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What K-Pop Can Learn From TWICE’s Chart Success With “Strategy”

K-pop doesn’t have to chase America for recognition — it just needs the right moment

TWICE’s latest run-up on the Billboard Hot 100 is a valuable reminder that you don’t need to rewrite your identity to break through in the U.S.

This week, the group’s 2024 single “Strategy” climbed to a new peak of No. 69 on the Hot 100 — its third straight week of gains — a surge undoubtedly tied directly to the song’s inclusion on the blockbuster KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack that grows hotter with each week.

But the trajectory is notable because “Strategy” wasn’t conceived as a specific U.S. single but as the title track to December 2024's Strategy EP. With the focus version featuring Megan Thee Stallion, the track has found fresh life as part of the film’s soundtrack, proving that contextual visibility — a hit movie, viral moment, primetime commercial, mainstream shoutout — can do a lot of the initial heavy lifting for a song.

Putting “Strategy” alongside TWICE’s earlier English efforts helps show a pattern.