Korean artists NCT Dream, SHINee’s Key, WEi and Alice brought joy to fans as they performed at the “Begin Again: K-pop Edition” concert held on May 29 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
After more than two years since the pandemic, concerts have been allowed in the country and Pinoy fans were excited to see the K-pop artists perform in person.
“Begin Again: K-pop Edition” was the first international concert held in the Philippines since the 2020 pandemic.
“I am so happy to be here after more than two years. I have waited for a K-pop concert to be held again and it finally came true,” said Cristina, a fan who went to the concert with friends.
For NCT Dream, this was a reunion with Pinoy fans. They were the last K-pop group to hold a concert in Manila in 2020 before lockdowns were imposed.
Since then, NCT Dream have released new albums, and Pinoy fans got to see them perform songs for the first time in person.
NCT Dream started their set with “Hot Sauce” followed by “Dive Into You,” two songs included in their “Hot Sauce” album released in May 2021.
They next performed “Hello Future,” the carrier track of the repackaged version of “Hot Sauce.” They ended their performance with “Glitch Mode,” a song in their latest album of the same name released last March.
“We are happy to be here, to be back after so long,” said Renjun.
“It’s been a while since we’ve been here,” said Jeno.
Chenle said, “We are happy to be here, to be on stage.”
Jeno noted that “I think it is our first time performing ‘Dive Into You’ overseas.”
“If we do a concert, we are definitely gonna come back to the Philippines,” said Jaemin before NCT Dream wrapped up their set.
K-pop girl group Alice, which debuted in 2017, opened the concert.
“We are finally back in the Philippines. It has been three years since we have been in the Philippines and we are really glad to be back,” said Alice, composed of EJ, Do-A, Chaejeong, Yeonjae, Yukyung, Sohee and Karin. .
They were formerly called Elris and they first performed in Manila at the K-pop World Music Festival in June 2019. EJ and Chaejeong were added to the group in 2020.
Alice opened the concert with “This is Me” followed by “We, First,” “Summer Dream,” “Power of Love,” “No Big Deal” and “Jackpot.”
On the other hand, the “Begin Again: K-pop Edition” became the avenue for K-pop group WEi to perform for the first time in the Philippines after debuting in October 2020.
WEi’s members are Yohan, Donghan, Yongha, Daehyeon, Seokhwa and Junseo. Donghan and Daehyeon were contestants in the survival audition show “Produce 101” season 2 while Yohan and Seokhwa joined the “Produce X 101” show. Yohan won first place and debuted in the group X1.
“Mahal ko kayong lahat (I love you all). It’s our first time in the Philippines. How do you guys feel? It’s nice that you guys are welcoming us. You are very warm. You guys are great,” WEi greeted the crowd.
At the concert, WEi performed “Twilight,” “All or Nothing,” “Too Bad,” “Super Bumpy” and “Bye Bye Bye.”
SHINee’s Key was the last performer in the concert. He sang “Saturday Night,” “Helium,” “This Life” and “Bad Love.”
“It’s been years since I’ve been here. You know what? Really my members, they seriously wanted to come here together. Let’s just hope we come here again,” he said after the crowd chanted “SHINee.”
When Key asked the crowd a song they wanted to hear, he was surprised when they shouted “Ring Ding Dong,” which was released by SHINee in 2009.
“You guys are still in that song? How old are you?” he asked, which elicited laughter from the crowd.
The “Begin Again: K-pop Edition” concert was produced by CDM Entertainment.
**media**
