Friday the 13th did what it could to try and curse TWICE’s first ever visit to Washington DC, and it quickly became a question of whether the veteran Kpop group could overcome a major road bump on such short notice? Days prior to the show, Dahyun, the lead rapper of the girl group was ruled out of the line up due to a fractured ankle she could no longer power through. Pictures of her sitting throughout shows over a month ago and even struggling to get to her chair was proof enough that their team made the right choice to let her step away to heal.
Regardless of the injury, ONCE, the name of TWICE’s fandom, arrived in droves to their sold out show at Capital One Arena. Every fast food spot around the arena was crawling with their fans, eagerly awaiting the show’s 8pm start time. Inside the venue, fans were racing to get in line for the extremely crowded merch lines.
Fans lucky enough to get their merch early were then racing to their seat to take pictures with the stage, which had “TWICE THIS IS FOR” displayed in huge text on the video cube that hung over the main section of the stage. The stage itself was one giant square in the center, flanked by two rectangles that connect to the center square by offset runways. The simple looking S shape meant that regardless of where fans were sitting, the Kpop idols would be able to directly address every section.
At a certain point it almost felt like the showrunners knew the crowd was getting restless, because suddenly the hanging video cube began to play an edit that showcased all the artists under JYP Entertainment (TWICE’s management). As TWICE’s portion of the video came on, the crowd went ballistic, with a group behind me shrieking like their life depended on it . Fast forward around 15 minutes and suddenly that same video was playing and not a single person toned down their response to it. Instead, since more people had entered the stadium, the screaming got only louder and louder.
Watch the official music video for “This Is For” by TWICE on YouTube:
The pacing of the actual show was remarkable, with nearly every moment having something going on for the fans to enjoy. Whether it be the back up dancers doing a quick routine, a live band having an impassioned jam session, or hypnotic videos of the group playing on the video cube, every intermission felt less like a chore and more of a new angle into the group. The main reason for all the intermissions is the several outfit changes each member had to go through during the show’s runtime. A quick scroll through TWICE’s official instagram reveals that every outfit worn for each show they do is unique to that day, never to be seen again.
The stage itself added a lot of grandeur to the performance. Seemingly out of nowhere, the floor of the center square began to rise and fall as if TWICE was composed of several talented earth benders. For one song, the floor rose just enough so the girls could sit in a circle to perform a slower ballad. Then at certain parts, the girls would stand motionlessly on top of their respective pillars looking out to the crowd like Greek gods atop Mount Olympus. How they manage to transport it from venue to venue is beyond me, but explains the gaps in time between each leg of the tour.
It’s unreal how comfortable the group is on stage, from having random interactions with people in the pit, grabbing a sash from the crowd in the middle of a song, or sporadically having dance offs with people deep in the crowd. For them, Capital One Arena is like a small intimate show. Meanwhile, there were certain parts where they would lock in and it became quite evident why they so easily sold out two nights in DC. Arguably the most impressive part of the whole show was when each member performed one of their solo hits in quick succession. Each member would suddenly appear after the last, all dawning brand new outfits that were entirely unique to the genre of the song being performed. From country to hip hop to an intimate ballad, each TWICE member was allowed to showcase their individual talents, displaying just how deep their roster is. The speed and eclectic nature highlighted how the group truly is a sum of its very unique parts.
Finally to answer the question, how did the nine-member group fare with one member missing? I mean this in the best way possible, but it’s almost as if no one was missing to begin with. Allow me to explain before ONCE eats me alive. The eight idols that were able to perform and the production team behind them were able to adapt so well that a casual fan might not even notice that someone was missing for a while. Outside of small gaps in spacing, or one of the nine rising pillars on the stage being empty at times, the concert felt about as smooth as can be for how little time they had to adjust to the injury. A counter theory is that perhaps they were wheeling Dahyun out to the previous shows until they could figure out how to perform without her. Either way, respect to the idols and those around them for putting on an incredible show.
Here are some photos of TWICE performing live at Capital One Arena on Feb. 13, 2026. All pictures by Alyssa Piazza for JYP Entertainment.
