The year 2019 saw a lot of international acts on the Philippine concert stage — from Maroon 5, Troye Sivan, Jason Mraz, Lauv, LANY, to BLACKPINK, EXO, Stray Kids, Jung Hae In, Park Seo Jun, Lee Seung Gi, Kang Daniel, among others. And although the concert scene in the country continues to blossom as more international artists are set to land in the archipelago for their respective shows, there are acts we could not help but wish to also see perform on the concert stage (real soon please).
#1 Adele
Since giving us the ultimate hugot songs such as “Rolling In The Deep”, “Someone Like You”, “Hello”, and “Send My Love (To Your New Lover)”, we have been daydreaming of the day we get to hear these songs live from Adele herself that when her Adele Live 2016-2017 was announced, we were keeping our fingers crossed to see Philippines on the list. Unfortunately, the tour concluded without the Grammy award-winning singer stopping by Asia.
Still, the hope remains as the chart-topping singer is reportedly set to release new music soon and hopefully, go on tour again with the inclusion of Asian cities as stops. In the meantime, we wait for her return with her fourth studio album which is expected to released in December 2019 (still, no confirmation yet.)
#2 Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys has been all over the globe for different concert tours since the band was formed in 2002. Unfortunately for Filipino fans of the English rock band, Alex, Matt, Jamie, and Nick have yet to bring their live performances to the Philippine concert stage and may have to wait a bit longer as they have just wrapped up their Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino Tour, their sixth headlining concert tour, in April this year.
Through the Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino Tour, Arctic Monkeys performed in a total of 86 shows in North America, Europe, Oceania, and Latin America. It also marked their first tour since the 2013-2014 AM Tour.
#3 Melanie Martinez
Since wowing us with her performance of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” on The Voice, a performance that got Adam Levine, CeeLo Green, and Blake Sheldon hitting that “I Want You” button, we have wanted to hear Melanie Martinez sing live. With her K-12 Tour still on at the moment, we are keeping our fingers crossed that the “High School Sweethearts” singer will finally make her debut appearance on the local concert stage.
#4 Rex Orange County
At 21, Alexander O’Connor, popularly known by his stage name Rex Orange County, has released three albums with Pony being his most recent release. The album contains a total of ten songs including “10/10”, “Pluto Projector”, and “Face to Face”. With a new album, we are also keeping our eyes glued to his social media channels in case he drops tour dates that will hopefully include the Philippines.
#5 Drake
In case you did not know, Drake has yet to make a Philippine concert stage debut, meaning the country has never witnessed a live performance of the chart-topping and multi-awarded singer-songwriter. With his applause-worthy discography and amazing career, we are sure that he will definitely take over the concert stage that will get the crowd up their feet. But for now, we continue to hope that he will grace the Philippine concert stage in the future.
#6 Post Malone
At the age of 24 years old, Austin Richard Post, more known by his stage name Post Malone, has achieved a lot — from chart-topping singles, Grammy nominations, and collaborations with brands like Crocs. Since he rose to fame through his 2015 single “White Iverson”, people have been wanting more of the unique artist who blends different music genres and captures the world with his songwriting and vocal style.
With his songs constantly on the charts in the Philippines, it is safe to say that music fans in the country wants Post Malone IN. A. CONCERT. PLEASE.
#7 Billie Eilish
In case you did not know, it was Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy” which broke the 19-week run of Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” on Billboard Hot 100. With the 2019 single, the American singer-songwriter became the first artist born in the 2000s, as well as, the youngest artist since Lorde with “Royals”, to have a number-one single on Billboard.
The same year, Billie Eilish also went on tour, the When We All Fall Asleep Tour, which kicked off at the Coachella Festival and concluded in Mexico City. Unfortunately, Philippines was not a stop of the tour. She will once again embark on a tour titled Where Do We Go? World Tour which starts in Miami on March 9, 2020. It is still unclear if stops in Asia will be included in the tour as it will reportedly wrap up with a concert in London in July next year.
#8 Lewis Capaldi
Even after a year since its release, Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi’s 2019 hit single “Someone You Loved” continues to chart in the Philippines. In fact, his album Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent, which features the song, hit gold in the country.
With the emerging popularity of the singer-songwriter in the archipelago, we are hoping he drops by the Philippines for a concert. Currently, he has an on-going tour, the Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent Tour.
#9 Eminem
For the past 31 years Eminem has been active in the music scene, the Philippines has yet to witness one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time perform live. We are not gonna keep this long and put out all the reasons why we need to because, really, an Eminem concert in the Philippines will surely be legendary.
#10 Song Joong Ki
When Descendants of the Sun phenomenon hit the Philippines, admit it, we had expectations that maybe, just maybe, its lead star Song Joong Ki will finally make his debut on the Philippine stage through a fan meeting. In the first place, he was going around Asia through his 2016 Asia Fan Meeting Tour that saw him meet his fans in Thailand, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
Unfortunately, he ended his fan meeting in 2016 in Shanghai. That’s why, the desire to see the actor for a fan meeting in the Philippines is strong for his fans who have been waiting to finally see him live. Although it is unlikely that he will be added to the list of Korean acts coming to the country this year, we will be more than happy to welcome him to the archipelago in 2020. So, Song Joong Ki, please come visit the Philippines soon!
#11 Gong Yoo
Anne Curtis will probably join us in our plea for a Gong Yoo fan meeting. The South Korean actor, who first gained recognition in the Philippines as Choi Han Kyul in the 2007 drama Coffee Prince, won our hearts over and over as Seok Woo in Train to Busan and Kim Shin in Guardian: The Lonely and Great God.
Like Song Joong Ki, Gong Yoo will also be unlikely to come to the Philippines this year, but with 365 days in a year, 2020 will have a lot of space for more Korean acts.
