TWICE at Capital One Arena

By Sonya Lee

[TWICE: THIS IS FOR] Group Number; Alyssa Piazza for JYP Entertainment

Grabbing a few quick photos with friends, my assistant and I made our way inside the arena as showtime inched closer. As we made our descent, I was amazed to see the stage. As promoted before the start of the tour, TWICE utilized a 360-degree stage system, which allowed the group to perform on all sides of the arena to allow for every section of the venue to have a clear view of the performance. Having another look around from our seats, I had a clear view of the floor as something caught my eye. Many fans were cosplaying characters from the movie ‘K-pop Demon Hunters’, specifically the members of HUNTR/X (Rumi, Mira, and Zoey). Besides the fact that the movie has made a significant global impact, the piece where TWICE comes to fruition is that members of the group (Jihyo, Chaeyoung, and Jeongyeon) are featured on the film’s soundtrack on the song “Takedown” (TWICE Version). The connection between the group and ‘K-pop Demon Hunters’ is strong, as they have one of their own songs in the film, that being “Strategy”. Gathering my final pre-show thoughts, I checked the time and noticed the show should’ve started by this point. I didn’t know how my assistant had gained foresight, but she actually told me she had a feeling the show might start later than intended. At first, I wasn’t too sure and thought she was being skeptical, and yet she was right. Not a lengthy delay, however, the translator for the group announced to everyone there would be a small setback due to technical difficulties. 

[TWICE: THIS IS FOR] 360 Stage; Alyssa Piazza for JYP Entertainment

The outfits for the first act were reflective of a wintery theme with fur boots, silver accessories, and a white color scheme throughout. By the time “Strategy (TWICE Version)” (STRATEGY, 14th Mini Album) was being performed, the main stage was turned into small, different mini stages moving up and down. While many fans may not have noticed, Jeongyeon had some trouble with her in-ear monitors during this performance. But, she handled the situation like the professional she is and smoothly carried on to the next song. During “MAKE ME GO” (MORE & MORE, 9th Mini Album), the highlight for me was Mina and Chaeyoung’s combination of vocals and visuals. The added male backup dancers, moving platforms, and next-level hand choreography made it a performance full of surprises. Heading over to the left stage to sing “SET ME FREE” (READY TO BE, 12th Mini Album), the moment was captured by Jihyo. As the lights dimmed for a brief moment, Jihyo stunned the fans with a vocal moment during the performance. Closing out the run-through with “I CAN’T STOP ME” (Eyes Wide Open, 2nd Full Album), streamers popped, engulfing the environment as Chaeyoung was heard shouting, “Let’s sing it together!” The group returned to the main stage as the platform lifted the girls to varying heights, with their backup dancers filling in the remaining gaps across the stage. Perhaps it was due to the lineup of the first five songs or the excitement of seeing the group, the cheers and screams from a lot of male fans were heard throughout the arena.

Being able to take a breath from performing, TWICE was able to take a moment to make their introduction to the fans. Jihyo started off fierce, shouting to the crowd, “Who am I?” to which she received an overwhelming unison of “Jihyo!” After her brief introduction, the rest of the members went around greeting fans as well. Tzuyu had a very cute introduction to fans, Jeongyeon thanked ONCEs in D.C. and asked them to have fun during the concert, Nayeon thanked everyone for singing and dancing along with them even with the first bit of the setlist, Mina thanked everyone for coming to the show in the cold weather, Momo also asked the crowd to maintain the fun throughout the night, and Chaeyoung and Sana made their short yet cheerful introductions, saying hello to Washington D.C. Sadly, a member was missing, that being Dahyun. She was announced to go on hiatus days before the show due to an ankle fracture (Do not worry! She’s recovered and returned to the stage the next month). After all the introductions were concluded, Jihyo asked ONCEs why the majority of them were wearing pink and if it was a correlation to Valentine’s Day.  This prompted a small “Happy Valentine’s!” from Mina. When the crowd answered in a mix of yeses and noes, Jihyo then asked if girls are the ones who give the valentines to the boys (Which is customary in South Korea). The answer to this question was a majority ‘no’ from the fans.

To close out the first chat session, Jihyo asked Sana (whom she deemed the cute representative of TWICE) to give the fans a “kiss”. Sana did just that and gave ONCEs a flying kiss. The group also revealed that Washington, D.C. was the first to see their outfits, which were new. Once again, the group thanked fans for keeping up the great energy and assured them it would be reciprocated with a fun show. Before moving on to the next stage, TWICE asked ONCE to shout “This is for TWICE!” after they said “This is for ONCE!” After the crowd returned the instructed cheer, the arena’s lights blacked out for the next stage. The final two songs of the first act were “OPTIONS” (THIS IS FOR, 4th Full Album) and “MOONLIGHT SUNRISE” (READY TO BE, 12th Mini Album). During the performance of “OPTIONS” (THIS IS FOR, 4th Full Album), there was no choreography as the group leaned into the sensual instrumentals of the song. Sitting on stage as the platforms of the stage lifted to be in a staircase-like tower, the members showcased their vocal prowess, which received a whole bunch of screams from the audience. This song had a ‘starry night’ atmosphere to it, which I enjoyed. For “MOONLIGHT SUNRISE” (READY TO BE, 12th Mini Album), the group transitioned from sitting to back on their feet for fun choreography. The addition of the crowd singing along made the moment magical.

The LED screen overhead dropped down during the shift to the second act. Usually, when a transition period occurs between two acts there’s a VCR (Pre-recorded Video). But this time, there was a starry sky theme playing on all the LED screens. Then a bang of ominous music as an illuminated vortex appeared before a backup dancer appeared on the right stage, and then another dancer on the left stage. TWICE decided to opt out of the traditional VCR transition period to have it be a moment where people who help bring their performances to light have a chance to present their talents! The LED overhead lifted once more to reveal all of the backup dancers, this time as they put out a moving artistic performance which showcased expression and extension in their bodies. As the dancers wrapped up their performance, they walked off stage as the overhead LED screens came back down, still presenting some sort of nebula. Before everyone knew it, the flashing lights signaled the start of the second act. The second act of the show kept up the momentum of the first half as TWICE performed “MARS” (THIS IS FOR, 4th Full Album), “I GOT YOU” (WITH YOU-th, 13th Mini Album), “The Feels” (Formula of Love: O+T=<3, 3rd Full Album), “GONE” (BETWEEN 1&2, 11th Mini Album), “CRY FOR ME” (Cry For Me, Digital Single), “HELL IN HEAVEN” (Eyes Wide Open, 2nd Full Album), and “RIGHT HAND GIRL” (THIS IS FOR, 4th Full Album).

While performing “MARS” (THIS IS FOR, 4th Full Album), each of the members was lifted from their platform position to highlight their part in the song. An easy transition to “I GOT YOU” (WITH YOU-th, 13th Mini Album) as the stage returned down from their lifted positions, allowing for the group to spread out and cover all the stage space. All the members interchanged from stage to stage throughout the song to make sure all the fans were able to get a clear view of them. For the “The Feels” (Formula of Love: O+T=<3, 3rd Full Album) stage, the group made their way back to center stage. As soon as the music started, I had never heard the crowd get so loud up until that moment. The backup dancers made their return to the stage and killed the choreography, elevating the performance. By this point, it was time for another interaction segment; Momo asked ONCEs if they were having fun. She was met with a wave of cheers in response. Jihyo started the cheering check from the audience (which is where the group checks in on how loud the fans can get). Nayeon interjected that she had to take her in-ear monitors out due to Jihyo’s voice blasting in her ear. Hearing this, Jihyo handed over the job to Nayeon. While checking the volume, Nayeon told ONCEs that it’s the group’s first time in Washington, D.C., so she was wondering if, instead of section by section, the biggest cheers could be heard if everyone celebrated as a collective. For this task, Nayeon asked Chaeyoung to take over, which had her shout “ONCE, together!” while rotating her arm like a windmill to increase the crowd’s volume. Nayeon seemed satisfied with being able to move on to the next stage, but Jihyo pointed out how Chaeyoung yelled ‘together’ really cutesy and asked for an encore. Though Chaeyoung protested with a pouty expression that she’d cheered loudly, she did do another shout of “Together!” to ONCEs. This time, the group not only received screams, but barking from fans too. Wanting another member to keep the pattern going, the role was put on Mina for the volume check. Mina also shouted “Together!” in a cute tone, which brought an equal, if not larger, volume of cheers from the audience. Before moving on to the next songs, Nayeon pointed out that all the members’ shouting voices pale in comparison to how loud Jihyo’s voice is, which also got a laugh from the stage staff. A final instructed cheer of TWICE going “This is for ONCE!”; fans: “This is for TWICE!” The rest of the second act continued. 

Jihyo walked to her spot for “GONE” (BETWEEN 1&2, 11th Mini Album) on the left stage, her steps looking like a seasoned model straight from the runway. The highlights for this song were definitely Jeongyeon’s emotional vocal expression and the harmonies between Jihyo and Nayeon. During “CRY FOR ME” (Cry For Me, Digital Single), the performance had a rocking version thanks to the live band elevating the song. Utilizing the stage, the group moved from the left to the main stage in the middle of the song. Going from a rocking performance, the mood shifted for “HELL IN HEAVEN” (Eyes Wide Open, 2nd Full Album) as it had a more sensual theme. For this performance, I really enjoyed the intricate choreography with the backup dancers and vocal highlights as the stage was lifted to present each group member. Chaeyoung took the center spot for “HELL IN HEAVEN” (Eyes Wide Open, 2nd Full Album) with Jihyo closing out the song with a “Let me hear you scream!” The stage returned down for “RIGHT HAND GIRL” (THIS IS FOR, 4th Full Album), and the group made use of the connecting stages as they made their way off towards the end, giving a fiery exit. Major points I would emphasize for the second act are brown and leather color scheme outfits during the performances, Nayeon’s high notes, and Jihyo’s performance factor in general. 

Since this was another transition sequence, I was prepared for a VCR to take over, only to be surprised by the live band taking the spotlight. Emphasizing TWICE, giving the spotlight to those who help bring their show to life. The band did a rocking improvised version of “RIGHT HAND GIRL” (THIS IS FOR, 4th Full Album). The instrumentals matched the fiery atmosphere as the bass, drums, and guitars all had their solo parts burning up the stage (figuratively speaking, of course). Towards the end of the live band spotlight, the audience cheered just as the fiery environment presented on the LED screens was cast away by water. The third act shifted the theme as “DIVE IN (TZUYU)” (Ten: The Story Goes On, 4th Special Album), “STONE COLD (MINA)” (Ten: The Story Goes On, 4th Special Album), “MEEEEEE (NAYEON)” (Ten: The Story Goes On, 4th Special Album), “FIX A DRINK (JEONGYEON)” (Ten: The Story Goes On, 4th Special Album), “SHOOT (Firecracker)” (Lil Fantasy Vol. 1, Chaeyoung’s First Full Album), “ATM (JIHYO)” (Ten: The Story Goes On, 4th Special Album), “DECAFFEINATED (SANA)” (Ten: The Story Goes On, 4th Special Album), “MOVE LIKE THAT (MOMO)” (Ten: The Story Goes On, 4th Special Album), and “TAKEDOWN (JEONGYEON, JIHYO, CHAEYOUNG)” (KPOP DEMON HUNTERS, Soundtrack from the Netflix Film) were performed.

The focus on this part of the show was on solos and subunits, and creatively showcasing each member’s different theme when it came to their songs. Tzuyu utilized an overhead barre bar with her backup dancers during the shortened version of her solo, “DIVE IN (TZUYU)” (Ten: The Story Goes On, 4th Special Album). Mina appeared on center stage with her shortened performance of “STONE COLD (MINA)” (Ten: The Story Goes On, 4th Special Album), focused on a gold and chains aesthetic, almost like finding treasure. Nayeon teased the fans with the echoes of her solo “MEEEEEE (NAYEON)” (Ten: The Story Goes On, 4th Special Album) before appearing on stage with the backup dancers. The audience cheered loudly upon hearing just her voice, and the screams grew once Nayeon appeared on stage. Her shortened performance had a red and leather color scheme and included a dance break portion towards the end with one of the male backup dancers as the platforms of the stage were lifted up once more. Jeongyeon really took it home for the shortened version of her solo “FIX A DRINK (JEONGYEON)” (Ten: The Story Goes On, 4th Special Album). Focusing on a western rodeo-style theme, the sparkling outfits with the matching cowboy hats complemented the instrumentals of the song very well, really turning the show into a rodeo bar for a moment. Chaeyoung performed “SHOOT (Firecracker)” (Lil Fantasy Vol. 1, Chaeyoung’s First Full Album) from her solo debut album. The aesthetic of her portion of the act is similar to that of a tea party with the colorful layers, poka-dots, and tiny hat to top it all off. The choreography connected with the light touch that the song carried. Then, not a moment to waste, Jihyo captured the audience’s attention with her shortened solo “ATM (JIHYO)” (Ten: The Story Goes On, 4th Special Album). Stepping on stage with the backup dancers in street wear inspired outfits with a matching set of shades, bringing her confidence and energy up to the max. Sana changed up the scene with her short rendition of “DECAFFEINATED (SANA)” (Ten: The Story Goes On, 4th Special Album), her voice a mix of fierce and light. Her performance brought in the red and black color scheme, but the choreography went well with the tango aesthetic the song pushed for. Finishing off the solo performances was Momo with a shortened version of “MOVE LIKE THAT (MOMO)” (Ten: The Story Goes On, 4th Special Album). The theme for Momo was animal print, with her walking from one side of the stage to the center, which ensued barking from the audience. She showcased her dancing prowess during her portion of the show in this song. Closing the third act of the concert was “TAKEDOWN (JEONGYEON, JIHYO, CHAEYOUNG)” (KPOP DEMON HUNTERS, Soundtrack from the Netflix Film), drawing in lots of cheers from the audience. Jihyo, Jeongyeon, and Chaeyoung exhibited their vocal prowess during this performance, with the stage highlighting them as the platformed stage lifted for each of their parts in the song. What was enjoyable about the third act, focusing on solos was the way each of the members utilized the entire stage, performing to allow fans a good view from all sides.

Transitioning into the next act, the use of VCR (Pre-recorded Video) returned, featuring the girls being put in a mirror maze as they find their way out. Once the mirror shattered, the LED screen headers lifted to sound off the fourth act. Presenting their smash hits, the group performed “FANCY” (FANCY YOU, 7th Mini Album), “What is Love?” (What Is Love?, 5th Mini Album), “YES or YES” (YES OR YES, 6th Mini Album), “Dance the Night Away” (Summer Nights, 2nd Special Album), and “ONE SPARK” (WITH YOU-th, 13th Mini Album). This portion of the show had the highest volume in singing, cheering, and dancing along from the fans. The LED screen headers lifted to show the members for “FANCY” (FANCY YOU, 7th Mini Album) and in an interesting style, as each box was placed similar to the mirror maze the girls were in the VCR. The version of the song carried rocking elements, influenced by the live band, as the stage was lifted up to showcase the iconic “FANCY” (FANCY YOU, 7th Mini Album) dance. For “What is Love?” (What Is Love?, 5th Mini Album), the girls really focused on fan interactions as they all spread across the 360 stage, singing and waving to ONCEs. The highlights of that performance were Jihyo recreating her solo moment like in the music video for “What is Love?” (What Is Love?, 5th Mini Album), where she sings into the void, only this time her group members were sitting all together in front of her, and the iconic dance with the song, which the girls performed in great synchronization towards the end. Everyone was on their feet by this point, but the loudest was when Mina started the intro for “YES or YES” (YES OR YES, 6th Mini Album), changing the line to match the city she hyped the crowd up with a “Hey D.C., I’m gonna make this simple for you. You got two choices, yes or…yes!”. I didn’t believe the fans could get any louder, but they raised the volume to another level during this performance. Again, the girls opted to interact with fans and walk around with minimal dancing. This brought a lighthearted moment as Jihyo was facing the section I was standing in and tried to get ONCEs to wave their Candy Bongs (TWICE’s Lightsticks) to match her direction. Then, a rocking introduction into the next song “Dance the Night Away” (Summer Nights, 2nd Special Album), brought the summer party to the not-so-warm Washington D.C. environment. Returning to the choreographic layout, the girls danced their hearts out along with the backup dancers, which caused an increase in screams and dancing from the fans.

Before performing the final song of the fourth act, the group took a moment to interact with ONCEs. After doing an energy check, Momo mentioned she noticed a lot of lightsticks from other K-pop groups. Jeongyeon reassured Momo by stating, “Maybe, after the show, I’m sure they’ll all become ONCEs”, all while looking at the crowd to see if her theory was correct. The fans’ cheers confirmed Jeongyeon’s thoughts, as Jihyo interjected saying “No, they’re probably already a ONCE; they just couldn’t buy the Candy Bong (TWICE’s lightstick)”. Nayeon told fans it didn’t matter the lightstick they held, so long as something bright was with them. The group pointed out that the most prominent color in the audience seemed to be green, which could be a reference to Neo Bong’s (NCT’s lightstick). Momo reaffirmed that she was simply happy all the fans were present to see them. Checking up on Sana, she snapped out of her daze as she told everyone she was too focused looking at all the Candy Bongs that she forgot they were on stage. Jihyo lamented that the next song would be their last and asked if everyone could enjoy it till the very end, getting the audience up on their feet. Introducing the final song was Tzuyu, who said it is an emotional and fun song that everyone could dance to. After checking one last time to see if everyone was standing, and a final “This is for ONCE!” (fans shout back: “This is for TWICE!”), The group went into the last song of the fourth act. Performing “ONE SPARK” (WITH YOU-th, 13th Mini Album), there was an amazing mix of vocals, choreography, and stage effects all wrapped into one. Finishing off with the backup dancers returning, the bursts of golden confetti, the stage being lifted, and the LED screen headers showing fireworks as it came down to close off the fourth act. The outfits this time around are a bit hard to describe as they’re a mix of fur, leather, and colored denim. But, they were overall great uses of fabric as it captured the personalities of each member in the group.

Even when the lights were out, the fans never budged from their seats as they chanted “One more song!” with their lightsticks in hand. Soon, the LED screens showed a small game the camera and audience were going to play, the “Dance Cam Showdown”. The camera would capture a ONCE in the audience, and whoever was chosen needed to dance their heart out. As the camera panned around the arena, groups of lucky ONCEs danced along to each iconic TWICE song that played when pointed to them. Rounds of endless fun and the dance-off came to a close as the LED screens came down, lighting up the words ‘Make Some Noise!’ which the fans happily obliged. Then, true to K-pop concert fashion, the group returned on stage wearing customized pieces of the [TWICE: THIS IS FOR] tour merchandise. Starting the encore segment, the girls performed “Feel Special” (Feel Special, 8th Mini Album), which they sang while interacting with the fans. In the middle of this performance, Sana even received a large version of a bracelet that spelled out the group’s name. After the song ended, Sana showed off the bracelet, and Chaeyoung mentioned that this would really be the end of the concert. But before they concluded, the group went around doing a group selfie with ONCEs. At one point, Sana even asked for a jumping pose, which was one-footed by Jihyo as she was afraid her heels would break. For the final song, Jihyo asked what song ONCEs wished to hear the most. 

The members went around trying to hear all the requests. Ultimately, Jeongyeon took over and went through the list of iconic TWICE songs that hadn’t been performed yet. Some examples are “TT” (TWICEcoaster: Lane 1, 3rd Mini Album), “Signal” (Signal, 4th Mini Album), and “Likey” (Twicetagram, 1st Full Album). As she went through the list of songs, ONCEs cheered pretty equally for all the choices, really proving ONCEs loved any song TWICE performed. At some point, Nayeon mentioned “BDZ” (BDZ, 1st Full Japanese Album), which made the audience almost silent. This became a recurring reaction the second time it was mentioned, which made Nayeon want to perform it more since it seemed a lot of fans weren’t familiar with it. Sifting through the list again, Jeongyeon thought “Alcohol Free” (Taste of Love, 10th Mini Album) didn’t receive as many cheers towards the final count. The group ended up agreeing to go through with “Alcohol Free” (Taste of Love, 10th Mini Album) as the final song. The group went around greeting fans during the final song as pink confetti covered the arena as the performance neared its end. Jihyo mentioned how much fun it was to perform the song after not having done it in a long time. I would also like to point out that Jihyo put in great hip and footwork, doing bits of the choreography for “Alcohol Free” (Taste of Love, 10th Mini Album). 

Soon enough, the final song concluded, the members called up their backup dancers and live band (who were also wearing [TWICE: THIS IS FOR] tour merchandise) to come on stage to take their bows. As everyone did a joint bow on center stage, the group asked to give it up for the production team who helped put their show together. Waves of cheers sounded off as the backup dancers and live band came off stage, leaving TWICE to take their final bow. Jihyo did mention how sad they all were for not having all nine members present (due to Dahyun’s absence), but she hopes to return to Washington, D.C. with everyone in the group in the future. Hoping that Washington D.C. fans still enjoyed their concert, Jihyo sounded off their traditional parting, “One in a million, this was TWICE!” The group took their final bow. The LED screen header slowly made its descent, thus ending the Washington, D.C., day 1 show. 

[TWICE: THIS IS FOR] Second Act; Alyssa Piazza for JYP Entertainment