TWICE REIGNS SUPREME
Photos Courtesy Rebecca Taylor
Let there be no doubt... the K-pop wave has swept the country and is here to stay. There could be no stronger evidence than the approximately 100,000 fans who poured into five U-S Arenas during what we hope to be the downside of a global pandemic to spend a night with TWICE. At UBS Arena it was "ONCE" not once but twice as the group sold out two shows last weekend. If you don't get the play-on-words, ONCE is name given to the group's overwhelming fan base who were sent into a frenzy on the last two days of the TWICE World Tour. The 9 member group formed by JYP Entertainment in 2015 is among the most popular to come out of South Korea, even being coined "the nation's girls group". For seven nights... they owned a part of America.
Not to be forgotten, COVID-19 safety measures were firmly in place. All group promotional activities were cancelled. Masking and proof of vaccination were required... but there was no sign of any issues among the throngs of screaming fans.
As they did on the four other stops in the North American leg of the tour TWICE led off with strong rendition of it's new English-language release "The Feel" before running through a gauntlet of fan favorites. The set list read like a greatest hits album that left the fans breathless. Following "The Feel" was "Feel Special" and "Up No More" with a brief intermission before the group went into another gear performing "Queen", "Fancy" and "Turn it Up". In fact, each of the remaining 9 brief intermissions were worth the wait... and actually necessary for the CROWD to catch its breath. The choreography, costumes and overall performance all felt like an enormous release after two years of preparation and anticipation... even on these last shows of a long tour.
TWICE cheerfully and energetically pushed through 45 songs on this night. “Shot Clock” and “Get Loud,” made your heart beat out of your chest. “Icon” and “Hello” were a rap lover's delight. Back-to-back-to-back “What is Love?” “Knock Knock,” and “More & More” had the crowd foaming at the mouth....as much as they floated on air during “Dance the Night Away”. My personal favorites were when the group played with camera close-ups that filled the stage to the tunes "Candy" and "Likey" and when they performed the intoxicating "Alcohol Free". Their tour signature ending was a form of encore roulette where the next song was picked by the spin of a wheel. Lucky fans screamed when the final song turned out to be one the groups' signature hits... "Signal".
As for the group itself there were some contrasts to when they performed at Prudential Center in 2019. Most notably the presence of Mina. She was on personal hiatus from the Newark performance... the girls even crying on stage because of her absence. At UBS Arena the crowd roared with each single shot of the artist on stage. Still the loudest reception was saved for Jeongyeon, the most recent member to work through personal issues before coming back to the stage. Their mutual respect and obvious love for each other shows TWICE is a true sisterhood.
The US leg of the tour began on February 15th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It was an added show, just like in New York, because demand was so high. Their connection with ONCE was also front-and-center from the get-go. During one so-called "ment" (a time when performers talk directly to the audience) Dahyun shed tears saying she felt sick and missed her family but still loved ONCE... who reciprocated by adoringly chanting her name. At Oakland Arena the concert was described as more of a mutual love fest. TWICE is always expressing love for their fans and the crowd reciprocated with a wave of support through gestures, lights and chants.
What might be more impressive is how TWICE swept middle-America. Tens-of-thousands streamed into arenas in Texas and Georgia only to leave spell-bound. The group packed Dickies Arena in Fort Worth and State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Access Atlanta called it "one of the biggest K-pop shows Atlanta has ever seen, if not the biggest, and the latest sign that the global explosion of K-pop has taken hold here."
The TWICE 4TH WORLD TOUR III kicked off last Christmas Day at the KSPO Dome in Seoul. Reduced to two days because of COVID restrictions the second night was also broadcast live. Members expressed it was like a dream to perform before fans again for the first time in two years. On their last stop in New York, Dahyun evoked a familiar quote with a debatable origin: "Yesterday is history... tomorrow is a mystery but today is a gift. That's why they call it the present".
On this night there was no debate. The present was TWICE.
Not to be forgotten, COVID-19 safety measures were firmly in place. All group promotional activities were cancelled. Masking and proof of vaccination were required... but there was no sign of any issues among the throngs of screaming fans.
As they did on the four other stops in the North American leg of the tour TWICE led off with strong rendition of it's new English-language release "The Feel" before running through a gauntlet of fan favorites. The set list read like a greatest hits album that left the fans breathless. Following "The Feel" was "Feel Special" and "Up No More" with a brief intermission before the group went into another gear performing "Queen", "Fancy" and "Turn it Up". In fact, each of the remaining 9 brief intermissions were worth the wait... and actually necessary for the CROWD to catch its breath. The choreography, costumes and overall performance all felt like an enormous release after two years of preparation and anticipation... even on these last shows of a long tour.
TWICE cheerfully and energetically pushed through 45 songs on this night. “Shot Clock” and “Get Loud,” made your heart beat out of your chest. “Icon” and “Hello” were a rap lover's delight. Back-to-back-to-back “What is Love?” “Knock Knock,” and “More & More” had the crowd foaming at the mouth....as much as they floated on air during “Dance the Night Away”. My personal favorites were when the group played with camera close-ups that filled the stage to the tunes "Candy" and "Likey" and when they performed the intoxicating "Alcohol Free". Their tour signature ending was a form of encore roulette where the next song was picked by the spin of a wheel. Lucky fans screamed when the final song turned out to be one the groups' signature hits... "Signal".
As for the group itself there were some contrasts to when they performed at Prudential Center in 2019. Most notably the presence of Mina. She was on personal hiatus from the Newark performance... the girls even crying on stage because of her absence. At UBS Arena the crowd roared with each single shot of the artist on stage. Still the loudest reception was saved for Jeongyeon, the most recent member to work through personal issues before coming back to the stage. Their mutual respect and obvious love for each other shows TWICE is a true sisterhood.
The US leg of the tour began on February 15th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It was an added show, just like in New York, because demand was so high. Their connection with ONCE was also front-and-center from the get-go. During one so-called "ment" (a time when performers talk directly to the audience) Dahyun shed tears saying she felt sick and missed her family but still loved ONCE... who reciprocated by adoringly chanting her name. At Oakland Arena the concert was described as more of a mutual love fest. TWICE is always expressing love for their fans and the crowd reciprocated with a wave of support through gestures, lights and chants.
What might be more impressive is how TWICE swept middle-America. Tens-of-thousands streamed into arenas in Texas and Georgia only to leave spell-bound. The group packed Dickies Arena in Fort Worth and State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Access Atlanta called it "one of the biggest K-pop shows Atlanta has ever seen, if not the biggest, and the latest sign that the global explosion of K-pop has taken hold here."
The TWICE 4TH WORLD TOUR III kicked off last Christmas Day at the KSPO Dome in Seoul. Reduced to two days because of COVID restrictions the second night was also broadcast live. Members expressed it was like a dream to perform before fans again for the first time in two years. On their last stop in New York, Dahyun evoked a familiar quote with a debatable origin: "Yesterday is history... tomorrow is a mystery but today is a gift. That's why they call it the present".
On this night there was no debate. The present was TWICE.
TWICE ROCKS "THE ROCK"
TWICE kicked things off their Prudential Center concert with a powerful rendition of “Stuck in My Head,” that morphed to a spirited performance of “Touchdown” and a special arrangement of “Cheer-Up” … one of their signature hits. The crowd went wild as Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu greeted them in English. Mina’s absence has been well-documented, but the group performed as if they were nine…. even leaving her parts on another track.
Emotions eventually spilled over as Jihyo started crying for Mina, when they sang “After Moon”. The arena was a sea of Mina’s signature color mint green thanks to the thousands of light sticks held by fans. The members then emotionally talked about their love for Mina and how much they miss her. If you weren’t moved, you’re not human.
Asian Lifestyle TV fan "JJ" (15years old) had these notes about other aspects of the show:
Part 4: “Sana, Dahyun and Tzuyu did a cover of Beyoncé’s “Dance for You” and they pulled it off very well. Tzuyu picked the song and they all wanted to do it. Then Momo and Jihyo did a cover of Taemin’s “Goodbye” and it was amazing! Their dancing was so fluid and coordinated it’s obvious they worked really hard on it. Then Nayeon, Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung did Lady Gaga’s “Born this Way”. It was so cute and empowering it made me really happy watching them and it was nice that the whole audience could sing along.”
Part 5: “The video for “Turn it Up” played and they came back on stage with “Likey”. There was big diamond thing that carried them on stage, and it was so beautiful I couldn’t keep my eyes off it. The colors were so pretty, and their outfits were so nice too since they resembled the name of the tour. There was also an ONCE mission quiz game and the audience really had a good time doing it”.
The group almost certainly strategically saved “Signal” for the encore which sent the crowd into a frenzy. Then after an awkward yet light moment involving Nayeon almost tripping (she laughed along with everyone else) our night with TWICE was over… but not soon forgotten.
FAN CAM COMPLIMENTS OF "JJ"
Meet TWICE
Cheer-Up/Touchdown
I Want You Back