I heard crowd-pleaser “Mahal kita” from the foreign acts but, weirdly, also heard “Sarung banggi,” watching the “Best of Best of K-Pop Concert” at the Philippine Arena on Sunday.
Of course, none of the performers said it, but that was how it sounded to an intruder like me.
Inquirer Super treated me and three of my cousins, sisters aged 20, 26 and 31, to this event.
On a belated National Siblings Day night out, they decided they wanted to travel from southern Metro Manila to Bocaue, Bulacan, to watch K-Pop groups Red Velvet, BtoB, Girls’ Generation and Super Junior. They had a brother, but it was either him or me.
It became a good idea to bring them to the concert for two reasons.
First, all three, at different points, became casualties of the Asian invasion, beginning when the nation fell in love with the rich-poor romance of Dao Ming Si and Shan Cai—and decided it was a bright idea to buy “Meteor Garden” towels as graduation gifts, or get the guys to grow their hair long, no matter the sanctions in school.
It was a “homecoming” of sorts for the older siblings, and a dream come true for the youngest, who has been a K-Pop fan for about half a decade now, but pitifully hadn’t seen anything bigger than amall show.
Second, I wanted to understand why South Korea is taking over the globe with its endless stream of music containing only a couple of English words.
In the end, I was disturbed by the endless shouting of about 20,000 people (and unruly fans who stood on their chairs even when the bouncers were close by, and despite the reminders all around that said, “No standing on chair/s”). But, surprisingly, I found myself bobbing my head to the nice beats.
Red Velvet opened the concert with their latest single, “Ice Cream Cake.”
The group is composed of five cute girls, named Wendy, Seulgi, Joy, Yeri and Irene.
The first-timers to the country praised the one-of-a-kind vigor of Filipino K-Pop lovers. I guess the praise was legit—they’ve been to China and Taiwan so they could compare.
Intense
Joy said in Korean, “The energy is so intense. We’re so surprised.” (Thank God there was a translator). They soon performed three other songs: “Something Crazy,” “Candy” and “Happiness,” their debut single.
BtoB, or Born to Beat, the youngest cousin said, was a group that specialized in hip-hop.
Correct, I thought during the performance, because their music was “mas beats, mas cool,” and two of the seven members rapped really well that night—turns out there are four rappers in the band!
They performed “Thriller” and then “Irresistable Lips,” before they talked to the fans. Then, they sang six more songs, including “Lover Boy” and “Beep Beep,” which shamefully gave me LSS.
Girls’ Generation then came out in identical pink dresses (and, to me, identical faces), looking like classy career women to Red Velvet’s high school girls.
Yoona, Sooyoung, Sunny, Yuri, Hyoyeon, Taeyeon, Seohyun and Tiffany did not disappoint, singing six songs. No more Jessica because she quit in late 2014, chimed in the youngest sister, as if it was breaking news.
“Tell Me Your Wish (Genie),” “Gee” and closing song “Mr. Mr.” resonated with me because my sister, who sometimes also follows K-Pop, would sing them in the shower.
The fans, including the youngest cousin, were prodding the group to sing their newest hit “Catch Me If You Can,” but the girls only teased with the intro.
Then came Super Junior, represented that night by eight of a whopping 12 members.
Donghae (“Ang gwapo niya,” the die-hard cousin said a million times) and Eunhyuk performed their moneymaker, “Oppa, Oppa”—I’m singing it in my head right now—in the middle of their set. They followed Kyuhyun (“Tumaba siya”) in his solo performance, “At Gwanghwamun.”
LSS song
The group, completed by Siwon, Heechul, Kangin, Ryeowook and Leeteuk, opened with “Shirt” and “This is Love.”
They performed “Mr. Simple” and ended with their new song “Mamacita,” another LSS song.
They were one fun group. They played with their “mabuhay” greeting. They took some dares. Donghae even pulled off a break dance, which could use a little more practice.
Four acts and three hours later—the older sisters were already exhausted—I saw that the magic of K-Pop lay in the whole world it was creating onstage.
The screens in the backdrop were very exciting, and so were the lights, smoke and, at some point, the stage flame. The choreography was extremely dynamic, with microphones changing hands and formations evolving every single second. Every talent, no matter how big or small the group, had a moment to shine. The music was infectious, too.
And, the older sisters told me, the intensity emanated from the Filipinos’ fondness for the artists, too.
I must admit, this borders on stalking for my younger cousin, who would sleep only after hours of browsing the Internet for music videos. She can explain to you the branding of the bands, plus the personality traits of the members.
Outside the arena, before and after the show, people were dancing or singing along to the groups’ songs. Inside, every close-up of a performer, every smile and half smile (even every single move) merited shrieks from the audience.
During the Super Junior segment, as the live feed focused on a crowd, the youngest cousin suddenly said, “Kilala ko ’yun!”
She explained that the person she saw onscreen, like many others, added her on Facebook only because of the fact that she is a K-Pop fan! (So, they do not really know each other, but the feeling was strong enough for them to agree to be virtual friends).
At which point, I thought she would never outgrow her K-Pop obsession, unlike the two others who were tucked in their seats. At which point, too, a really young girl behind me was crying while filming the whole concert.
That’s how intense the love is, apparently.
“Mahal kita,” said Eunhyuk of Super Junior. A person in the crowd screamed, “Hu, I love you, too!”