By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin
As early as 8 a.m. last Sept. 7, many Filipino fans were
already at Araneta Center in Quezon City for the K-pop Republic concert, one of
the most anticipated K-pop events of the year.
One of the
them was 13-year-old Erica Ocampo, who came from Malolos, Bulacan.
She’s with
her schoolmates Erilie Angostura, 15, and Eos San Gabriel, 15, and they were
all wearing EXO t-shirts.
The K-pop
Republic concert showcased SHINee, EXO-K and Dal Shabet.
Ocampo said
she’s been a fan of EXO for almost a year and her favorite is Chanyeol.
“I love him
because he’s dumb cute, has big ears and he’s really talented,” she told Bulletin
Entertainment.
Angostura
roots for D.O., or Kyungsoo, whom she describes as “so cute,” while San
Gabriel’s favorite is Sehun. The two said this was their first time to watch a
K-pop concert and they were very excited to see the show.
The K-pop
Republic concert, organized by the Philippines’ All Access Productions and
Korea’s JU Entertainment, ran for two hours.
Soomin, a
member of girl group April Kiss, and hip-hop duo Crispi Crunch, composed of
Cheezy and CSP, were the opening acts at the concert.
They were
followed by Dal Shabet, composed of Serri, Ah Young, Woohee, Jiyul, GaEun and
Subin. This was Dal Shabet’s first performance in the Philippines but their
second visit to the country.
The girl
group, which debuted in the K-pop scene in 2011, performed their songs “Supa
Dupa Diva,” “Bling Bling,” “Be Ambitious,” “Mr. Bang Bang” and “Have, Don’t
Have.”
The crowd
shouted and cheered as the girls sang and danced in their sexy blue outfits.
Next up was
EXO-K and the crowd went wild as the boy band sang their first song “Wolf,” the
title track of EXO’s first studio album “XOXO,” released last June. They also
sang “History,” “XOXO,” “3.6.5″ and “Growl.”
In between
their performance, EXO-K threw stuffed toys to the crowd. They also sang a line
from “Hawak Kamay,” a Filipino song EXO performed at the Dream K-pop Fantasy
Concert held in the country last January.
Since
debuting last year, EXO’s popularity has skyrocketed. The boys made history
when the original and repackaged editions of their album “XOXO” sold more than
700,000 copies.
Their
popularity was visibly felt during the concert as the fans cheered and shouted
with their every move.
EXO fan
Raina Laza said her favorite moment was when “we started jumping and singing
along.”
“My bias,
EXO’s Kai, made me fall for him harder because he has unleashed the Kim Jongin
(Choding) side of him while performing. He gives off this mysterious aura which
attracted me and made me wonder if he can act cute. Good enough, he pulled that
cute side well,” she said.
As the
closing act of the concert, SHINee showed that their status as one of the top
boy bands in the business has not waned.
Despite that
Minho was not with them at the concert because of other commitments, SHINee’s
Jonghyun, Onew, Key and Taemi gave their best.
SHINee
performed “Dream Girl,” “Lucifer,” “Beautiful,” “Stranger” and “Why So Serious.”
Filipino
fans had been waiting for SHINee since the first time the group visited the
Philippines in 2009.
Fan Sherry
Reyes said she was mesmerized by SHINee’s performance.
“They were
all good and handsome especially Jonghyun,” she said.
SHINee
promised that they will come back to the Philippines.
Laza added,
“The Philippine K-pop fans are truly amazing for bringing the hype to the
highest level! It felt like we were partying nonstop inside.”
After the
concert, fans made requests for solo shows of their favorite K-pop groups.
The
excitement has not died down and the organizers of the concert has already
announced that that they will bring back EXO for a solo show next year.
They said
the next show “will be even better.”
“You’ll be
surprised,” the announcement said.
Link to my original article on Manila Bulletin online:
To contact the author, send email to sangchusan(at)gmail.com
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