THIS IS FOR: TWICE in Melbourne

As with all JYP Entertainment concerts, the video showcasing their artist list always brings cheers from the audience. Whether they are there to watch a certain group’s fan, or whether they are there as a casual listener, there will always be excitement in the air during the video time. With TWICE’s concert, the cheers were especially loud during their part in the artist lineup. Rod Laver Arena definitely showed up for the concert. 

Everyone knows that once the lights dim, it’s show time. The production for this specific tour did not spare any expenses as the 360 LED stage filled up a majority of the floor area within Rod Laver Arena, which is the perfect location for this tour as it creates a more intimate concert, due to the massive stage size, despite it being one of the larger arenas within the sporting complex. 

The overhead screens lowered down onto the stage while showing a video of TWICE members, getting fans even more excited to meet the girls. Once the video was done playing, the screens went back up and the members were now on stage, ready to start the concert with This is For. ONCEs (fans of TWICE) can be heard singing along to every word with some of them dancing along as well. This continued throughout the first segment of the show, which included songs such as Strategy and I Can’t Stop Me. 

TWICE then started doing their introductions in the order of JIHYO, who greeted the crowd with a “G’Day mate”, JEONGYEON, MOMO, NAYEON, DAHYUN, who also said “G’Day mate”, SANA, and MINA. CHAEYOUNG unfortunately had to sit the Australian leg out as she was still recovering from her sickness. JIHYO then invites the audience to stand up if they’re feeling excited at any point and specifically gives a shout out to a couple of ONCEs who were already standing up (in the seated section) and dancing along through the first segment of the concert. She then indicated how the next part will be filled with slow songs. 

As the next segment opens with Options, the platforms on the stage started playing a larger role in the show’s production as the members sat down on the different levels of platforms and sang beautifully under the illusion of stars shown in the overhead screens. Their next song of the segment was Moonlight Sunrise which is usually categorised as a song with a faster tempo but they started it off slower while being accompanied by the band. The lighting during this song was made to imitate the sunrise and gave an orange glow. 

The transition towards the next segment was made in a very interesting manner as the dancers took different parts of the stage with each section taking turns dancing different genres. TWICE then went back on stage and started performing Mars while utilising the 360-degree stage perfectly with the seamless transitions on the platforms. The last song within this section was The Feels in which the members were standing on different parts of the stage and taking turns performing the song in canon, with the rest of the members freezing while waiting for their turn to sing. They definitely thought of new ways on how to perform the songs on different type of stages.

Photo from @JYPETWICE (X)

JIHYO mentioned how the energy tonight was really good and MINA also chimed in saying that she felt very happy today as everyone was dancing with her. DAHYUN then checked in with the crowd to see if everyone was having fun and did the chant wherein every time the members said “THIS IS FOR ONCE” the audience would respond to “THIS IS FOR TWICE”. 

As the TWICE members prepared for the next stage, JIHYO led the camera situated on the main stage towards the extended stage with the lights complimenting the transition perfectly. Once JIHYO arrived on the extended stage, the members then started performing Gone. As the rest of the section was accompanied by the live band, each song gave a different undertone as compared to what people would be used to. 

It was then the band’s turn to lead through the transition as the TWICE members changed into their solo stage outfits. We started the set with TZUYU singing Dive In with a prop that looked like a clothing rack. This was then continued by MINA who sang Stone Cold on the main stage and NAYEON, also on the main stage while going up and down the platforms, singing Meeeee. JEONGYEON on the other hand, started on the other extended stage with Fix a Drink which she ended on the main stage. DAHYUN started her solo stage while playing Fur Elise on the opposite extended stage which then segwayed into Chess. There was a short break in between DAHYUN’s and JIHYO’s solo stage as the stage crew moved the piano off the extended stage so JIHYO was able to perform ATM, where she took off her jacket mid-performance. SANA continued the chain of solo stages with Decaffeinated, performed on the main stage and MOMO ended it with Move Like That. 

After a short video, TWICE went back on stage for the very last segment of the concert. This is where they sing title tracks from old albums and interact with more ONCEs. During Yes or Yes, MINA started it off with a “Hey Melbourne” and wished MOMO a happy birthday (it was MOMO’s birthday). The last segment of the tour is definitely beloved by many as JIHYO mentioned seeing a little kid dancing along to the songs. She then also mentioned that with the 360-degree stage, they were able to clearly see a lot of the audience. As they pivot into the next song, Feel Special, JIHYO mentioned that the TWICE members requested for the audience from the previous day to dance along to the song sexily but they “failed to deliver” but she believed that the audience on the second day will do great. 

Instead of dancing along to Feel Special sexily, the members ended up requesting ONCEs to twerk during the chorus of the song. NAYEON then started to twerk to ‘show an example’. Before they launched into the song, JIHYO then mentioned that it was MOMO’s birthday and the entire venue sang Happy Birthday for MOMO. They then closed the segment with Feel Special and One Spark. 

Photo from @JYPETWICE (X)

When you think it was over, TWICE went back on stage for an encore with new outfits. Not only do they perform, there was also a fan project video that was made by ONCEs that showed how meaningful TWICE is for them and that Aussie ONCEs were happy that the girls were able to go back to Melbourne. TWICE then closed the night with pictures and a couple more songs which included Talk that Talk with confetti bursting here and there. 

The stage production for this specific show was definitely something that was never done before but it was very well executed. Apart from the sound system and a couple of in-ear beat count issues, the performance was spectacular and TWICE definitely did not disappoint. 

We thank Live Nation and JYP Entertainment for the media passes for the show.