The album was a commercial success, exceeding 1 million pre-orders, making Twice the third female K-pop group to do so at the time after Blackpink and Aespa.

[3] On May 16, after concluding their second worldwide concert tour in Los Angeles, a cryptic post featuring the dates "2022.06.24" and "2022.08.26"[a] circulated Twice's social media accounts, leading to fan speculation.

[2][11] The EP's second track, "Queen of Hearts", an English song, features a drum beat and guitar sound mixed with Twice's "cool" vocals in harmony.

[12] A promotional poster with the phrase "Tell Me What You Want" written above a light switch was posted onto Twice's social media accounts on July 13, 2022.

[16][17][18] On August 17 and 18, individual teasers and group photos demonstrating the concept of the album were posted on Twice's official social media accounts.

[22] Writing for NME, Tanu I. Raj noted that while Between 1&2 looks back on Twice's "growth with fondness and pride, and leave[s] us with the promise of better things to come", it suffers from some "road bumps".

[30] According to Luminate's Year-End U.S. Report, Between 1&2 was the sixth best-selling CD album of 2022 in the United States, with 199,000 copies sold.