Still not over the 2022 K-pop Masterz in Manila?
Here’s a quick rundown of what transpired during the event which was held at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on July 29.
On Friday night, some of the well-known generations of K-Pop — TREASURE, and GOT7’s BamBam and Jackson — heated up the stadium, which was packed with about twenty thousand fans gathered to eagerly watch their performance for the evening.
In addition to being able to see their stans perform live, the concert also had a raffle where fans had a chance to win signed posters, photo cards, and other merch from the artists. Lightsticks in the colors of sky blue and green lit up the stadium as fans in the crowd geared up to chant the names of their favorite artists. The lightstick wave, of course, is a must-have for any concert.
TREASURE: Team Gwapo or Team Mahal Kita?
At exactly 6 p.m., the show began. With their latest hit, “JIKJIN,” TREASURE took the stage first. As the stage filled up with 10 members of the band (Hyunsuk, Jihoon, Yoshi, Junkyu, Jaehyuk, Asahi, Doyoung, Haruto, Jeongwoo, and Junghwan), the crowd went wild. “I LOVE YOU” was the next song they performed from their album “THE FIRST STEP: TREASURE EFFECT,” and the energetic and magnificent performance continued.
After the two great performances, each member gave their own brief introduction on stage. Hyunsuk, one of the group’s leaders, was the first to speak. He said in Filipino, “Masaya ako na nandito ako” (I’m happy to be here) and “Kamusta kayo?” (How are you?) respectively. PH Teumes (Treasure Makers) then sang a birthday song for one of the group’s members, Jaehyuk, after the members had been introduced. “Salamat, mahal kita,” (Thank you, I love you) said Jaehyuk in response to the greeting.
This is TREASURE’s first time in the Philippines and performing live overseas. “Salamat”, “Magandang gabi”, “Maganda”, “Kamusta kayo”, “Masaya” (Thank you, Good evening, Beautiful, How are you?, Happy) were some of the Filipino words used during the talking segment. Filo Teumes was given recognition by TREASURE because they appear on every live performance of the group. They enjoyed meeting and interacting with their fans.
The next song they performed were “MY TREASURE” and “MMM,” both known for their high energy performance levels. After that, there was a special segment titled “Treasure Match: TREASURE MANILA ONE BODY ONE SOUL WORDS” – a game where they need to be in sync for every word flashed on the screen.
The group was divided into two teams — Team Jihoon and Team Hyunsuk. Bato-Bato pick (rock, paper, scissors) was used to select their team members. TEAM GWAPO had Jihoon, Junkyu, Asahi Junghwan & Doyoung, while TEAM MAHAL KITA had Hyunsuk, Jaehyuk, Yoshi, Haruto, and Jeongwoo.
Both teams were tied in the game, so it was agreed that they were all winners. For their prize they had “Photo Time” with Filo Teumes. “Did u guys have freaking fun?” said Leader Hyunsuk. When the segment ended, each member said their goodbyes. They enjoyed meeting Filo Teumes up close and personal, and all expressed interest in returning for their solo concert.
For their encore, the band performed their song “BOY” and capped off their performance with a bonus track, the rock version of their song “DARARI”.
BamBam’s night market, shot puno, “Ngiti”, and more
BamBam was the next to perform — he performed his latest single “Wheels Up.” The following two songs he performed, “Ride or Die” and “Look so fine,” hyped up the crowd.
This concert is BamBam’s first performance in Manila in 4 years. At the concert, he said he missed the fans so much, Filo Ahgases, so he prepared much more just for Manila. Among the artists who came to Manila for the concert, BamBam was the earliest to fly to the country because he had a schedule of fan sign events both in Cebu and Manila. He also mentioned that he ate a variety of foods while he was in Manila. He named Bangus (milkfish) one of his foodie favorites.
He asked in good humor if anyone had “shot puno” (a Filipino slang often uttered before taking a shot during a drinking session) today, to which the fans responded with a “yes,” and he promised to do “shot puno” after the concert. When one of the fans at the fansign event gave BamBam an alcoholic drink, a new term for BamBam started trending on social media. BamBam also shared plans to visit a “night market” in Manila, which he renamed “BamBam shot puno.”
The next game was called “BB’s Yes or No”, a simple game in which BamBam had to answer yes or no to a series of statements. The first question is, “If I win the lottery, the first thing I would do is travel,” and BamBam said, “No,” because he wanted to create a night market (BamBam shot puno). The next statement was, “My favorite nickname is Baby BamBam,” to which he said, “No because my new nickname is Milkfish (Bangus).” He also tried sisig, and he shared that Bangus (milkfish) was the best fish he tried. “Hi, Ba(m)ngus,” he said jokingly.
In one of the questions asked, BamBam replied saying that he is happy about himself. And he said that he isn’t that good-looking, and fans are saying “No” because BamBam is already “gwapo” (handsome).
After getting to know more about BamBam, he gifted his fans with his rendition of “Ngiti,” which he promised to Ahgases 5 or 6 years ago. If you want the full version of his rendition of the song without the fans singing along in the background, you can check it out over on BamBam’s Instagram.
Another performance hyped the fans as BamBam with his graceful performance of “Who are you” and “Pandora.” After the performances, BamBam revealed another surprise. He introduced his special guest, sister/labelmate Sandara Park. “Kamusta kayong lahat? Si Sandara ito” (How are you all? This is Sandara) Dara introduced BamBam, “Welcome to my second home, BamBam.” Sandara was only meant to come up on stage to say hello to the fans but to her surprise, BamBam invited her to sing a duet with him.
As Sandara prepared for the sudden performance, BamBam said that “every song from 2NE1 is famous.” Their performance together started with 2NE1’s “I Don’t Care”. Before the last performance, BamBam and Sandara Park thanked the fans who attended the concert. The last one BamBam performed was “riBBon” accompanied by a spontaneous dance number with Sandara Park. After the performance, both said their goodbyes with the last comment, “Babalik kami” (we will come back).
Jackson Wang, “Isa, Dalawa, Tatlo”, and Magic Man
Last but not least, Jackson Wang went up on stage. Fans were already chanting his name before he even took to the stage. With his hot red-and-black suit, Jackson started his performance with “Cruel and Blow”, one of the tracks from his upcoming album, “Magic Man.”
Jackson enumerated a few facts about him, counting each in Filipino. “Isa” (One), Jackson said that this was his first visit to the Philippines as a solo artist. Even before the GOT7 “Keep Spinning” Tour in Manila, passionate fans had already sparked his interest. ‘They really mean it when they say the fans’ cheers are on another level, full of soul,” he said.
During this year’s Coachella, Jackson shared that he chewed his gum the entire time he was on stage while performing. In one question, Kring Kim asked Jackson, “What’s the most important part of producing?” as Jackson is producing a lot of projects overseas. Jackson answered, “finding your own groove everybody is different. Don’t follow the trend. Just be you.”
“Dalawa” (Two), Jackson also wanted to try acting. Still, acting is a different industry, so he said he may need to consider his skills and expertise. Some Filipino words Jackson knows are “panget” (Ugly), “Isa, dalawa, tatlo” (One, two, three), and “Mahal ko kayo” (I love you).
With another song from his upcoming album Magic Man, Jackson continued to perform with suspense thriller visuals “Drive It Like You Stole It” and “Blue.” For Jackson’s segment, it was called ‘Click, click, watching”, and in this part they talked about moments captured in photos, which were flashed on the screen. While talking about the photos displayed, he just had a good time interacting with the fans.
“Tatlo” (Three), as Jackson was still on the momentum of keeping the fans alive, like a true gentleman he grabbed a towel and placed it on Kring Kim’s lap. This brought fans to comment, “May Jackson pa ba dyan?” (Is there another Jackson out there?).
During his last performance, Jackson confirmed that he will return to the Philippines and told his fans to watch out for his upcoming album “Magic Man”. He capped off his part of the concert by performing “100 Ways.” After the song, he warmly thanked his fans with a simple “Thank you, Manila.”
The K-Pop stars expressed their gratitude to all the fans who attended the concert and had fun with them. Their energetic performances made for a one-of-a-kind experience that their fans are sure to treasure. They all promise they will return to the Philippines as soon as possible.
Everyone, you know the drill. You guys can start to ipon (save money) because the three artists and Sandara Park promise that they will return to the Philippines soon with their own solo concerts.
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