Astro’s Moon Bin and Sanha’s exciting, unique scent lingered in Manila after their Diffusion in Manila fan con.

MoonBin and Sanha debuted on the Manila stage as a subunit last March 25, 2023. The last time they were in Manila was with the full group in 2016. For Diffusion in Manila, a lot of activities were in store for Arohas to enjoy: from fellow Arohas giving out freebies to multiple fan projects to make the day an extra special one.

After all, MoonBin and Sanha were the next to visit Manila’s shores after Cha Eun Woo had his fan meeting last October 2019 and August 2022.

Diffusion in Manila Fan Projects

There were a lot of fan projects that were executed: MoonBin and Sanha were presented with flower bouquets and cakes in their waiting room. Their waiting room also had wall decorations as well as post-its of Arohas messages to them and cute photo booth props.

For Arohas, the New Frontier Theater lobby was decorated with life-size standees, tarpaulin banners, a balloon arch with an Instagram frame, and the MoonBin and Sanha logo. And before the fan con date, another fan project was a ticket giveaway.

Some attendees were able to enter the venue for sound check, which was a fan benefit for some of the ticket tiers. Once they were seated inside, anticipation and excitement could be felt.

Diffusion in Manila: Sound Check Fan Benefit

MoonBin and Sanha came on stage for sound check: Sanha in black and Moon Bin in a soft blue outfit. The theater erupted in screams.

They were so surprised and happy at how excited and warm the fans were. The energy was high with fans chanting and singing loud to “Chup Chup”, “Dream Catcher”, and “All I Wanna Do”.

Other fan benefits included a meet and greet, a group photo opportunity, a special Manila unit photocard, and an individual photocard as well as a signed album. Some benefits were won by raffle.

Astro’s Subunit MoonBin and Sanha’s Manila Debut

Finally, at 6 p.m., it was time for Moon Bin and Sanha to take the stage. As the lights turned off and the opening VCR began, the theater filled with screams and turned into a purple galaxy with Arohas waving their phones and robongs in the air.

The stage turned red and was filled with smoke and then two silhouettes appeared. The screaming only got louder. MoonBin and Sanha opened their Manila fan con with “WHO”, “Bad Idea” and “DIA”.

After officially introducing themselves, they even greeted the crowd with “Mabuhay!”

MoonBin and Sanha’s solo stages for Diffusion in Manila

After the second VCR was shown, the stage focused on Sanha as he performed solo with a mashup of “Distance” and “Wish”.

He sat on the stage with a spotlight on him and his guitar. As he sang, a collage of the six Astro members filled on screen. It was both a beautiful and a very emotional time for Arohas.

After Sanha’s heartwarming performance, it was MoonBin’s turn for his solo performance of “Perfumer” and “Desire”. It was a roller coaster of emotions: from Sanha’s heart-tugging serenade to MoonBin’s sultry performance.

The Diffusion in Manila Aroha Talk Segment

Since it was a fan con, there was also a segment for games and activities which they called Aroha talk.

MoonBin and Sanha saying Filipino phrases

Sam Oh hosted this fun segment and even asked Moon Bin and Sanha to say Filipino phrases such as:

• Ang init – It’s hot
• Charot – Just kidding
• Mahal ko kayo – I love you

Music quiz

The first activity was for them to identify songs as these songs played all at the same time. If they weren’t able to identify all the songs, there would be a penalty, which was to dance. They could even enlist the help of Arohas in the audience to help them identify songs, which they did. Another game they played was a drawing quiz.

They danced to New Jean’s “OMG”, BSS’s “Fighting”, Hoang Thuy Linh’s “See Tinh”, and BLACKPINK’s “Pink Venom”.

With the sense of smell being the highlight of their 3rd mini album and first fan con, the venue was also diffused with a fragrant aroma as they performed “Madness”, their latest title track from their Incense album.

Another VCR showed on the screen as the boys changed outfits signaling that it was time for more performances. The boys came out in cute outfits and performed “Chup Chup”, “Alone”, and “Dream Catcher”.

But the show wasn’t over yet as the best part was yet to come: the encore. They played an instrumental version of “Boo” as lyrics flashed on-screen encouraging fans to sing along while waiting for the encore.

Diffusion in Manila Encore

The encore began with “All I Wanna Do” and the boys took fans by surprise as they went down to the aisles to serenade them.

Once they were back on stage, they proceeded to talk but then it was Arohas’ turn to surprise them with the fan video. MoonBin and Sanha looked so touched and happy as they watched the video.

But the surprise wasn’t over as an instrumental version of “Dream Catcher” filled the theater and Arohas united to serenade MoonBin and Sanha.

Before the final song of the night, MoonBin instructed Arohas to sing different octaves of the intro of “Your Day”. They even gave out signed plastic balls to Arohas. Fan interactions like these give extra special memories for fans to look back on.

The upbeat and energetic song, “Your Day” was a great closing encore song to which they kept singing a few more times with Sanha even saying, “Don’t forget we will always be together!” before launching into one more chorus of the song with confetti blasting to the audience area.

Ending on that high note, MoonBin, and Sanha’s unique performance scent would linger on, sparking joyful memories for Arohas to look back on.

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The 2023 MOONBIN & SANHA FAN CON TOUR [DIFFUSION] IN MANILA is presented by DNM Entertainment and In2une Entertainment. Special thanks to DNM Entertainment for the media invite.

Written by Izzy Matias; Photos by Sandra Mae Laureano and Louise Arielle Elep