SONG REVIEW: I Can’t Stop Me – TWICE

Despite my love for Twice, I found June’s More & More and its resulting mini album to be a complete bore. Of course there were some highlights, but it was a far cry from the TWICE of 2019 and felt like a massive downgrade from what I consider the groups strongest single, Feel Special. That’s why despite the teasers pointing towards a sound much more in line with my personal music tastes, I remained hesitant. However, one listen to I Can’t Stop Me and it feels like More & More never happened.

At its best, I Can’t Stop Me feels like a perfect extension of the groups 2019 sound, taking a stylish retro inspired instrumental and pairing it with a mature vocal arrangement reminiscent of many a pop diva of old. The instrumental here is a thing of beauty, incorporating a gorgeous synth line with an equally intoxicating percussion loop. It chugs along with great energy, feeling like a cross between Sori’s Initial S and Everglow’s Untouchable. I even get Dua Lipa Physical vibes at certain points. And I’m not saying that simply because of the retro influence, but because they genuinely feel cut from the same cloth. Both structurally and melodically. And while I adore both those aforementioned songs, I think I like I Can’t Stop Me just a little more.

Much of that can be heavily attributed to the performance. TWICE give one of their most personality driven performances yet and that helps elevate I Can’t Stop Me over many of its competitors. The bouncy rap breakdown after the second chorus has got to be one of the years strongest, feeling both classy, yet cheeky and acting as a perfect distillation for both the old and new conceptual iterations of TWICE. And while the chorus does feel a little too one note for me, I can appreciate its go for broke energy. Had it carried just a little more “oomph”, I think it would have really shot I Can’t Stop Me into the stratosphere. However, the positives far outweigh my nitpicks and results In a single that feels like a true return to form for one of Korea’s top girl groups.

Verses: 9

Chorus: 8

Production: 9

Performance: 9

Final Rating: 8.75 / 10