TWICE Shines Bright in London: ‘Ready To Be’ Tour Unveiled
At that point my anticipation had begun boiling over, dripping over my ability to keep my cool. My excitement had been cooking up for some time really. Not just in the months following the confirmation of my purchased tickets, but since the countless times in the last few years, I had wished to be right where I was.
Frankly, I had begun believing there was a one-in-a-million chance of it genuinely happening. Yet, there I was in skin and bones, in front of the O2 Arena in London ready to dance the night away with TWICE on the very first leg of their very anticipated first European Tour ever.
The Pre-show Jitters.
The doors were set to open at 6 p.m. so, of course, I had to be there a bit earlier, if for no reason at all, to be able to navigate the massive crowd of hopeful ONCES. Despite going to a few concerts before, it was my first time at a concert hall so big. I mean 20-thousand people echoing all the words to ‘Fancy’ was a highlight I had waited too long to experience. I hadn’t been lucky enough to see Twice perform live before either, so it was shaping up to be a night of firsts I’d remember vividly.
With a silk green dress, my recently purchased light stick, and my sister for good company, our first point of attack was the official merch store. We left the merch store with 2 “TWICE” t-shirts and 2 ‘ready to be’ keychains. On the way to the bag security check, I admired all the amazing looks of other concertgoers who really committed to slaying the most recognisable TWICE looks. There were many pink cowboy hats in the crowd in homage to the fan favourite ‘Hello’ as well some black classic outfits that referenced hits like ‘Talk That Talk’ and some more that recalled their super-subunit MISAMO. The excitement for the TWICE ‘Ready To Be’ tour was palpable…
Sadly, at security, our compact cameras were confiscated temporarily to be recovered at the end of the show. It was something we had researched prior but wasn’t stated on the O2 Arena website of prohibited items, so we didn’t know they wouldn’t be allowed in.
We then made our way down to our seats in W101. We were located on the side of the stage in the accessible seating area, and I have to say the view was pretty great. The only thing separating us from the stage was the VIP section on the ground floor.
The girls’ faces flashing on the big screen made the excitement even more real as the room slowly filled up with giddy bodies. Soon after all the empty seats were replaced by waving bright pink light sticks. The screens went dark, and everyone was ready to be free with the music and TWICE.
The TWICE Show.
There they were in the flesh. Nayeon, Sana, Momo, Chaeyoung, Mina, Jeongyeon, Tzuyu, Dayhun, and last but certainly not least – my ultimate bias in the group – Jihyo. I had never been so excited to see shadows appear before.
The show began with an outstanding dance break that led right into, ‘Set Me Free’ the leading single of their most recent EP READY TO BE. They then followed with an absolute favourite of mine and smash hit ‘I Can’t Stop Me’, and I screamed the words back as loudly as my voice could reach.
It would be extremely redundant to say they performed hit after hit because they have a large amount under their belt. Their setlist was made up of a compilation of them. From chart-toppers like ‘Cheer Up’ and ‘Heartshaker’ to perfect summer tunes like ‘Alcohol-Free, and more recent bops like ‘Talk That Talk’ and ‘Brave’ – they were most certainly in their element.
There was not one dull moment throughout the show as the girls each performed solo stages that sent the crowd into a frenzy. Nayeon performed her viral hit ‘Pop’ whilst Momo did an insane dance cover to Beyonce’s Move. Chaeyoung performed an unreleased track she wrote about her guitar and Dayhun sang an emotional cover of Colbie Calliat’s Try on a grand piano. Of course, despite having to sit down during certain parts of the show implying she might have been too injured to do strenuous choreography, Jihyo got up to give a powerful performance of her recently released solo song ‘Killin’ Me Good’ which I’ve had on repeat ever since.
Tzuyu gave a beautiful rendition of Charlie Puth’s Done For Me, Jeongyeon performed Can’t Stop The Feeling by Justin Timberlake amazingly and Sana brought Dua Lipa’s New Rules to life too. Lastly, Mina’s version of 7 Rings made the crowd go wild like it had done in every city before London – a definite highlight in the show.
Speaking of highlights, there were very many during the arena concert. Fans got to showcase their dance moves during a break in the show and it felt great to watch each selected candidate prove they had all the moves down. The crowd also got to sing ‘Moonlight’ solo, and with what felt like a million bright lights, right there and then it all felt like a dream.
Safe to say, my most anticipated concert turned out to be the most beautiful. TWICE have really found their feet in the industry and I’m confident as they continue to evolve as they have thus far, I’ll be sat watching them shine from the sidelines. As they took their final bow, I had a thought. It is true what they say; they are indeed One In A Million.
Your restless romantic roamer
Were you lucky enough to see the TWICE ‘Ready To Be’ Tour live in person? Who’s someone you’re dying to see live in concert?
