Fans double for girl group Twice

South Korean girl group Twice have twice the number of fans at a venue twice as large for their second gig here

Members of the band Twice - comprising (from left) Chaeyoung, Sana, Tzuyu, Jihyo, Nayeon, Momo, Mina, Jeongyeon and Dahyun - say they are fans of Singapore's chilli and black pepper crab.
Members of the band Twice - comprising (from left) Chaeyoung, Sana, Tzuyu, Jihyo, Nayeon, Momo, Mina, Jeongyeon and Dahyun - say they are fans of Singapore's chilli and black pepper crab. ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN

Back in Singapore to perform for the second time, South Korean girl group Twice doubled down with twice the number of fans at a venue twice as large.

The nine-member outfit drew a sold-out audience of 5,000 at their debut Singapore concert at The Star Theatre last year. This time, they took on the Singapore Indoor Stadium, which has a capacity of 12,000.

Speaking at a press conference at the Grand Hyatt hotel last Saturday, the group said they were grateful to be able to return to Singapore so soon.

"I am thankful we have double the fans we had last year," said group leader Jihyo, 21, through an interpreter.

"I am looking forward to meeting double the number of people tomorrow night."

Twice made their debut in 2015, formed by JYP Entertainment from the Survivor-style reality television series Sixteen. Their hits such as Cheer Up and TT - both in 2016 - swiftly dominated South Korean music charts.

Last year, they became the first K-pop girl group to earn platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan for both an album and CD single in the same year.

Earlier this month, they became the first foreign female act to have a single album certified double platinum in Japan, having sold more than 500,000 copies of their third Japanese single Wake Me Up.

Singapore was the first South-east Asian stop on their sophomore tour, Twiceland Zone 2: Fantasy Park.

"We have a lot more songs than last year and, this year, we also have more unique stages for you to look forward to," said Chaeyoung, 19.

Only pre-approved questions submitted in advance were asked during the 18-minute session.

The band said they are fans of Singapore's chilli and black pepper crab, as well as the mantou buns that accompany it, and hope to taste it again before they leave.

They like to have fun behind the scenes of their popular music videos, which can score more than 100 million hits each on YouTube. They play guessing games such as Mafia while waiting to go on set, said Tzuyu, 19, the group's Taiwanese member.

Jeongyeon, 21, said: "For the music video of What Is Love, we had to dress up like men. That was very memorable for me."

The band shared their must-haves for travel, from bathbombs for Tzuyu to snacks for Momo, 21, and two or three sleeping masks for Nayeon, 22, who cannot sleep unless it is totally dark.

They hope their new songs such as What Is Love can help people learn Korean.

"It has very simple words which you would use in everyday life," said Jihyo.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 18, 2018, with the headline Fans double for girl group Twice. Subscribe