“I’m so happy!" TWICE's extroverted member Sana exclaims in English, followed by closing remarks in Korean. "Because all of the members were able go through this tour," she adds.
It's the last night of the K-pop girl group's U.S. leg of their 4th World Tour III, officially completing seven concerts in five cities — all of which sold out. Based on the roaring sound of cheers and the sight of countless handmade signs, for the sea of about 18,000 TWICE fans (a.k.a. ONCE) filling the seats of the UBS Arena in Long Island, they certainly feel the same way too.
For three hours straight on Feb. 27, members Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu made the venue theirs with memorable performances that reminded fans why they're not only South Korea's national girl group, but global icons.
Attracting 100,000 attendees and making the nine-member ensemble the first K-pop girl group to sell out two U.S. arena tours, TWICE's tour marked a groundbreaking moment for the group. It also marked the first U.S. tour for Texas-born member Mina — who was unable to participate in the group's Twicelights Tour in 2019 — as well as the emotional public return of member Jeongyeon after a yearlong hiatus.
"This was my first U.S tour, but because so many ONCE came out to have fun with us, we were able to have a super great time," Mina said in her final speech, while Jeongyeon shared on stage, "I practiced really hard and trained myself mentally for this concert. I honestly didn’t think I would make it until the end of the tour, but I did. Thank you, ONCE, for allowing me to finish this tour … I promise to be thankful for everything in my life."
The group opened the evening (and started the party) with their Billboard Hot 100-charter "The Feels." Performances of singles "Feel Special," "More & More," "I Can't Stop Me," "Cry for Me," "Alcohol Free" and "Scientist" brought fans out of their seats, as the girls delivered some of their heaviest choreography to date.
Performances of English-language songs such as "Moonlight," "Icon" and "Candy" resulted in an 18,000-member choir, but the songs that fans appeared to anticipate most were the sub-unit tracks.
Split into three trios, TWICE showcased their more mature side with the disco-pop track "Push & Pull" (performed by Sana, Jihyo, Dahyun); the hip-hop banger "Hello!" (performed by Nayeon, Momo, Chaeyoung); and the sultry "1, 3, 2" (performed by Jeongyeon, Mina and Tzuyu).
In between sets, the members' individual personalities shined as they took turns engaging with the audience.
At one point, Sana playfully asked Dahyun to help lead fans in a "J-Y-P" chant as she pointed to the left, middle and right sides of the crowd. During the seven-song encore, the group's infamous musical roulette wheel played some of TWICE's b-sides, older hits and other songs not officially on the set list, including "BDZ," "Rollin'," "I’m Gonna Be a Star," "Love Foolish," "Baby Blue Love," "TT" and "Signal."
Though the tour's theme related to the group's third studio album, Formula of Love — III being a play on ONCE and TWICE, which adds up to… you get the picture — the solution was clear: TWICE's trailblazing performances, whimsical personalities and dedicated fans are just a few of the many factors that complete the group's equation.