A DElightful memory with Super Junior D&E!

Donghae and Eunyuk, also known as Super Junior D&E, hosted their DElight Party Fancon at the Araneta Coliseum on September 30. The day was supremely packed with a lot of other concerts, but a great number of loyal ELFs and K-pop fans still flocked to the venue. As the 8th stop for their world tour, the concert and fan meeting proved to be another memorable experience for the attendees.

As early as noon, ELFs gathered at different areas around Cubao to hold their respective fan-sponsored projects including merch giveaways, photo booths, and cafe cup sleeve events.

Outside the venue, the excitement from fans was so palpable, you wouldn’t think that just 2 months ago, Super Junior (8 of them) came here for their fan party.

Formed in 2011, Super Junior D&E is a sub-unit that has weathered the test of time as the pair has always exhibited such impeccable chemistry onstage and offstage. Together, they had released 3 full albums and 5 EPs. They had also toured Asia extensively over the years, but DElight Fancon was their first show as a sub-unit in Manila.

With a discography filled with upbeat hype songs, D&E made sure that the party was always at an optimal level. Starting off with “ZERO” and “B.A.D”, the audience was instantly dancing and waving their lightsticks along to each beat. “Danger”, “‘Bout You”, “1+1 Love” and “I Wanna Dance” were also included in the setlist. As two of the best dancers in the group, their performances were also a thrill to watch.

“Your cheers are so loud, I hear it even when I’m wearing in-ear. Your passion is really amazing,” Donghae said.

“Were you so stressed during the two months we didn’t see you?” Eunhyuk quipped. “It’s alright to destress here!”

The event also featured a few games like the 99-Second Relay wherein they had to complete a series of complicated tasks in order to succeed. Despite their excessive efforts, they were unable to finish the entire thing in 3 tries. However, that didn’t stop them from making the show entertaining for everyone as they rallied cheers and laughs from the crowd.

The fan meeting also had them reading messages from ELFs. Prior to the event, ELFs were asked to submit their messages in post-its which were stuck to a big board presented to the duo. One note read: “I just graduated from college. Thank you for inspiring me” to which Eunhyuk replied: “You can graduate from school, but you can’t graduate from being an ELF”.

Many handwritten notes fondly requested (and maybe demanded) that they show their abs. Much to their amusement, they turned it down and said that they had not been working out for a while and their abs were on vacation.

Backed by a live band, the show became even livelier. Their more mellow songs like “Growing Pains”, “To You, Tomorrow” and “Home” were such delights to listen to live.

As masters of fan service, Donghae and Eunhyuk were very receptive to fans’ requests. When the crowd chanted “Gento”, Eunhyuk easily obliged (despite saying that he couldn’t remember the dance sequence as he learned it in a rush). Donghae, meanwhile, said he didn’t know and tried to improvise, but didn’t quite make the cut. He pointed to the crowd affectionately and said an expression in Korean which is roughly equivalent to the Filipino phrase: “Kayo talaga!” This became a running joke during the event as the two kept repeating the words whenever the crowd asked them to do something silly.

Of course, Filipino ELFs were armed with lots of projects for D&E. They had streamers and banners, but what stood out most was their surprise three-minute VCR which featured clips of some of the most scenic places in the Philippines like Misamis Occidental, Tagaytay, Coron, and Boracay. It also showed the projects that fans held over the years up to the present. For the finale, a few talented fans sang along to D&E’s “Need U”.

“We were the ones who were supposed to be giving you gifts in this fan meeting, but you gave us more gifts instead,” the duo said in amazement and expressed their gratitude for the fans’ efforts.

To close the evening, D&E paid homage to the classics by performing the classic Super Junior hits “Sorry, Sorry” and “Bonamana” followed by “Danger” and the pervasively buoyant “Can You Feel It?”.

During the fancon, they mentioned that Super Junior will be celebrating their 18th anniversary soon and they will be holding a fan meeting in Korea to commemorate it. D&E invited everyone to come.

Special thanks to CDM Entertainment!

by Sandra Mae Laureano