tour in July, marking a new chapter in connecting with audiences outside of Asia.

While Twice has always had a significant international following, 2019 has seen the group make major strides toward establishing itself as a global K-pop leader. Given that all performance stops in this kind of tour are held at massive dome venues-the ones in Japan have capacities of around 50,000 each-they offer unassailable evidence of a group’s ability to drive ticket sales. Earlier this year, Twice became the first K-pop girl group to hold a dome tour in Japan, attracting an estimated 210,000 attendees across five concerts. Besides regularly topping charts and winning music awards in South Korea, the nine-member ensemble has seen almost unparalleled success in Japan. On YouTube, BTS, Blackpink and soloist Psy are the only K-pop acts who have music videos with more views than those of Twice. The frequent releases have propelled Twice’s rise to the upper echelon of Korean acts. That is an ambitious schedule even for K-pop, where the norm is to promote one or two comebacks annually. With more than ten albums and EPs dropped since their 2015 debut, the group has consistently released new music, in Korean and Japanese, at least three times a year. The occasion offered a snapshot of the anticipation that surrounds the girl group’s musical releases-a regular occurrence given that Twice is one of the most prolific K-pop acts.

Twice debut year