The AliExpress 2024 Weverse Con Festival was held at the Inspire Arena at the start of summer on June 15 and 16, and the opening numbers were performed by ILLIT on the first day, and TWS on the second. They delighted the audience with their first ever performance at a large-scale festival, and they even performed with Park Jin-young on a special JYP tribute performance. Now that the two fiery days of festivities have come to a close, TWS has brought us their “New Artists’ Weverse Con 2024 Festival Records” that features the members’ practice journals and their thoughts on their performance. We bring you: TWS’ success at their first ever WCF!

TWS’ First Crack at a Festival
Six boys sprinted on stage in a summery outfit, as if to signal the beginning of the summer season. TWS performed the opening number on the Weverse Con Paradise Stage on the second night of the festival: “hey! hey!” off their second mini album that was pre-released on June 5, but with an all-new dance break. The blue sky, the VCR depicting the blue sky and blue confetti were combined to create a breezy aesthetic on stage. The boys surprised everyone when they wore white suits and performed Park Jin-young’s “Honey”—singing the verse “hey yes you/ why don’t you come to me.” But these suave young men were nowhere to be seen on the second day—instead, they returned to being shiny new rookies. They bowed deeply after introducing themselves, doing their best to collect their breath after their performance. They didn’t forget to pump up the audience using the title of their song. “BFF” began right after YOUNGJAE asked, “Guys, can you be our best friends?” and the members walked down the thrust stage during the bridge to connect with the audience. When the audience sang the chorus together before they performed the last song “plot twist,” DOHOON slowly looked around the venue, committing it to memory. He paused for a while, basking in the lingering aftereffects, then said thank you with all his heart. Needless to say, the Weverse Con Festival has become a part of TWS members’ core memory.

 D-2 Thursday, June 13, 2024, Weather: ☼

SHINYU: We fine-tuned the details to the “hey! hey!” intro while we prepared for the concert, including the tribute performance. We still have a long way to go. I’ll have to work harder to bring our 42s an amazing performance. It was a productive day today.
DOHOON: What an honor it is to do a cover of Park Jin-young’s amazing song “Honey,” especially since we get to perform with the more seasoned artists. We watched a lot of Park Jin-young’s performance videos and worked through the smallest details with the members!
YOUNGJAE: I’m feeling this huge weight on my shoulders because we’re not only just performing on the Weverse Con stage, but because we’re actually performing with the amazing Park Jin-young. We worked even harder and shared a lot of ideas with the members to prepare a flawless performance. We really spared no time and effort to practice. Also, the choreography for the “hey! hey!” dance break was much more difficult than usual, so we practiced especially hard.
HANJIN: It’s our first time performing with Park Jin-young, and it’s our first ever Weverse Con performance, which I’ve been dreaming about since our debut. I practiced really really hard with the members to bring you an absolutely perfect performance. We practiced “Honey” while holding the mic, and worked on what sort of expressions we should make while we sing, or what part of choreography we should highlight.
JIHOON: It finally hit me that we are going to perform at the Weverse Con Festival, the stage we’ve been dreaming about. I felt a huge sense of responsibility since we’re doing the opening performance. I was really pressured because we had to do an intro before “hey! hey!” but I’m also really happy and excited that we get to show our 42s something new.
KYUNGMIN: Weverse Con Festival is right around the corner. The closer we get to this day that we’ve been dreaming of even before our debut, the more excited I get. I am absolutely ecstatic. We’re not only performing by ourselves, but we’re also doing a number with the great Park Jin-young, which makes me twice as nervous. We don’t have much time left, but I’ll do my best to prepare for the performance.

D-1 Friday, June 14, 2024, Weather: ☁

SHINYU: We’re showing everyone our performance tomorrow. I’ve had a lot on my mind and made a lot of trial and error while we prepared for our show, but we’ve made it this far because the members were there together. We have to show everyone what we’ve worked so hard on. I’m ready. But I’m shaking already. I’m a bit concerned whether I’ll be able to overcome my nerves tomorrow. But I’m sure all my worries will melt away when I listen to our 42s’ cheers—I’m not worried at all.
DOHOON: We went to our last rehearsal! I still can’t believe that I’m actually getting to perform with Park Jin-young. I’m thinking that I should make our performance that much more amazing! That’s why I performed like the real deal during our rehearsal! We worked really hard not just for the tribute show, but also for our own performance—we prepared a dance break for “hey! hey!” for that extra something new! I hope that more K-pop fans will get to know TWS and show us more support! I’m so nervous and excited. I’ll do my best at our performance tomorrow. Fighting!
YOUNGJAE: I can’t believe we’re performing tomorrow. It finally hit me that the Weverse Con Festival was starting tomorrow, only after we did the tribute show rehearsal. I want to show the audience everything we’ve been preparing for, and leave no regrets, as always. But we never know what will happen and that makes me nervous. I really hope that we get to show everyone what we’ve been working on tomorrow.
HANJIN: I'm so excited but also nervous for our first Weverse Con performance. I know our team worked really hard and hope that we can show everyone our unique style and skills. I’m going to do my best to learn from the amazing artists that we’ll be performing with—it’s an amazing opportunity to get more experience. I’ll do my best for our 42s, and to live up to their expectations.
JIHOON: I’ve gotten more nervous because the performance that I’ve been picturing in my head is just around the corner. But I’ve felt my nerves turn to excitement, and I’ve been practicing harder than ever, absolutely looking forward to the concert. It’s such an honor that we get to perform alongside so many amazing artists, and I believe that we’ll get to learn a lot from them. It’s finally tomorrow! I’m going to go to sleep, excited for our performance.
KYUNGMIN: Weverse Con that I’ve been dreaming of! I’m so nervous thinking that we’re doing the opening number, but I also can’t wait to show our 42s our new performances that we’ve been working on, because we’ve practiced really hard for it. I’ll tell myself to enjoy being on stage.

D-2 Sunday, June 16, 2024, Weather: ☂

SHINYU: Our performance is all over. It feels like just yesterday when we learned the choreography to “Honey” with our performance director, but that show is now behind us. The hand gesture of sweeping my hair back in the chorus was actually my idea that I came up with just two hours before. I hesitated at first, but I think I did a good job. I can still vividly feel what it was like to perform with the large crowd cheering for us. My nerves just melted away as soon as I heard our 42s roar as we went up on stage. I really hope that our 42s who came to cheer for us had fun watching our performance and are energized from it.
DOHOON: I’ve always wanted to perform on the Weverse Con Festival stage, and how amazing is it that I got to really perform after debuting as part of TWS? It was one of the most nerve-wracking performances I’ve had to do, but I realized how happy I felt when I sang. It was only for a short while, but I am so grateful that I got to perform with Park Jin-young—I really learned a lot from the experience. I worked really hard to show our 42s and K-pop fans the best of myself! All the fans who have come to see us, the Weverse Con 2024 staff that has been working tirelessly to help the artists look their best on stage, and everyone involved—thank you so much.
YOUNGJAE: It’s all over. I am so happy that we got yet another amazing experience. I wonder what a perfect performance is every time I get off stage. I’ve practiced so hard with the members and the instructors, but I have a nagging feeling that I could have done better. But that too, is probably all part of the process of growing. I won’t stop here—we’ll be TWS who always moves forward. Our 42s and audience, thank you for coming to see our performance including the tribute. I hope that you got to see how passionate we are. I hope that you enjoyed the Weverse Con Festival, and we look forward to your energetic cheers and support. This has been YOUNGJAE of TWS.
HANJIN: Now that our Weverse Con performance is over, I feel a flooding sense of gratitude. It was an honor to perform with the seasoned artists for the first time as a member of TWS. I’m grateful for the experience we’ve gotten in stage direction, and music interpretation from working with the other artists. I think it will be a valuable lesson for our musical career going forward. I have gotten a lot of energy from our 42s’ cheers—every single cheer and smile felt incredibly warm. I was able to do my best and enjoy every moment thanks to you. All our 42s, fans, artists, staff - thank you again, and I look forward to seeing you again. Our 42s, I was touched and so grateful for your passionate cheers and support. Every smile and every cheer is engraved deep in my heart. 42s, your support is my biggest drive, and the reason why I work so hard on stage. I can enjoy making music and express myself all thanks to you. Weverse Con Festival wasn’t just an opportunity for us to perform but was an invaluable experience for growth. We’ll do our very best to bring you even better music and performance in the future. I hope that we get to meet you and make even more memories on so many more stages! Thank you!
JIHOON: Performing on stage is a strange experience. We practice really hard, and put so much of our time into it, but then it ends in mere minutes—seconds, even. But I’ve learned so much from this performance. It was a huge honor, and I’m so grateful that I got to perform with so many amazing artists. I kept on warming up my legs and my vocals until right before it was time for us to go up on stage. I kept telling myself that I’d be glad if I did better than the rehearsal, and if I did just 10% better than when we practiced. I was so happy for TWS to have the honor of doing the opening performance for the Weverse Con Festival. I’d consider this performance a success if we got to show a different side of TWS. I wanted to show the world the colors of TWS through the performance that we’ve prepared. I think that my determination to show people what sort of team TWS is is my driver for growth. I am so grateful for 42s who always push us to grow in the most positive way.
KYUNGMIN: Our performance is over. I can’t believe that it’s over already, and I always feel a little regret when we step off stage after we’re finished. But I’ll do my best so that I don’t feel the same way in our next performance. I am extremely grateful that so many 42s came, and I’ll try to show you a much more amazing side of me the next time around. I always get nervous because I want to do my best on stage—my body just moves by itself whenever I hear 42s cheer for us. I am so, so grateful, and I’ll never forget how grateful I am of you going forward. Thank you so much 42!