Twins choose intimacy over the Coliseum
Cantopop duo Twins will bring their new Twins Side by Side Concert to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre for three shows from December 18 to 20, opting for a more intimate setting instead of the much larger Hong Kong Coliseum.
Charlene Choi and Gillian Chung announced the concert plans on Thursday, September 10, saying the shows will give them an opportunity to revisit songs from their more than 20 year career that have rarely been performed live.
The concert will focus on what the pair describe as their "Sidetrack" songs, including tracks that received little promotion when they were first released and others that have remained largely outside the spotlight.
For Choi, the decision to stage a concert built around these songs was straightforward.
"Because we’ve never done it before," she said when asked why Twins had decided to create a Sidetrack concert.
Chung revealed that the idea had actually been discussed between the two singers for more than a decade.
The pair have released numerous albums since Twins began their career, producing a large catalogue of songs that includes well known hits as well as tracks that never received the same promotional attention.
"There are so many hidden gems and good songs that we really want to sing for fans this time," Choi said.
More than 60 songs considered
Putting the setlist together has been a substantial task.
Twins initially considered more than 60 Sidetrack songs before reducing the selection to more than 40. They expect to perform more than 30 songs during the December concerts.
Chung joked that if the pair added another 10 songs to the programme, the final number could approach 40.
The size of the song list also created an amusing problem for Choi. Some of the tracks were so rarely performed that even she found herself having to become reacquainted with them.
Choi joked that many of the songs felt almost like new material because she was not particularly familiar with them anymore.
For longtime Twins fans, however, the setlist could offer something different from a conventional greatest hits concert. Instead of relying mainly on the songs that have remained most familiar to the public, the December shows will draw attention to recordings that may have been overlooked when they were originally released.
That gives the concerts a retrospective quality without simply repeating the duo's most established material.
Why the HKCEC was chosen
The choice of venue is closely connected to the concept.
Twins could have selected the Hong Kong Coliseum, one of the city's best known venues for major Cantopop concerts, but Choi said the duo did not want a setting that felt too large for this particular project.
She pointed to Joey Yung's My Secret Live concerts as an influence.
Choi said she had attended several of Yung's shows and enjoyed the closer interaction between the performer and the audience. That experience helped shape the decision to choose a venue somewhere between a small concert hall and the much larger Coliseum.
"So this time we picked something in between," Choi said. "Not as small as Joey’s, but not as big as the Coliseum."
The HKCEC therefore gives Twins a setting where the audience can feel closer to the performers while still allowing the duo to mount a substantial production.
For a concert centred on songs that have a more personal connection to the pair, that closeness is particularly fitting.
A title built around two decades together
The name Side by Side carries more than one meaning.
It refers not only to the relationship between the better known songs and the lesser heard Sidetrack material, but also to the partnership between Choi and Chung.
The two singers have spent more than two decades working together, appearing on stage as Twins through different periods of their careers.
Choi said they had stood "shoulder to shoulder" through the highs and lows of their professional lives.
That history forms part of the concert's identity. Rather than treating the show simply as another entry in Twins' long list of performances, the pair are using it to look back at material connected to different stages of their career.
The songs may not have been the biggest commercial successes at the time, but their inclusion gives fans an opportunity to hear material that has received far less attention.
It also allows Twins to revisit their own catalogue from a different angle.
Racing inspired image adds another layer
The visual concept for the concert extends the Side by Side idea beyond the music.
The promotional poster features Choi and Chung in racing driver outfits, a look that connects directly with the phrase "side by side" and the image of two competitors running alongside each other on a racetrack.
Chung pointed out the connection between the concert title and racing.
The choice of clothing also gave the singers an opportunity to try something they had never done before.
Over the course of their long career, Twins have experimented with numerous styles and images. Racing inspired outfits, however, had not previously formed part of their public look.
"We’ve never tried looking cool like this," Chung joked, drawing laughter from Choi.
The exchange captured the playful relationship that has remained part of the duo's public identity throughout their career.
Fans can expect a different Twins setlist
With more than 40 Sidetrack songs under consideration and more than 30 expected to make the final concert programme, the December shows are likely to offer a different experience from a standard Twins performance built around their most familiar hits.
The project also gives Choi and Chung a chance to revisit songs that may have been overshadowed by the bigger singles released during their career.
For fans who have followed Twins for years, some of those tracks may bring back memories of earlier albums and periods that have not been revisited often on stage. For newer listeners, the concerts could provide an introduction to parts of the duo's catalogue that have remained largely unexplored.
The three performances at the HKCEC will take place from December 18 to 20, with the venue choice reflecting the singers' stated aim of creating more direct contact with their audience.
After more than 20 years together, Choi and Chung are not simply returning to the familiar songs that built their reputation. They are turning towards the material that spent years in the background.
And for Twins fans, the question is simple: which forgotten Twins song would you most want to hear performed live this December?