Hi! It’s Annie!
It’s been a while but we’re back and now with unexpected experiences! I have been following Twice very very loosely for a little while because of a few songs that I’ve liked but, because I was completely unaware of how versatile they were, I never got completely into them. I’ve been on the precipice a few times and now I wish that I would have gotten into them sooner. A family member of mine only two days before the concert in LA entered a raffle and randomly won suite tickets to the Twice concert at So-Fi stadium. Because she isn’t really interested in K-Pop, she offered the tickets to my sister and I who immediately spent the next couple of days doing a complete deep dive into Twice. A couple of days ago was the concert and I can honestly say I am definitely a Once now. Not only was the concert an absolutely amazing time, suite or not, but I am now so utterly obsessed with so many of their songs that it’s like I’m constantly listening to a Twice playlist in my head. This was my second time at So-Fi, my first was for BTS’s PTD concert. This just seems to be one of the perfect venues for filling all of LA with the energy of a K-Pop concert. And Twice is a group that really knows how to put on a show and interact with the crowd!
Suite:
Just because I know some people might be interested in this, I wanted to explain what our experience in the suite was like! These were some of the middling level suites, so they were the suites right under the nosebleeds and not the ones close to the stage. I’ve heard rumors that suites get their own viewing screens, but they really aren’t worth it because they’re further into the suite and why would you go there when you’re watching the concert? What was worth it were the comfortable seats right in the first row of a private balcony and a private quarters with a private bathroom. The private bathroom is probably what makes it all worth it; if you’ve ever been to a concert you know what the women’s bathroom lines are like. With barely anyone in front of you from the seats, it’s a very excellent view! My only issues with it were the lack of a community feeling. When you’re so isolated from the rest of the crowd you don’t hear everyone around you singing along and you also don’t really get to stand up to dance. You can’t really participate in the lightstick wave either because it’s hard to see it coming. So overall, I wouldn’t sneeze at doing it again! But I did miss a lot of the community and energetic feelings of a more general seat.
Group Performances:
The concert started out with some of their most energetic songs; ‘Set Me Free’ and ‘I Can’t Stop Me’. Starting out with a bang seems to be the trend in concerts right now and I love it every time! Their entrance was nothing short of iconic. Before the concert we were treated to a commercial level reel of all of the girls with their eyes closed and right when the concert started their eyes opened and we saw all of them in silhouette on the screen before they were lit up. After the first songs we had their introduction where Jihyo practically punched you in the face with how charismatic she is as the leader of the group. Then we got ‘Go Hard’ which did perfectly in showing how energetic the concert was going to be. ‘More and More’, ‘Moonlight Sunrise’, and ‘Brave’ came next and absolutely blew me away. Especially with the set pieces. ‘More and More’ had them all on these triangular structures at first which they all looked so good on. Seriously, all of them are so charismatic. I challenge you to go to one of the concerts and not come out completely in love with all nine members. The concert did really well in giving them all time to shine within the group performances and outside of them, which I’ll get to in a minute. For the next part of their group performances they actually had a live band including a woman on lead guitar! They started their section with the live band with ‘Feel Special’ and then they did ‘Cry for Me’ which people know as more of a B-Side but was one of my favorite songs all night. Their vocals were so good I nearly cried during this song which doesn’t have en emotional melody, and the live band fit it so perfectly! Then they continued with ‘Fancy’ and ‘The Feels’ which everyone went crazy for. You could barely hear the girls with how many people were singing along to these ones. They did the next group segment starting with ‘Queen of Hearts’ which was another song that surprised me. They did a medley of favorites which was ‘Yes or Yes/ What is Love/Cheer Up/ Likey/Knock Knock/Scientist/ Heart Shaker’ which was almost exhausting to watch them do. I have no idea how they got through such energetic songs right after each other, but they made it look effortless. Then they did ‘Alcohol Free’, ‘Dance the Night Away’ (I lost my mind at this one because this is probably my favorite Twice song right now), and ‘Talk that Talk’. Those three together gave off such fun and summery vibes! A little later they did ‘When We Were Kids’ complete with pictures of them as kids and ‘Crazy Stupid Love’. Before the encore they watched a video LA Once prepared for them that was emotional for everyone involved. For the encore they spun a wheel and partly listened to fans to determine which songs they would perform. They ended up with ‘Doughnut’ which I fell in love with despite it being a slower melody, something I’m usually not as much into, ‘Basics’, and ‘Signal’. I didn’t realize that most girl groups don’t do as much of ending ments and speeches. It felt surprising to me to have them leave so suddenly! But they were so adorable about leaving and Dahyun stuck her head out from the side of the stage to say goodbye to all of us a little longer!
Individual Performances:
I am so glad that more groups are getting to do individual performances! I know that a few groups and members in K-Pop have talked about how the group mentality takes a toll on their mental health. A lot of them don’t feel as though they can express themselves individually and being in your twenties is really difficult in general because many of us are trying to figure out who we are as individuals. I wish more groups would look into individual stages for this reason and also because they are always so entertaining! At the beginning of the first one; Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Jihyo, and Chaeyoung came out as a unit to entertain the crowd by dancing to Stray Kids and introducing themselves as “girls who take showers together” accidentally before laughing for a long while and elaborating on what that meant. They laughed so much and it was so contagious! It was one of the most fun pieces of the concert! Dahyun came out first with her solo in a gorgeous dress with a long train draped over her seat as she played piano. She began with playing the melody of ‘Let it Go’ from Frozen before switching into a cover of ‘Try’ by Colbie Caillat; it was insanely gorgeous and she expressed how nostalgic she felt about playing piano. Tzuyu did a cover of ‘Done for Me’ by Charlie Puth where she really showed off her individual vocal and dancing skills and she talked about how proud she was of taking on the challenge. Sana then came out with a very sexy version of ‘New Rules’ by Dua Lipa and she talked about how she loved her new outfit. Momo did a sexy dance cover of ‘Move’ by Beyonce complete with pole dancing which she worked hard to learn more of! And Mina capped off that section with a mesmerizing version of ‘7 Rings’ by Ariana Grande which she said she loved hearing everyone sing along to. Then when the other four girls came out later we got Chayoung playing an acoustic version of an original song about her guitar that was adorable, Jihyo came out powerfully with ‘Nightmare’ which is a song from her solo album coming out soon, Jeongyeon did a cover of ‘Juice’ by Lizzo in all pink complete with a recorder solo, and Nayeon did her solo song ‘Pop!’ which I freaked out when I heard. It was nothing short of energetic and adorable, and I love the song! The solo stages really showed off their individual charms and I loved seeing how they each expressed themselves in a concert that was about their individual identities in concept!
Bias Wrecking:
I went into this concert really wondering if my assumptions about my bias and bias wrecker would be wrong because I was so new to the group. Weirdly, my bias and bias wrecker remained the same! Watching the concert only made me more sure of which members spoke to me the most. Nayeon is my bias and I love her sense of humor as well as performance. Her voice is gorgeous and she’s so effortless that it’s hard to take your eyes off of her. And I loved how much she laughed through the whole concert, she really made it her mission to make the other girls and the audience laugh! Dahyun is my bias wrecker and she was hilarious and so sweet to everyone on stage! My sister went in with her bias being Jeongyeon and she ended up being her bias wrecker at the end of the concert; she really knew how to hype up the crowd! But she ended with Jihyo being her bias because that girl has so much charisma! It was hard to not watch her during the concert and feel more energized by her presence. Mina almost wrecked me for how gorgeous and confident she came across in every stage. Momo almost wrecked my sister because of her performance ability that was really off the charts. But everyone almost got me at some point! Tzuyu was a such a fluid and versatile performer, Sana was so adorable and hilarious, and Chaeyoung knew exactly how skilled she was and it was infectious. But seriously, I’m such a huge Nayeon stan and such a huge Twice stan after this!
I am so glad that I got to go to this concert! And my sister and I are both officially part of Once! You can absolutely expect more posts about Twice in the future and I’m already so excited to write more about them. It is never too late to expand your multi-stan field! Just know that if you’re an Atiny, like I am, Hongjoong is always watching.
See you across the pond!
Sincerely, Annie
Oreos & Peanut Butter 