TWICE performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland, Calif. on June 12, 2023. Roman Gokhman/STAFF.

OAKLAND — K-pop nonet TWICE made a splash when it made its Bay Area debut at Oakland Arena last year. How would the girl group top that? By returning with even more bangers, coming close to selling out two nights at the arena and displaying a lot more confidence and sex appeal. On the first of two nights in the Bay, and just the second show of its READY TO BE world tour, the group — Jihyo, Dahyun, Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Sana, Tzuyu, Momo, Mina and Chaeyoung — turned up the fireworks early and often.

TWICE’s songs largely fit into the pop mold, with several songs like “Set me Free” and “Moonlight Sunrise” hewing closer to R&B. The former, which opened the show, was still a banger, with a cameraman snaking his way through the ladies on stage, creating the sort of in-your face video sequence that Rosalía pulled off so well on her latest tour.

The production was actually similar to the group’s last Bay Area stop. The large main stage was connected to a secondary stage in the middle of the floor by a wide catwalk. There was a floor-to-ceiling screen behind the stage, which was broken up into top and bottom sections by a curved arch, from which a lighting rig hung. Not only did this design allow the TWICE production team to create a sense of depth on stage, but it allowed them to shrink the stage by dimming everything above the arch.

TWICE performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland, Calif. on June 12, 2023.

Flares shot upward from the stage on “I Can’t Stop Me,” after which TWICE paused to say hello, though most of what each member said was drowned out by screams. The girls played up their siren status throughout the night, but more so in the first half of the concert. During “Go Hard” they sensually danced as silhouettes in front of a bright orange backdrop (think “James Bond” opening film scene but multiplied by nine).

During the first of two solo segments, Momo’s cover of Beyoncé’s “MOVE” included her performing a pole-dancing breakdown. Immediately after her came Mina, whose cover of Ariana Grande’s “7 rings” involved her shaking her rear end as cash rained down over her. During both of these performances, and several others, the focus was less on singing and more about dancing and aesthetics.

But there were plenty of vocal highlights, too. Jihyo had her vocal stamp all over the show, from belting away on prior smash hit “The Feels,” a new song from an upcoming solo album called “Nightmare” and elsewhere.

Dahyun, wearing what looked like a wedding dress, impressed on a solo cover of Colbie Caillat’s “Try,” while playing a white baby grand piano.

Dahyun of TWICE performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland, Calif. on June 12, 2023.

“The piano gives me comfort and peace,” she later said, also adding how TWICE has been experimenting with performing with a band for the first time.

Speaking of: The second half of the show included a guitarist, keyboardist, drummer and bassist flanking the stage on most songs. Backing tracks were still used, but the musicians added an extra richness to the performance, especially with the drumming reverberating through the room. The only thing that didn’t quite work was when Chaeyoung came out for her solo song and performed “My Guitar” while sitting on a stool, holding a guitar in her lap and, at most, strumming it a few times.

Besides Dahyun, other solo highlights included Sana’s take on Dua Lipa’s “New Rules” and Nayeon’s appropriately titled “POP!” which was one of numerous bubblegum pop songs TWICE nailed to perfection. Others in this category included “Dance the Night Away,” “Talk That Talk” and a medley of “YES or YES,” “What Is Love?,” “Cheer Up,” “Likey,” “Heart Shaker” and others.

For her solo song, Jeongyeon covered Lizzo’s “Juice,” replacing the Lizzo’s flute playing with a recorder part she later said was Lady Gaga’s “Bloody Mary,” repopularized by the TV show “Wednesday.”

TWICE performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland, Calif. on June 12, 2023.

“Queen of Hearts,” meanwhile, had a pop-punk feel, and “Feel Special,” with a Jihyo mid-song belt, had a disco-y vibe to it. TWICE kept the balladry to a minimum, but “When We Were Kids” was a beautiful touch, with them performing with baby and childhood photos behind them.

TWICE’s show is better experienced without knowing all its twists, but it’s likely no longer a surprise that the riser on the main stage that delivers the group from below isn’t the only moving set piece. During “Cry For Me,” one of the show’s biggest standouts, some of the group were lifted on multiple levels while singing.

TWICE concluded the show by twice spinning a wheel that determined the last two songs: “Signal” and the tour debut of “TT.”

Follow editor Roman Gokhman at Twitter.com/RomiTheWriter.