Moonlight Sunrise

Album: Ready to Be (2023)
Charted: 84
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Songfacts®:

  • Twice's second-ever English-language release is a slinky dance track where the K-Pop darlings deliver flirty lyrics about their lovers.
  • Over bouncy synths and subtle trap beats, the girls sing of their overwhelming feelings for their romantic partner.

    Moonlight sunrise
    Baby, come be my starlight
    Moonlight sunrise
    Oh, baby, just to make you stay


    The girl group represents the moonlight, and their romantic partner the starlight. They are waiting for their man at night to bring his light and enlighten them to the sunrise.

    The girls show their mature sides as they detail their desire.

    Moonlight sunrise
    Baby, let's do it all night
    Moonlight sunrise
    I guarantee I got ya
  • On the refrain, Mina references a cocktail made from tequila, orange juice and grenadine syrup. The grenadine sinks to the bottom and creates a red color, while the orange juice creates a yellow/orange color on top so it looks like a sunrise.

    I got the moonlight
    Tequila sunrise
    Uh, come take a shot on me, I got ya


    This could be a nod to Twice's June 2021 bossa nova number "Alcohol-Free," about being drunk on love.
  • Kaedi Dalley and Nina Nelson of the American girl group Citizen Queen wrote the love-drunk confection with Korean producers earattack and Lee Woo hyun. Its inspiration came from the final concert of Twice 4th World Tour III on May 15, 2022, at the Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles.

    "During the tour, we had performed under the moonlight and we were dancing, and the composer for this song was there," Twice leader Jihyo told People. "He found our performance so beautiful, so that was what the inspiration of this song."
  • The song's fusion of synth and Miami bass pop is a new sound for the K-Poppers. "Twice's unique lovely sound with a new twist," Chaeyoung of the group said of the track.
  • During an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Twice discussed this song's meaning. "'Moonlight Sunrise' is a song about wanting to know the other person's heart," lead dancer Tzuyu told Clarkson through an interpreter. "And they use the metaphor of moonlight and sunrise to parallel that fluttering-heart feeling when you're in love."

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