TWICE Part 3: How Nine Girls Conquered Stadiums Around the World
From Fancy to sold-out stadiums in the US, Japan, and beyond, here is how TWICE became one of the biggest touring girl groups on the planet.
From K-Pop Stars to Global Icons
If you have followed this series so far, you already know the story. Part 1 covered how nine trainees became TWICE. Part 2 showed how “Cheer Up” and “TT” turned them into Korea’s hottest girl group.
But TWICE did not stop at being big in Korea. They wanted the whole world to know their name. This part of the story is about how they got there.
The Editor’s friend, the longtime ONCE fan mentioned earlier in this series, once said something simple but true: “I used to explain who TWICE was to people. Now people ask me if I’ve seen them live.”
A New Sound for a New Audience
By 2019, TWICE had already ruled Korean charts for years. But their music was starting to change. Songs like “Fancy” and “Feel Special” felt more grown-up than their earlier bubbly hits. The choreography was sharper. The visuals felt more polished.
That same year, TWICE launched their very first world tour, called Twicelights. It took them across Asia and into North America for the first time. Fans across Asia and North America sang along to “TT” and “Fancy,” often following the original Korean lyrics.
From arenas to full stadiums, TWICE’s stage kept getting bigger.
▶ Watch TWICE “Fancy” on YouTube
Breaking Into the US Charts
In 2020, TWICE released “More & More.” It became their first release—and first EP—to enter the Billboard 200, debuting at No. 200. It marked TWICE’s first measurable entry onto a major U.S. albums chart.
Then in October 2021, TWICE did something they had never done before. They released “The Feels,” their first-ever full English-language single. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 83. It sounds like a small number, but it made TWICE the fourth K-pop group to enter the Billboard Hot 100, following Wonder Girls, BTS, and BLACKPINK.
For a group that first became known for bright Korean-language songs about youthful romance, reaching the Hot 100 in English was proof of just how far they had come.
Stadiums Built for Legends
If 2021 was about charts, 2022 and 2023 were about stages. In 2022, TWICE became the first female K-pop act to headline a stadium show in the United States, selling out two nights at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles (the venue now known as BMO Stadium).
They did not stop there. Their fifth world tour, called “Ready to Be,” turned into one of the biggest tours any K-pop girl group has ever done. TWICE became the first K-pop girl group to headline and sell out both SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, two of the major American football stadiums in the country. In Japan, they became the first foreign female artist to headline Nissan Stadium, one of the country’s largest venues.
From arenas to full stadiums, TWICE’s stage kept getting bigger.
According to figures widely reported from the tour’s promoters, TWICE performed for roughly 1.5 million fans across the “Ready to Be” tour’s full run, which wrapped up in the summer of 2024. Numbers like that are usually reserved for the biggest pop stars in the world, not a group that started on a reality show back in 2015.
▶ Watch TWICE “Ready to Be” on YouTube
A Historic Award
In 2023, TWICE received the Breakthrough Artist Award at the Billboard Women in Music Awards. TWICE became the first K-pop group to receive an award at that ceremony. For a group more than seven years into their career, being called a “breakthrough” act still might sound strange. But it captured something true. TWICE was not just holding onto old fans. They were still winning brand-new ones, all over the world.
Why This Chapter Matters
The Editor’s friend has followed TWICE from a small studio stage on a survival show to a stadium packed with tens of thousands of strangers who all know the same lyrics. That kind of growth rarely happens by luck. It happens through years of small, steady wins that eventually add up to something enormous.
TWICE’s climb also shows something important about K-pop as a whole. A group does not need to change who they are to grow bigger. TWICE kept their playful spirit, their catchy hooks, and their nine distinct personalities the entire way. They simply built a bigger and bigger stage to share it on.
Related Reading
Curious how other groups built their own global fandoms? Check out our series on BLACKPINK’s rise to global fame or dive into the IVE origin story for another look at how a modern K-pop group grows from rookies to icons.
Rating: 9.2 / 10
A personal note from the Editor. Watching a group go from a cramped practice room to a sold-out U.S. stadium like SoFi Stadium or MetLife Stadium is a strange kind of magic. It reminds me that the biggest achievements in K-pop rarely come from a single big moment. They come from nine people refusing to stop growing.