and refreshing energy&quot; TWS has become known for, while also revealing a &quot;more powerful and intense side.&quot;The song&#x27;s lyrics, Dohoon noted, &quot;really captures that uncontrollable feeling of being completely swept up in something you love.&quot;<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TzbGBkEh9ms?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></div>In addition to some members contributing lyrics to the songs, Jihoon also took part in creating the choreography for &quot;Overdrive.&quot;In coming up with the dance routine, Jihoon shared that he wanted &quot;the members to feel genuinely happy on stage.&quot;&quot;The song is about being totally immersed in something you&#x27;re passionate about and I believe that kind of passion always stems from joy,&quot; he said.&quot;But when you&#x27;re focused only on dancing and doing everything perfectly, it&#x27;s easy to lose sight of that happiness. So I wanted to make sure that we wanted to enjoy that moment on stage,&quot; Jihoon added.The EP also includes &quot;<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/music/2025/9/22/tws-unveils-head-shoulders-knees-toes-ahead-of-4th-ep-play-hard-2203">Head Shoulders Knees Toes</a>,&quot; which the sextet — also composed of Youngjae, Hanjin and Kyungmin — released in September. &quot;Head Shoulders Knees Toes&quot; features a more powerful, hip-hop-leaning sound and intense choreography — a stark departure from the group&#x27;s typically bright musical style.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176034476366415_OVERDRIVE.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>TWS performs &#x27;Overdrive&#x27; during the media showcase</div>In the coming days, TWS is set to promote the song on South Korean music shows, including &quot;Show! Music Core,&quot; which Dohoon hosts, and &quot;SBS Inkigayo,&quot; which recently named Shinyu as one of its hosts.&quot;It&#x27;s such an honor to become an MC,&quot; Shinyu said.&quot;Along with Dohoon, we&#x27;ll be able to give our fans a whole weekend of TWS,&quot; he said, referring to the fact that &quot;Show! Music Core&quot; and &quot;SBS Inkigayo&quot; air on Saturdays and Sundays, respectively.When asked to offer advice to his leader, Dohoon said: &quot;As an MC, you have to meet a lot of new people every week, but both Shinyu and I are quite introverted and shy, so I told him he needs to work on that.&quot;Managed by Pledis Entertainment, the HYBE subsidiary behind K-pop powerhouse SEVENTEEN, TWS (pronounced as &quot;Two-Us,&quot; short for Twenty Four-Seven With Us) debuted in 2024 with the viral single &quot;plot twist.&quot;The group&#x27;s early releases — such as the singles &quot;hey! hey!&quot; and &quot;<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/2024/6/24/opposites-attract-in-tws-new-single-if-i-m-s-can-you-be-my-n-1652">If I’m S, Can You Be My N?</a>&quot; — were defined by bright, upbeat songs that captured <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/01/22/24/new-k-pop-group-tws-aims-to-deliver-best-youthful-music">youthful experiences</a> and embraced a schoolboy concept. In <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/music/2025/4/21/k-pop-group-tws-graduate-from-school-embrace-their-20s-in-ep-try-with-us-1615">more recent works</a>, however, they have expanded their sonic palette and appear to be moving away from that image.

K-pop boy band TWS channel their burning passion into their fourth EP 'play hard,' which captures the exhilarating feeling one feels while pursuing what you love.

K-pop boy band TWS channel their burning passion into their fourth EP 'play hard,' which captures the exhilarating feeling one feels while pursuing what you love.