[PHILIPPINES] IU’s ‘HEREH’ Concert in Manila Successfully Draws Almost 40,000 Fans

Almost five years since her last visit to the country, the Korean singer-songwriter, record producer, actress, and global superstar IU made a successful return to the Philippines for her HEREH World Tour in Manila.

Held on June 1, 2024 at the world’s largest indoor arena, the Philippine Arena, IU was the first Korean solo act to perform at the venue. She successfully herded in almost 40,000 fans for her one-night show.

Since early morning and through the blazing Philippine heat, MAENAs (IU’s Filipino fandom name) clad in their best IU-inspired outfits, were seen roaming around to take photos and exchange fan-made concert freebies with each other.

The entire arena was brimming with fans and the excitement was palpable in the air. Everyone was singing along and jamming to the pre-show tunes and music videos. At around 6:30PM, the concert finally started.

A no-photography/videography rule was in place to allow the audience to be in the present and be fully immersed in the show, taking us back to the time when smartphones, fancams, and TikToks didn’t dominate concerts.

IU kicked off the show with her latest hit Holssi, along with her other chart-topping songs like Celebrity, Blueming, Eight, Through the Night, and Love Wins All.

Proud Pinoy Moments

IU, the hardworking and sincere idol that she is, took her precious time before the show to learn new Tagalog words and phrases. During her first talking segment, IU told the crowd “Na-miss ko kayong lahat. (I missed you all so much).” She then flexed the gift her mom carefully prepared for the Filipino fans which was a photocard book along with a special selca of her. She sweetly asked the crowd to “Itago ninyo nang mabuti (Please keep it well).”

It is not a Filipino crowd if they do not sing the entire song and IU gave the Filipino’s vocal chakra her stamp of approval: “Because of your screams, I’m almost deaf…this is my first time to experience this. It’s the first time since I have been born to hear this much scream.” Throughout the show, the singer would compliment the crowd’s singing and energy and even gave them a final rating of 300 points.

During Holssi and Celebrity, young Filipino dancers and a child actress also joined IU on stage to perform, much to everyone’s delight.

Phenomenal Fan Service

Known for her penchant to perform sweet gestures for fans, IU did not fall short showing it to the Filipino crowd. On top of an amazing concert experience, lucky MAENAs from the crowd also received concert memorabilia. One fan received a giant purple flower from Blueming performance, and another received the lucky coin from Coin performance.

MAENAs prepared lots of fan projects for IU’s concert, such as slogans and dollar bill banners to name a few. To show IU’s grateful heart towards fans, she gifted them a surprise cover of the OPM (Original Pilipino Music) song, Pasilyo originally by the Filipino band SunKissed Lola. After the performance, IU shared, “When I first heard this song, I really liked it. When I heard that you liked it, it made the practice worth it. I was so happy while singing this song.”

Personal Jukebox Player

For the concert’s encore, IU became the crowd’s personal jukebox player. Dressed casually wearing jeans and her tour merch, she enthusiastically took in song requests from fans. Among them were Someday, My Sea, Lilac, and Strawberry Moon. The crowd were elated to hear these much beloved songs even if they were not part of the concert setlist this time.

Towards the end of the concert, IU promised that, “It will not take another five years before I come back here. I was really, really happy tonight. Napakasaya ko. Kita-kita uli tayo? (I am very happy. Let’s see each other again?).”

With the crowd still buzzing from the electrifying performances, IU’s HEREH World Tour in Manila will be remembered as a magical evening that brought fans closer to their beloved artist, leaving a a core memory for all MAENAs who attended.

The Seoul Story would like to thank PULP Live World for the media invite!

We hope to see IU again in Manila real soon. 🙂

Written by: Zee
Photos by: PULP Live World and EDAM Entertainment

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