TWICE’s first North America tour: will they be like BLACK PINK who are unable to sell out the tickets?

Many are predicting that TWICE will have to face lots of difficulties when going on a tour in North America which is an unfamilliar place for them.

Recently announced their comeback, TWICE shocked the public once again by revealing their world tour schedule with 4 venues in North America and it is highly-expected that there will be added nights. This is the first time this 9-member group arranges a concert in this area. This is why, asides from the excitement at first, many are concerned by the result.

This is not just an unfounded concern because before TWICE, the public still hasn’t forgotten about BLACK PINK’s North America concerts. The 4 girls from YG couldn’t sell all the tickets, unlike what YG had said to the media, even though the girls had had many activities and were quite a popular name there. With their colleague as an example, JYP’s decision this time is seen as risky because TWIC still doesn’t have any impressive activity in North America.

TWICE has to face a risk where they might not be able to sell their North America concert tickets due to their low public recognition at this market. This is a result of their music style. TWICE’s songs are mostly simple songs with a cheery and bright atmosphere which are made to be hits at places where the cutesy concepts are widely loved like in the Korean and Japanese markets, but this is not the trend of the US-UK music market.

You can see the attitude of the US public towards TWICE’s music by looking at the prestigious Western music charts. Their song never appeared on Billboard’s two most important charts, the Billboard 200 and Hot 100, which proved that TWICE is less received by the audience and also doesn’t have enough fans to stream their music to higher rankings.

Not only music but also TWICE’s image is a barrier for them to gain the attention of the US public. The dynamic and lovely concept they have been pursuing since debut is not matching with the taste of the audience here, who like sexy and hot concept or the “cool” and “swaggy” girl crush concept.

The unpopular music and images that do not match the public’s taste become a major barrier for TWICE to have a large fandom in North America like BTS or BLACK PINK. The group used to perform many times at the KCON music festival in the US and received a positive reaction. But this does not mean that they have many fans because such festivals often attract Kpop fans who come to see many different groups. If it’s just TWICE’s concert only, it’s not sure that they can gather many people who are willing to pay for tickets.

However, TWICE can still avoid the non-sold-out situation of BLACK PINK if they have a cleverer strategy. BLACK PINK made a mistake when they opened too many nights in pretty large stadiums, while they just started to gain popularity in America. TWICE, as a brand new and unpopular face, can completely overcome this limitation if they hold fewer shows and only sell tickets at small avenues which are suitable with the group’s popularity.

All things considered, TWICE’s main markets are still Korea and Japan, so it is likely that the group’s tour in North America is just a test of JYP to see their coverage in this market. Learning from the previous groups and knowing very well the influence of TWICE after 4 years of working, perhaps the company will be wise enough to not make their artist perform at empty concerts.

Source: Kenh14