It was easy to forget it was a Sunday night in Melbourne, with Kpop superstars TWICE in town, playing the second of their arena shows in the city on their 73-date This Is For world tour.
Fans had settled in early, too, and by stage time at 7.30pm Rod Laver Arena was lit up with fans – known as ONCE (원스) members – waving their TWICE-branded lightsticks around (9 November).
While the hit movie 'KPop Demon Hunters' may have earned the girl group some new fans through their end-credit tune 'Takedown', it's been a decade since the act formed on TV talent show 'Sixteen'. Since then, they've made an impressive 11 albums and even more EPs, so narrowing down a set list was always going to be a challenge.
If you've been lucky enough to spend any time in South Korea (or Taiwan and Japan, where a few of the group's members hail from), you'd know the show would be a bit of a sensory overload – in a good way – and, I won't lie, this performance held my attention for longer than Oasis did five days earlier, which is saying something.
The spectacle was structured in three acts, with an encore, clocking up around two hours – even more impressive that the girls had done it the night before and showed no sign of fatigue from start to end.
While Chaeyoung had to skip this leg of the tour due to illness, TWICE as an eight-member group lost nothing once they hit the stage. Running out to screams, beneath an impressive four-sided digital screen setup on what would otherwise be the tennis court of Rod Laver, the girls quickly announced their arrival with 'This Is Four' from their newest album.
TWICE at Qudos Bank Arena (Sydney) on 2 November, 2025 - image supplied
Personally, I didn't have to wait long for my favourite song – 'Strategy' – from their 14th EP released last year. From that point, the first act was a bit of a blur – pink streamers covering punters in the first half a dozen rows around the stage area, high-energy tunes 'Set Me Free', 'I Can't Stop Me', and 'Make Me Go' – with the prerequisite screams from the crowd when their favourite vocalist took the lead.
From the lightsticks waving in unison, it was clear people had learnt the cheers for each song, which the group post online upon each release.
TWICE has sold more than 14 millions units since appearing on 'Sixteen', and unlike many Kpop acts, have grown in stature over their decade. Each member has carved their own identity and voice over this time, in a way that's felt more natural than manufactured, and it goes a long way to explaining their longevity and also why I was surrounded by people sobbing at various times.
They also have three Japanese members and one Taiwanese native in the line-up, and have a mix of English and Korean albums, and what they do they do exceptionally well.
As for the theatrics, there were at least half a dozen costume changes, as well as a backwards S-shaped stage being used to reach both ends of the arena, and a centre square platform that had multiple elevating sections. It was tight, hugely impressive and the girls hit every mark, showing again why they've been such a success.
The second act was a little more dramatic – there was the 2020 track 'Cry For Me', 'The Feels' from the following year, and excellent new tune 'Right Hand Girl', before they peeled offstage for the break between the final act.
TWICE at Qudos Bank Arena (Sydney) on 2 November, 2025 - image supplied
This might have been the highlight of the night, with Act III featuring each member performing a short solo in their own style. Personally, I'm Team Jeongyeon – who donned a cowboy outfit for her twangy time to shine on 'Fix A Drink' – and Taiwanese singer and dancer Tzuyu who opened the set with 'Dive In'.
Alongside the core members, an entire troupe of energetic backup dancers joined TWICE at various stages during this act and across the set, and the choreography from start to end was breathtakingly good.
As blue streamers again covered the fans close to the stage – it looked sticky, too – TWICE returned one final time for new number 'Me+You' and 2022's 'Talk That Talk'.
There wasn't enough time to get to every track fans wanted, but what we did get was all killer, no filler. By the end of the night, there wasn't a single person still sitting in their arena seats.
