South Korea-based Filipino global pop group HORI7ON showcased what they have achieved and learned so far as idols in their first-ever concert in Manila. 

Vinci, Kim, Kyler, Reyster, Winston, Jeromy and Marcus held their “HORI7ON 1st Concert: Friend-SHIP [Voyage To Manila]” on Sept. 9 at the Araneta Coliseum. 

The concert marked their return to the Philippines, reuniting them with their families, friends and fans. 

Filipino global pop group HORI7ON at their first-ever concert in Manila on Sept. 9 (MLD Entertainment, Jonathan Hicap)

HORI7ON debuted in South Korea on July 24 with the album “Friend-Ship,” becoming the first Filipino pop group to do so. 

The members were chosen through the survival program “Dream Maker.” They held their first fan meeting in Manila in April and flew to South Korea for their training under MLD Entertainment, which manages K-pop group Lapillus. 

They debuted in South Korea on July 24 with the album “Friend-Ship.” 

HORI7ON in South Korea (MLD Entertainment)

Filipino global pop group HORI7ON at their first-ever concert in Manila on Sept. 9 (Jonathan Hicap)

HORI7ON opened the concert with “Meteor,” “Dash” and “Tiger,” which are all included in their debut album. 

“Sobrang na-miss namin kayo (We missed you so much),” said Kim. 

Winston said, “Thank you so much for coming here!” while Reyster said, “Miss na miss na namin kayo (We missed you).” 

The concert highlighted their performance skills, especially with their choreography just like a K-pop group, having been trained under MLD Entertainment. 

HORI7ON also performed songs such as “Lovey Dovey,” “Birthday,” “Death or Paradise,” “Hit Me,” Take My Hand,” “Odd Eye,” “How You Feel,” “Six7een,” and “Salamat [Thank You].” 

They also did dance covers of SB19’s “Gento,” Seventeen’s “Super,” TXT’s “Sugar Rush Ride,” “S-Class” by Stray Kids and “Drunk-Dazed” by ENHYPEN. 

Reyster danced to NewJeans’ “ETA,” Vinci to Jeon Somi’s “Fast Forward” and Kyler performed “Silhouette” featuring Wilson of boy band New:ID. 

“We did it! Our K-pop performance and cover of SB19. We are representing not only the Philippines but Korea as well because of the trainers as we were trained so it really gives us pressure to be able to show these things to you guys. But because of you guys, it makes it worth it,” said Vinci. 

Messages from their parents 

HORI7ON became emotional when they performed “Mama,” a song that pays tribute to moms. Marcus, the youngest, cried during the number. 

“We are so happy to meet our parents again,” said Vinci. 

A surprise video containing messages from their parents made them cry again on stage. 

“First of all, congratulations, HORI7ON. I know you worked really hard for this special day. And to my Vinci, congratulations as well. Take care of your members and most importantly, take care of your physical and mental health,” said Vinci’s mom. 

“Kim, welcome home. At mahal na mahal ka namin. Sana alagaan mo parati ang sarili mo and always pray kay Lord (We love you so much. Please take care of yourself always and always pray to the Lord),” said Kim’s mom. 

“Alam ko na hapingk -happy ako sa inyo ‘nak at proud na proud kami sa yo. Sa lahat ng mga pagsubok nakayanan mo. Ginawa mo yung best mo kaya ‘fighting’ lang Ky (I know that I’m so happy for you and we are proud of you. You managed all the challenges. You did your best so keep on ‘fighting’ Ky),” said Kyler’s mom. 

“Since you were a child, you truly are a remarkable and kind-hearted individual. Always remember Reyster , we love you and God bless,” said Reyster’s mom. 

“‘Wag kang makakalimot na magdasal palagi. Mag-ingat ka sa sarili mo. kayong lahat na grupo ng HORI7ON, God bless (Don’t forget to always pray. Take care of yourself. To all of you in HORI7ON, God bless,” said Winston’s mom. 

“Nak, sobrang nakakaproud ka. Pagbutihin mo, ituloy-tuloy mo lang ang pangarap mo. Andito lang ang daddy mo. Susuportahan kita hanggang kaya ko (Son, I’m proud of you. Keep on improving, just continue your dream. Daddy is just here. I will support you until I can),” said Jeromy’s dad. 

“All your pagod and practices are all worth it. Congrats ‘nak. I wanna hug you and kiss you,” said Marcus’ mom.  

A fan video was also shown, highlighting their victory during “Dream Maker” and messages from their supporters. 

“We still have a long way to go but we really prepared for this concert because we want to show the hard work that we put through when we were training back in Korea. For our families, for our Filipino Anchors, we wanted to give back and give our 100 percent,” said Vinci. 

“We’re gonna continue to work hard. Hopefully we will see each other again. This is not the last day,” said Marcus. 

Messages for fans, supporters

HORI7ON members thanked their fans and the public for their support.

“Nagpapasalamat talaga ako sa inyo. Na-appreciate nyo yung effort at thank you sa mama ko kasi kadarating nya lang kagabi dito galing Bacolod. Walang bibitaw. Kahit nasa Korea kami nandun pa rin kayo na sumusuporta sa amin. Kayo po yung bumubuhay sa mga pangarap namin (I really want to thank you. You appreciate the effort and thank you my mama who arrived only last night from Bacolod. Don’t let go. Even if we are in Korea, you are still here supporting us. You are the ones who make our dreams alive),” said Kim. 

Marcus said, “I really want to say thank you for coming today.  I didn’t expect that there would be so many people here tonight. Thank you guys for all the support. This is our first ever concert. We have many more to come hopefully.”

“Maraming-maraming salamat sa suporta nyo po. So tototo lang, na-stress talaga ako sa Korea nung nandun ako pero nandun kayo para i-cheer ang HORI7ON (Thank you so much for your support. Actually, I felt stressed while I was in Korea but you are there to cheer HORI7ON),” said Reyster. 

Kyler said, “Sobrang nagpapasalamat ako sa mga nagpunta ngayon lalong-lalo na sa mga nagmamahal sa akin. Salamat sa suporta ninyo (I am very thankful to those who came today especially those who love me. Thank you for your support).” 

“Maraming-maraming salamat sa pagpunta dito. Maraming-maraming salamat po (Thank you so much for coming today. Thank you so much),” said Jeromy. 

“Damang-dama namin yung pagsuporta ninyo kahit saan kami pumunta. Nagpunta po kami sa music shows [sa Korea], nag-second place na kami. At ngayon nag-top na kami sa AAA competition. Thank you for always being with us (We really feel your support wherever we go. When we went to music shows [in Korea], we already got second place. Now we topped the AAA competition),” said Vinci. 

TV music shows in Korea award those who promote on the shows based on music chart performance of releases. In only nine days after their debut, HORI7ON became a first place nominee in the Aug. 1 episode of the the Korean TV music show “The Show” with their song “SIX7EEN.”

Vinci was also referring to the 2023 Asia Artist Awards (AAA), which will be held in the Philippines for the first time on Dec. 14. 

In the pre-voting to select the 100 candidates for the AAA Popularity Award (Singers), HORI7ON took first place in the male singer category with 113,524 votes, or 24.32 percent. The pre-voting ended last Sept. 5. 

The  “HORI7ON 1st Concert: Friend-SHIP [Voyage To Manila]” was presented by DNM Entertainment and MLD Entertainment.

HORI7ON taking first place in the pre-voting for the 100 candidates for the AAA Popularity Award for singers (Screenshot from AAA website)