[PHILIPPINES] A Night To Remember: The Great Seungri Show in Manila

Tagumpay!–And indeed it was. Despite the late announcement and few promotions, the lovely maknae of BIG BANG‘s first solo concert in the Philippines was a success, thanks to the undying love and support of PH V.I.P.s. A sea of yellow lights and deafening shouts greeted The Great Lee Seungri as he joins the hyped crowd gathered at the Mall of Asia Arena last Saturday, January 19, 2019.

The journey to this stage was not all good and smooth; the Manila stop was announced less than a month before the actual show and PH VIPs had little time to prepare for the fan projects and availing of tickets. Amidst these were the controversies surrounding the promotion and handling of Seungri’s tour, which trended hashtags on social media (#SeungriDeservesBetter & #YGTreatSeungriRight). Fans demanded Seungri’s company YG Entertainment for better treatment of the idol. Fortunately, things were eventually resolved with Seungri himself apologizing to the company’s founder Yang Hyun Suk who posted a screenshot of the text on his Instagram account with the caption that read “YG♡Seungri♡VIP.”

All the world’s a stage, and Seungri proved this once more as he graced the venue dressed in simple comfortable denim clothes with BIG BANG’s signature strong stage presence. He began the show by performing the group’s hit song ‘Bang Bang Bang’ which the crowd danced and sang along to.

Even with just two backup dancers, there was never a dull moment on the stage as Seungri hyped his fans up with his own power vocals and by asking them again to jump and dance with him. The night was a mixture of performances and long talk segments which Seungri used to converse with the ‘sexy’ crowd. He showed off his Tagalog-speaking skills, saying “Na-miss nyo ba akong lahat (Did you all miss me?)” and “Mahal ko kayong lahat (I love you all!)”. He also composed a one-liner song which simply says tagumpay or victory/success in English.

During a talk segment, Seungri recalled a time when BIGBANG as a whole group and as individual members had their concerts in the Philippines years ago. He also expressed his remarks about going to the military soon and about his hyungs‘ release. He also showed fans memes of the members as well as himself which he found on Google. When VIPs asked how the other members are doing, he specifically told them that his hyung T.O.P. is doing fine, much better than all of them. At some point, VIPs called him ‘pogi‘ (handsome) and Seungri once again proved his knowledge of the language by responding with ‘salamat‘ (thank you).

Seungri delivered both powerful and heartfelt performances of ‘GG Be’ and ‘Gotta Talk To U’. He made sure to connect with the VIPs waving their lightsticks and cheering for him below the stage, even noticing a fanboy jamming heartily to ‘Let’s Talk About Love’ and letting the fans sing the first verse of ‘If You’. He then sang ‘Alone’ and ‘Hotline’ right after.

A VCR played before Seungri’s ‘Where R U From’ stage showing him dancing to dance hits that have taken the world by storm in the past including ‘Makarena’, ‘La Vida Loca’, Psy‘s famous ‘Gangnam Style’ and ‘PPAP’. One act worth remembering though was his stage for his latest hit song ‘1, 2, 3!’, the lead single for his first Korean album The Great Seungri, in which he Filipinized the lyrics and sang “isa, dalawa, tatlo (one, two, three)” instead of the song’s actual lyrics.

Perhaps the ultimate treat for all YG stans was Seungri sharing the stage with 2NE1′s Dara. Known as Sandara Park in the Philippines, the beloved Krung-Krung of Star Circle Quest 2004 graced the venue with 2NE1’s indisputable signature stage presence, dancing and singing to ‘Fire’, ‘Crush’, ‘Go Away’ and ‘I Am The Best’. She also surprised the crowd and danced her own version to join the Switch It Up Challenge.

The KPOP star took time to chat with the Filipino crowd which had shown her sincere love since before her debut in her YG group, expressing of her love for the country (in Tagalog!) and how she liked bringing her Korean friends to the Philippines. Ryan Bang and Anne Curtis-Smith, hosts of Filipino noontime show ‘It’s Showtime!’ were among the concertgoers. They had their spotlight when invited by Seungri to join them onstage, who called them his ‘special friends.’ This was when it was revealed that it was Ryan who taught Seungri how to speak Filipino. As a thank you for his help, Seungri made a promise to bring BIGBANG to It’s Showtime when the group returns to doing activities with all members again.

The treat did not stop there; Seungri and Dara left the fans in awe when they sang Filipino singer Iñigo Pascual’s Dahil Sa’yo together in pure and perfect Tagalog. They ended the PANDARA stage by showing the love that is eminent in the YG family, with Dara shouting ‘I love BIG BANG!’ and Seungri shouting back ‘I love 2NE1!’

The night went on with Seungri giving VIPs BIGBANG feels by performing their famous songs We Like 2 Party, My Heaven, Hands Up, Lies, Bae Bae and Strong Baby. Despite being far away from his members, Seungri expressed love for his hyungs as well as for the fans singing his heartfelt renditions of GDragon‘s Crooked, GD and Taeyang‘s Good Boy and Taeyang’s Eyes, Nose, Lips. Of course, a KPop concert is not such without the fan project. VIPs altogether held up blue banners saying “We will wait for you on the flower road,” alluding to one of BIG BANG’s songs. Blue lights filled the venue as VIPs held up their phones with their flashlights on. It was an emotional moment as the whole venue resounded with Seungri and VIPs’ voices singing Flower Road altogether. As he watched the dancing lights before him, Seungri said, “I hope this lights our future. I hope VIPs keep shining when BIG BANG comes back. Happy new year!”

There were other unforgettable moments in The Great Seungri Show including him calling his mother in the middle of the concert. He had also shown his gratitude through his Instagram story by calling Manila VIPs the best crowd before he shouted “Mahal ko kayo, Manila!”. The whole night was simply a show to treasure.

We at The Seoul Story surely believe the few hours of dancing, singing and small talks between BIG BANG’s lovely maknae and VIPs are moments forever engraved in each and everyone’s hearts. This one night is among the many ones in the flower road to BIGBANG’s ultimate comeback in the future; in the meantime, as Seungri himself said: “Let’s be BIGBANG together!”

We would like to express our gratitude to LOONG Studio for the media invite to the concert!

Written By: Amira
Photos courtesy of: LOONG Studio

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