Twenty-Three (song)

"Twenty-Three" is a disco-inspired dance track which marks a departure from folk towards a more electropop sound.[2][3][4] The song features a funky bassline and percussive vocals, with the singer's signature vocal flourishes.[3] The track was written and composed by IU, while production was handled by Lee Jong-hoon and Lee Chae-kyu.[2][3] The song has a length of three minutes and fourteen seconds and is performed in the key of F minor. The tempo runs at 123 beats per minute and is set in a 4/4 time signature.[5]

A satirical coming-of-age track, "Twenty-Three" alludes to the Korean age 23 of the singer.[6] Lyrically, the song feels like a personal declaration of the singer, in which she discusses the contradictions and pressures of becoming an adult woman who is struggling to choose between childhood and adulthood.[2][3] The lyrics also throws light on the singer's personality by reflecting her inner thoughts and emotions. During the chorus, she talks about her animal-like personas, as indicated in the line, "a fox that pretends to be a bear that pretends to be a fox."[2]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
IZM[7]

"Three-Three" received generally positive reviews from music critics praising IU's vocal performance and her skill as a songwriter. The song's personal direction was also praised by critics. Idolator listed "Twenty-Three" at number 12 on its list of "Best K-Pop Songs of 2015". On behalf of the publication, Jacques Peterson explained: "The talented star once again proved that she could seamlessly blend her singer/songwriter leanings with catchy hooks and melodies, cementing herself as this generation’s greatest K-pop princess."[6] Scott Interrante of PopMatters dubbed "Twenty-Three" as " one of the most entertaining songs of 2015," praising the singer's "powerful" and "expressive" vocals and felt that the track brought "her music into a more personal direction than they have before."[3] Jeff Benjamin of Billboard acclaimed the track, hailing it as the singer's most "personal music yet."[2] In another review for the same publication, Benjamin ranked it as one of the stand-out tracks of Chat-Shire.[8]

The song topped the domestic music charts, and eventually achieved a Perfect All-Kill, as the single reached number one on all of the major South Korean music sites simultaneously.[9][10] Upon its week of release, the song claimed the top spot on the Gaon Digital Chart for the 44th charting week of the year - October 18 to October 24 - despite being released the 23rd of that month.[11] The song performed identically on the component Download chart.[12] The song held its number one position on the Digital chart the following week while climbing to the top of the Streaming chart also.[13][14] It was the fourth best-performing song on the Gaon Monthly Chart for October 2015, selling 492,954 downloads.[15]

As of February 2019, the song has sold over 2,500,000 copies in South Korea.[16]

An accompanying music video directed by Lumpens was released alongside the song.[17] The video portrays IU trying out an array of colorful outfits and settings.[2]