TWICE Doesn’t Change Pronouns For Gender-Swap Cover Performances

Most of the time, when idol groups do gender-swap dance covers, they change the gender nouns and pronouns of the songs.

For example, when J.Y Park covered miss A‘s “Bad Girl, Good Girl” with 2PM‘s Junho and Nichkhun, he renamed it “Bad Boy, Good Boy.” And when BtoB covered MAMAMOO‘s “You’re The Best,” they replaced “mister” with “miss” in the lyrics.

However, TWICE has proven time and time again that gender nouns and pronouns shouldn’t matter in songs and that it doesn’t matter what gender you’re singing to. Here are a few instances when TWICE performed gender-swap covers without changing the pronouns.

 

The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back”

TWICE just released an MV for their cover of the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” for the OST of upcoming Japanese movie Sensei Kunshu. And in their cover, TWICE decided not to change the gender of their love target in the song.

Lyrics:

[1:29]
Trying to live without your love is one long sleepless night
Let me show you, girl, that I know wrong from right
Every street you walk on, I leave tear stains on the ground
Following the girl I didn’t even want around

 

SEVENTEEN’s “Pretty U”

SEVENTEEN’s “Pretty U” is about professing love to a pretty girl, and during TWICE’s cover at their TWICELAND: The Opening concerts, they kept it exactly that. Rather than changing the lyrics to be a girl confessing her love to a pretty boy, they kept the lines exactly as they were meant to be.

Lyrics:

[2:41]
Baby you’re my lady

[3:14]
“Does she love me
Doe she love me not
I am counting flower petals all day long
Does she love me
Doe she love me not
What will the petals answer to me?”

 

EXO’s “Overdose”

TWICE also performed EXO’s “Overdose” at TWICELAND: The Opening, and just like their cover of SEVENTEEN’s “Pretty U,” they were adamant on keeping the lyrics the same and directing their addiction to a female love interest.

Lyrics:

[0:21]
Her love, her love
The only thing I want

[0:33]
“Oh she wants me
Oh she’s got me
Oh she hurts me
Good, desiring more and more“

 

Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk” (ft. Bruno Mars)

During KCON 2016 LA, TWICE held a special stage performance of Mark Ronson’s hit song “Uptown Funk” (ft. Bruno Mars). While they sang the song perfectly in English, they also impressed fans by not changing the word “girls” to “boys” in the song.

Lyrics:

[0:20]
This one, for them hood girls
Them good girls, straight masterpieces

[0:33]
Girls hit your hallelujah (Woo!)
Girls hit your hallelujah (Woo!)
Girls hit your hallelujah (Woo!)

 

Madonna – 4 Minutes (ft. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland)

Jeongyeon, Jihyo, and Mina performed Madonna’s “4 Minutes” (ft. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland) at TWICELAND: The Opening, and when they sang the song, they made sure to include both Madonna’s “grab a boy” lines and Justin Timberlake’s “grab a girl!” lines!

Lyrics:

[1:22]
No hesitating
Grab a boy (grab a girl!)
Time is waiting

 

J.Y. Park’s “Who’s Your Mama”

During JYP Nation 2016, TWICE’s Jeongyeon and Sana joined Baek A Yeon and miss A‘s Min and Fei in performing J.Y Park’s hit song “Who’s Your Mama.” Jeongyeon’s line make it clear that they’re singing to a girl, and not a boy.

Lyrics:

[1:59]
You’re not a girl just with a pretty face
You’re not a girl just with a pretty heart either
There’s one more