By Zelenny Lozano / Pink B
Any genre that is truly worldwide involves passing through Austin, the live music capital of the world. The K-Pop girl group TWICE performed the final stop of their U.S. 2025-2026 This Is For World Tour at the Moody Center on April 17th and 18th.
I have been a casual listener of the group throughout their decade-long career. After I attended Night 1 in Austin, I became a genuine fan, or a “Once”, as TWICE fans are endearingly called.
TWICE is comprised of nine members. The girl group debuted back in 2015 and has been rising in popularity for over a decade. They recently celebrated their ten-year anniversary with the album Ten: The Story Goes On (some of the album’s tracks were performed on this tour). Most of the material performed on the This Is For World Tour, however, focuses on their fourth studio album This Is For, also released in 2025. TWICE is an extremely prolific act, even by K-Pop industry standards. They have released five studio albums in Korea, six studio albums in Japan, and 14 EPs, plus compilation albums, remix albums, and plenty of spinoff/solo projects.
The This Is For Tour had TWICE performing on a 360 stage for the first time, which maximized the Moody Center’s setting. The show was a spectacle that consisted of lasers, smoke, confetti, and several screen-covered cubes that descended from above and created various formations over the stage. The largest stage in the center had risers that elevated the idols up at different intervals. Two smaller stages on either side allowed them to get closer to fans on the furthest ends of the arena.
Two out of the nine TWICE members, Dahyun and Chaeyoung, were unable to perform at the Austin stop due to injuries. The group didn’t try to hide their absence. Dance formations left empty spaces and prerecorded verses were patched in for their singing parts. Missing Chaeyoung was a disappointment. I had picked her as my bias (favorite member, in K-Pop terms) after I watched their documentary TWICE: One in a Mill10n and learned that she’s the most alternative member. Despite the missing members, the stage felt plenty full with seven idols onstage. They were also supported by a large dance crew (including male and female dancers) for their biggest hits and a live band. Company members showed off their skills during the concert’s interludes.
This is for all my ladies
Who don’t get hyped enough (Hey, ladies)
If you’ve been done wrong, then this your song
So turn it up (Turn it up for me, uh, uh)
The show opened with the title track of the album (and name of the tour) “This Is For”—a bombastic, female empowerment hype song carefully engineered with this exact moment in mind. Four giant, connected screens descended onto the central stage, then ascended to reveal TWICE in all-white, pop-star perfect outfits. Light sticks flashed across the arena in colors that coordinated with the color scheme of each performance. After performing a few songs, they paused to let each member address the crowd, Jihyo in English and the others through a peppy, omnipresent interpreter.
In another concert segment, the idols took turns performing solo tracks in quick succession in a medley of pop micro-genres, from Jihyo’s hip hop-inspired “ATM” to Jeonyeon’s Texas-country moment “Fix a Drink”. A catchy electronic hook marked my favorite solo “Move Like That” by Momo, the group’s star dancer. The segment ended with Jihyo and Jeongyeon’s performance of “Takedown,” and the crowd went wild.
Jihyo delivered a standout performance the entire night, with powerhouse vocals and energetic, precise dancing that showcased her role as leader of the group. She outpaced every single one of her fellow members, and reminded me of front woman Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls. She also took the lead in addressing the crowd in English, instructing us on the call-and-response chant that would kick off the next phase of the show.
(Jihyo) This is for Once!
(Crowd) This is for TWICE!
Nayeon and Jeongyeon were also strong leaders throughout the night with their consistent vocal performances. Sana showed more stage presence than her cutesy and bubbly personality presented in their 2025 documentary. Texas-born member Mina seemed to give a little extra energy to the audience in her solo performance, perhaps due to her connection to nearby San Antonio. Every member is somebody’s bias, but fan-favorites Tzuyu and Momo received some of the loudest cheers and donned the cutest styling.
For the grand finale, TWICE performed the surprise encore song “Signal” and then the final roll call track “TWICE SONG” to take their bows.
K-Pop’s popularity has grown among non-Korean diaspora audiences over the past 15 years, though it can be traced back to the Kim Sisters as early as 1953. The 2007 KORUS free trade agreement laid the framework for viral hits like Psy’s revolutionary 2012 “Gangnam Style” and breakthrough acts like BTS and Blackpink to establish K-Pop’s place in the American mainstream. In 2025, K-Pop Demon Hunters became the most-streamed Netflix film of all time and cemented the impact of the music genre in another format. The Oscar-winning movie soundtrack features TWICE members Jihyo, Chaeyoung, and Jeongyeon.They recorded a version of the song “Takedown” for the film’s end credits. I imagine their association with the most successful film of 2025 helped them secure the expansive 78-show world tour that brought them to Austin for the very first time.
One of the most important aspects of a K-Pop artist is their fanbase, and TWICE has carefully cultivated their Once fandom over the last 10 years. The passion and enthusiasm of the Onces was evident throughout the show. The loud cheers and specific chants felt more like inside jokes to this casual listener. Several members threw water at fans in the pit, not unlike a priest in a Catholic church throwing holy water at his congregation. Before the encore, there was a dedicated Once segment where fans around the arena were projected onto the giant screens. Their task? A dance off to a randomly selected TWICE song. Every fan featured was ready for the spotlight and executed precise choreography for the camera.
I experienced the passion of the fandom firsthand when I caught up with some friends as soon as I arrived. Austinites Aaron, Juan, and Fish. Superfans Aaron and Juan were the ones who informed me that two members would be absent that night, and explained how they’d been injured in recent months. They patiently answered my basic questions about the group, helped me learn how to properly pronounce the members’ names, and wondered excitedly about what encore song would be chosen that night. The amount of details they knew about TWICE surprised me, their friend of over 10 years. “Tzuyu is the youngest, but also the tallest,” Aaron said. This seemed like random information at first, but it ended up helping me easily identify her during the performance. I appreciated having their guidance as I entered the TWICE universe for the first time.
Sometimes, I want more edge and risktaking from the K-Pop groups. But, critical listeners understand that K-Pop is intentionally engineered to spread positivity, joy, and unity to its listeners, often to the detriment of its artists, particularly female K-Pop performers. In 2023, labels Hybe and Geffen collaborated to debut the girl group Katseye, as a hybrid first-of-its-kind project between K-Pop and U.S. music labels. Katseye has brought me the edge I’ve been craving from K-Pop groups. They sing more explicit lyrics, share experimental sounds, and consist of diverse members. But this hybrid project has been met with controversy and simply too many cooks in the kitchen. This ultimately has led to one member’s mysterious hiatus and the fan base left in shambles.
There was so much joy amongst the TWICE fandom on this night. The image of unity among band members is one of my favorite aspects of K-Pop as a genre. Lasting as an active, large group for over a decade is no small feat, especially in the volatile world of music groups. TWICE might be following a tried and true K-Pop formula, but it’s worked extremely well for both them and their fans. K-Pop’s built-in cheesiness may not be for everyone, especially to genre outsiders, but for their fans, it’s comforting to know there is a girl group whose purpose is to inspire hope, spread joy, and provide a safe place away from the hardships of real life.
The group’s concert was designed meticulously for us to escape into the world of TWICE. I had so much fun on that journey that I officially became a Once.
(feature image credit: David Brendan Hall / JYP Entertainment)