Philippines IDs were in for another treat as B.I made his way back to the Philippines less than a year after his first fan meet!

South Korean rapper Kim Hanbin, more well-known by the stage name B.I, returned to Manila for an entire concert set, not falling short on performance and fan service. Pesented by Three Angles Production, the multi-talented, singer-songwriter, and producer held the B.I 2023 ASIA TOUR – L.O.L THE HIDDEN STAGE IN MANILA on March 5, 2023, in the PICC Plenary Hall.

SEE ALSO: B.I Gifts Fans with Memories to Remember for a Lifetime in Back-to-Back Fan Meetings

Proving once again his power as a soloist, the K-Pop star pulled in a full house of IDs with new songs in his arsenal and performed never-before-released tracks, some songs even performing for the Philippine crowd for the first time!

Here’s what we unpacked from the talented artist’s concert with his ever-loyal fans.

Make Me Go BTBT

Opening strong, B.I pulled an explosive start with his most famous and hard-hitting tracks. He performed “BTBT”, originally released as a single with DeVita and Soulja Boy, and was later included as the first track of his recent mini-album, Love or Loved Part 1, “Be I”, a notable track he released when he joined Show Me the Money 3, “One and Only”, a solo song released from the album Return by his former group iKON and “Waterfall”, from his first full album Waterfall marking his solo career. All the songs significantly highlighted his rapping and dancing skills.

During his ment, he teased the fans that the ENCORE for the latter part of the show is going to be based on the IDs reaction and energy throughout the evening. The fans showed off and started chanting the Philippines’ famous “walang uuwi!” tagline. Hanbin immediately understood that it meant the fans didn’t want him to go home, and the teasing continued when he responded, “You guys have to go home… but we can choose what time.”

You can tell that the rapper loves his fans and is truly concerned for them when he repeatedly reminds everyone that safety is important. He also constantly asks if everyone is okay, to which the IDs always respond with a resounding yes.

Continuing with his set list, he went on and sang “Alive + Flame”, and “Lover” all three songs plucked from his second mini album COSMOS and included “Illusion”, “Gray” and “Remember Me” from his WATERFALL album. He also included the song “Got It Like That” which became a famous TikTok dance trend and “Daydream” which featured LeeHi on the track, with which the fans sang along with.

Up Close with Tangerine

Literally getting up close with the fans and throwing out all security measures, B.I hopped off the stage and roamed around the venue to get closer to the fans, something an artist rarely does! While singing Tangerine, Hanbin slowly walked into the pathways and serenaded the crowd. Of course, the IDs are extremely excited about this and we can’t blame them for crowding him as he passes his way through, so Hanbin reminded everyone that he will make his way to the whole venue as long as the fans will let him pass. IDs immediately cleared the way and let everyone get a closer glimpse, a brief interaction, a short eye-to-eye, and all the kilig moments a fan could ask for as he continued to sing “Tangerine.” He followed the song with “NERD” originally featuring COLDE as he walked back to the stage.

He then sang “STAY” which featured Tablo from the album WATERFALL before going backstage for the second part of the set.

James Reid takes over The Hidden Stage

No one was prepared for what came next as B.I briefly took his break from the stage when none other than one of our own, James Reid, came into the show as a special guest! Undoubtedly loved by our own, the crowd went wild as he started his small portion of the evening with “u & i”, a song James released with CARELESS.

After the song, the duo greeted each other on stage and shared the story with the fans about how they met in a concert of ‘The Rose’ in South Korea. B.I shared that he made James promise to be a special guest at his concert if ever they come to the country, which he did!

During this interaction, they asked for suggestions from the fans about what street food they should both try together and James suggested our famous “balut” to which Hanbin said they should both try together. Hanbin cutely showed a little jealousy tease, saying the fans screamed louder when James came out. The Philippine IDs assured B.I that he’s the only one for them by cheering for him louder. A super cute interaction indeed!

Hanbin once again gave the floor to James Reid and the blonde, handsome Filipino singer/actor performed “spotlight”, a song from the album lovescene:.

A very cute VCR appeared after this that garnered some laughs from the fans towards the end of the video as Hanbin asked in the VCR if the crowd would like to join him “at the graduation party.” We have commonly known that PICC is a graduation ceremony location that even some Philippine IDs went to the venue in their toga! What a fun coincidence!

B.I appeared after wearing a sparkly black jacket and sang “illa illa”, “Endless Summer” and “Middle With You”, all three emitting summer vibes. He continued the concert with more songs, all B-Sides of his albums with “Keep Me Up”, “Numb”, and “Nineteen” (this part teasing the fans. with a see-through shirt), which led to a fan favorite, title track “Cosmos”. Inspired by the song, the fans started throwing their small confetti in the air whenever Hanbin sings the line, “You are my cosmos, 나의 우주야 (My universe)” before retreating backstage to prepare for the encore because it’s just too short to end the concert just like that!

EN-CORE Memory with B.I

B.I came out and sang “Then” before talking to the fans again. The artist spoke in Korean for the first time in the night as he’s been well-conversed in English the whole night. He thanked the fans for coming to the concert and thanked the staff, crew, and everyone who made the show possible. He took a picture with the fans after the ment to commemorate the night.

A surprise video appeared on screen and showcased one of the fan projects they prepared for Hanbin. Like their idol, who is also a producer, the IDs prepared, edited, shot, and PRODUCED the song playing in the video. Hanbin was holding his tears back in the middle of the video because of the touching message and the effort they put into him. When he turned around, another fan project was waiting for him as the Philippine IDs put a sticker on their flashlight phones and turned the crowd lights yellow.

After this, a touching performance of “Re-Birth” ensued, a song that signified Hanbin’s rebirth in the industry as a soloist.

Encore… For Real

To summon B.I for the encore, the fans needed to muster all they got and scream for him to come out, and as always, the Philippine crowd did not disappoint. Hanbin returned this energy and repeated some songs he already performed earlier in the show, but on a different scale, turning the venue upside down. It was literally a moment to let loose and let go when he sang “Flame.” The place went on fire when he started spitting his verses, so it was only appropriate when he threw water on the crowd along with his dancers.

He once again sang “Illusion” and gave his dancers a spotlight by singing “One and Only” also titled “Dotae”.

Making the night more special, B.I performed snippets of tracks for his unreleased album set for release in three to four months time. He made the fans promise that all the songs should not be released on social media, or he won’t return and Filo IDs kept this promise as no one in any form of social media has released or at least muted the videos uploaded. And you can tell Hanbin can’t get enough of fan interaction when he decided to once again roam around the PICC.

Finally, he performed an encore of “Cosmos” making it more special as he amped up for the last song of the night and thanked the fans a hundredth time that night, promising that he will return.
One of the best things at a concert, despite its ending, is something to look forward to, which Hanbin did not fall short of giving. With the unreleased tracks already hinting to be hit, (we can testify to this, they’re REALLY good), and B.I’s promise of releasing them very soon, we can expect another concert tour to give us another excuse to use the colorful BINBONG and collect more memories with the shining soloist Hanbin.

The night ended with VIP and Gold ticket holders with a photo op and goodbye session with Hanbin, (we have no idea how he still has energy at this point of the evening), who smiled and posed and greeted the fans warmly despite the interactions lasting only a few seconds. It sure will leave another core memory for the Philippine IDs, who’s always been two steps behind the multi-talented artist, who never failed to become a huge inspiration.

Words and Photos by Arielle Elep

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B.I 2023 ASIA TOUR – L.O.L THE HIDDEN STAGE IN MANILA was presented by Three Angles Production. Special thanks to Three Angles Production for the invite.