Global girl group XG has finally visited the Philippines for the very first time since their debut in 2022 for their XG 1st WORLD TOUR “The first HOWL” Landing at Manila.
The 7-member group consisting of members JURIN, CHISA, JURIA, HINATA, HARVEY, MAYA, and COCONA absolutely dazzled their fans, or in this case, Filipino ALPHAZ, with back-to-back performances that attracted their growing fanbase all around the world.
And ALPHAZ were definitely counting their lucky stars after seeing XG in person last August 2, 2024, at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Excitement was felt throughout the entire coliseum even before the concert began. When it did, well, it almost felt like the coliseum was rumbling not just from the bass of the sound system, but the screams and cheers of ALPHAZ.
XG began their nearly two-hour concert with a rock version of “SHOOTING STAR,” the song that catapulted them into the spotlight. Dressed in matching monochromatic white and silver ensembles and edgy black shades, XG opens their entire setlist with bursting energy.
Following “SHOOTING STAR,” XG performed “GIRL GVNG” and “Tippy Toes,” which started two different “eras” in XG’s life as artists– “GIRL GVNG” was the girl group’s pre-release single for their debut EP “NEW DNA,” and “Tippy Toes” was their debut song.
Simon Junho Park, most famously known as JAKOPS, CEO and Executive Producer of XGALX, also made an appearance on stage, whilst a VCR of XG’s predebut videos was being shown on screen.
JAKOPS went on stage with a mixer table and played DJ-ed a couple of songs, including a well-known and well-played Filipino track by Lola Amour.
K-pop group concerts aren’t always complete without solo and unit performances, and —XG TAPE’s set began with COCONA, followed by MAYA, HARVEY, and JURIN each performing their XG TAPES, then reunited for their rendition of “Trampoline.”
XG VOX’s set followed soon after, beginning with JURIA performing Adele’s “Hello,” then with HINATA performing Taylor Swift’s “Red,” and with CHISA performing Beyoncé’s “If I Were A Boy.” The three also performed FLO’s “Losing You.”
All 7 members reunited on stage, all dressed in matching black leather coats, to perform an R&B arrangement of their 2023 hit single, “LEFT RIGHT.” Their R&B set continued with a performance of their December 2023 single, “Winter Without You,” and a rendition of “JUST STAND UP!”
Artists usually introduce themselves after the 3rd or 4th song they’ve performed, but XG waited for almost halfway through their concert to formally introduce themselves to the Filipino crowd and greeted their Filipino ALPHAZ a “Magandang gabi!”
In fluent English (a testament to their multilingual education as artists catering to the global market), the members conversed with the crowd, even asking ALPHAZ to teach them something in Filipino. MAYA, HARVEY, HINATA, and COCONA (CHISA, JURIN, and JURIA were changing) were taught what “Maganda” meant, leading them all to say “ALPHAZ Maganda!”
And were also taught the trending “Eyy ka muna eyy!” with a matching hand sign 🤙🏻. Well, seeing how enthusiastic ALPHAZ were, they immediately understood what it meant and did it all the same.
MAYA even said that it might be her favorite thing to do now. When asked the question where she wanted to go while in the Philippines, HARVEY mentioned that she wanted to go to Manila Ocean Park, and said that she wanted to see the animals. In terms of food, HINATA revealed that she wanted to eat sisig, and MAYA said that she wanted to try Jollibee and Adobo.
CHISA, JURIN, and JURIA went on stage next after changing into their next stage outfits and said, “Mahal namin kayo! [We love you!]”
While hyping on the crowd, XG’s leader JURIN announced that they will be releasing a second mini album soon (November 8, 2024, to be exact), much to the crowd’s excitement.
XG then started the second part of their concert with the choreography-centric track “X-GENE,” which was followed by their rap-centric track “WOKE UP.” The cheers of the crowd were definitely loud for the latter song.
XG continued with their performances of “TGIF,” “MASCARA,” and “PUPPET SHOW” before commencing a short break. Throughout the break, though, a VCR of a wolf was repeatedly shown on screen, to which ALPHAZ responded by howling every time it appeared.
Excessive barking was evident during the concert. This is reminiscent of XG’s song, “WOKE UP.”
The encore part of the concert began with “NEW DANCE,” where XG appeared on stage wearing their concert T-shirt merch, and all dolled up like their styling for their “SHOOTING STAR” era.
For the first time ever, XG performed their newest track “SOMETHING AIN’T RIGHT” in front of a crowd, but everything felt right at that moment. Everyone was standing, dancing and vibing to XG’s newest (club music, tbh) track and everyone was happy.
For their last song, XG performed “LEFT RIGHT” again, and honestly? Everyone was just “XG, we’re certified!” at that moment.
People could say that it was just a normal concert, but you wouldn’t say that if you were actually there. XG’s energy was just as contagious as the energy of their fans, and everyone could see that each member of XG was meant to be a performer.
XG definitely did shoot for the stars since the very beginning of their journey, and now they’ve become stars for everyone to look up to and admire.
The event was made possible by AEG Presents Asia and Ovation Productions.