Philippine Concerts

Tag: WINNER in Manila

  • 10 Brilliant Moments We Will Never Forget From WINNER “CROSS” Tour In Manila

    10 Brilliant Moments We Will Never Forget From WINNER “CROSS” Tour In Manila

    Words by Danica Lacson ; Photos from YG Entertainment

    The year 2020 may have started roughly with all the local and global issues that plagued — and continue to plague — us, but in those hours at the SM Mall of Asia Arena last January 25, we forgot, albeit temporarily, all the worries as we cross paths with South Korean boy group WINNER in an unforgettable show — packed with outstanding performances and applause-worthy surprises.

    Marking their second solo concert in the Philippines, Jinu, Hoony, Mino, and Yoon brought WINNER [CROSS] TOUR to their Philippine Inner Circles who have been yearning to see them back on the local concert stage after a remarkable debut in 2018 with their Everywhere Tour. More than a year after, the boy group returned with bountiful surprises up their sleeves to create more brilliant moments in their third intersection with their Filipino fans.

    Look back with us on that memorable evening with WINNER at the SM Mall of Asia Arena as we list down ten brilliant moments we will always remember and keep with us while we wait for their return.

    #1 Those VCRs — the cool, the cute, and the “why-are-you-making-us-cry”

    WINNER kicked off the Manila leg of their Cross Tour with a VCR that showed off the charismatic and cool sides of the boys. It was reminiscent of an action film trailer with Jinu, Hoony, Mino, and Yoon taking the roles of the members of the mafia as they strut their way to the streets in black suits. But the second VCR presented us the cute and adorable WINNER who are full of child-like charms with their humor as they tease each other and try to act their part in the skit.

    And lastly, the final VCR which showed us Kim Jin Woo, Lee Seung Hoon, and Kang Seung Yoon as they look back in the beginning and how far they have come and as they relay their gratitude to Inner Circles and their hope to be together in this journey.

    #2 When they tried their best to communicate with fans in English and Filipino

    Hats off to the boys for the effort they put in communicating to their fans using English and Filipino. We appreciate how they opted to personally deliver their ments without a translator, giving Inner Circles the opportunity to hear the words from them.

    WINNER really went out off their way especially in terms of the Filipino words they said, diverting from the usual “Mahal kita” and “Salamat” and going for big words such as “Na-miss ko kayong lahat” and “Wag niyo kaming kalimutan” and even slang words “Charot” and “Solid“.

    #3 Every solid performances — from the party-all-night songs to the let-me-stay-at-the-corner-and-cry feels — we got that night

    WINNER definitely solidified their reign in the hearts of Inner Circles and leveled up the respect people have for them with their amazing stages of their greatest hits. Fans at the SM Mall of Asia Arena witnessed the performances of 32 songs, including the solo stages and encore performances.

    The boy group started Cross Tour in Manila with “Everyday” and “Love Me Love Me” and went on to bring the energy up with “Island” and “Really Really”. After their introduction and ment, the audience got treated to hype-filled stages of “Mola”, “Dress Up”, and “Special Night”.

    Taking a break from the highly enegetic songs, WINNER shifted the atmosphere in the arena and filled the venue with emotions as they deliver soothing and beautiful performances of “Different”, “Have A Good Day”, “Raining”, “OMG”, and “Empty”. As if the feels they gave are not enough, the boys went on to take the stage one after the other, starting with Hoony with “Flamenco” and “Serenade”, followed by Jinu with “Call Anytime” and Yoon with “Instinctively” and “Wind”. Mino ended the solo stages with “I’m Him”, “Trigger”, and “Fiancé”. They then came together to perform “Movie Star”.

    But the Cross Tour will not be complete without the debut live performances of the boy group’s newest songs from their latest and third extended play Cross. Aside from “OMG”, “Dress Up”, and Hoony and Yoon’s solo songs, the boy group performed their lead single “Soso” and “Don’t Be Shy”. They also performed for the first time in the Philippines their single “Millions”.

    WINNER then wowed with “Ah Yeah”, “Immature”, and “Lala”, before closing their set list with encore stages of “Hello”, “Zoo”, “Really Really”, “Lala”, and “Everyday (Remix version)”.

    #4 Celebrating the Lunar New Year together

    WINNER’s concert fell on this year’s Lunar New Year celebration or Seollal in Korean which is considered as one of the most important traditional holidays in South Korea. Seollal marks the start of the Korean calendar.

    The boys celebrated the special holiday with Philippine Inner Circle where they even wore hanbok or the traditional Korean clothing. They then gave everyone a big bow as they greet the audience “Happy New Year”. The members also relayed their well-wishes for this year, wishing everyone safety and good health.

    #5 Those interactions between WINNER and Inner Circles

    In case you did not know, prior to the concert, WINNER had a fan signing event where lucky Inner Circles were able to meet and greet Jinu, Hoony, Mino, and Yoon up close. Aside from the fan signing event, the concert itself was full of moments where the boys really went out their way to interact with fans.

    The members utilized their stage well, going around and trying to come closer to their fans as possible. Hoony eevn went his way to approach the audience area — and props to Inner Circles, they really lived up to their nickname as a behaved fandom as the respected the singer’s space despite the close proximity and not crossing the line.

    We also appreciate the effort of the boys to interact with fans at the seated sections of the arena, trying their best to scan the whole venue and say hi to everyone. And speaking of fan service, brace yourself, ’cause WINNER members are full of surprises (*ehem* Hoony *ehem).

    #6 When Hoony and Mino dropped an impromptu song number

    While delivering his ment, Hoony decided to create a song using “Wag niyo kaming kalimutan” as lyrics! Mino and the band decided to join him, creating a fun song number that we will never forget.

    #7 Yup, WINNER accepted the #TalaChallenge

    You probably know by now that WINNER took on the viral #TalaChallenge where the boys danced “Tala” by Sarah Geronimo. The KING LEE SEUNG HOON, the master dancer and the man full of ideas, dedicated time and effort to learn the dance steps of the song which became phenomenal in the country last year. He impressed everyone with his amazing cover — as Yoon said “SOLID”!

    And it was truly a solid evening because Jinu, Mino, and Yoon gamely joined Hoony in performing “Tala”. After learning the steps from Hoony, the whole group made the arena squeal in excitement as they took on the #TalaChallenge together. The boys seemed to be fond of the dance as we caught them stealthily doing the moves for the rest of the concert.

     

    But the true mastermind of the #TalaChallenge — and another surprise in Cross Tour in Manila is…

    #8 Sandara Park in the houuuuuse!

    The ever-supportive sunbae Sandara Park joined Philippine Inner Circles in supporting WINNER’s concert. She was proudly watching her hoobae-deul and taking videos of their performance like a proud fan. Along with the 2NE1 member, BIGBANG’s TOP’s sister and nephew were also present in the concert.

    And as we previously mentioned, yup, Sandara Park is the mastermind behind the “Tala” dance moment! In a tweet, Dara said she sent Hoony a video of the dance. Expressing her pride for her junior, she said she is impressed that the WINNER member got the moves immediately. “Ang galing-galing m Teacher Seung Hoon,” she wrote.

    #9 When Inner Circles worked together for the success of their fan projects

    Last year, Philippine Inner Circles left a lasting impression as they light up the arena while singing “Movie Star” and waiting for their favorite boys to come out. This year, the fandom came together once again for a number of fan events to make Cross Tour a lasting memory for WINNER.

    Fans prepared fan banners for the boys including a birthday banner for Yoon. They also sang “Hello” while waiting for the encore. And SM Mall of Asia Arena was filled with loud cheers and was painted nebula blue that night.

    #10 When WINNER promised to come back

    During their final ment, the members expressed their appreciation for the fans’ love and their gratitude to be back in the Philippines for a concert, as well as, promising to never forget the memories and to boldly and happily face the new year with Inner Circles.

    We will hold on to the boys’ promises to come back to the Philippines and meet their beloved Inner Circles again. As they wait, we are 100 percent sure that fans will never forget the boys and continue to journey with them.

     

    Wag niyo kaming kalimutan, said Hoony. And with all the brilliant moments created last Saturday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, no one will forget. Everyone will remember the memories and hold on to them until the next meeting, right, Inner Circles?

    WINNER [CROSS] TOUR IN MANILA is presented by YG Entertainment, Live Nation, and PULP Live World. Special thanks to PULP Live World for the invitation to the event.

  • 7 WINNER Songs We Can Listen To Everyday

    7 WINNER Songs We Can Listen To Everyday

    Here’s a tip for you all this 2020, in case you want to have a better than ever year — listen to WINNER. The South Korean boy group, who has continually impressed us with their ability to create music and amazing performances, has been slaying the music scene since 2013 when Jinu, Hoony, Mino, and Yoon (together with former member Taehyun) competed against their fellow YG trainees in WIN: Who Is Next? and emerging as the WINNER.

    In 2014, it became official — WINNER is YG Entertainment’s first boy group in eight years since BIGBANG. And the wait was definitely worth it for YG stans because the boy group went on to slay, dominating charts after charts and earning trophies after trophies during their debut year.

    Although their five-year run was not free from challenges especially in 2016 when youngest member Taehyun left YG Entertainment, WINNER emerged strong, coming back with the single album Fate Number For with the chart-topping “Really Really” as its title track. And their success story continues as they earn the nickname “Trust and Listen” in South Korea for their potential in creating high quality music approved by the public.

    READ: All About WINNER: The Boy Group Who Impresses Everyone With Its Music

    This 2020, Jinu, Hoony, Mino, and Yoon will once again treat their Philippine Inner Circles to an amazing show at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on January 25 as PULP Live World brings WINNER [CROSS] TOUR in Manila. But before we enjoy another hype-filled night with the boys, we got seven songs of WINNER that you definitely have to include in your everyday playlist in no particular order!

    Note: WINNER has a lot of songs that deserve to be in this list (all the boy group’s songs should be on your playlist, to be honest) but we took the challenge to list only seven (imagine the predicament, everyone!).

    #1 “Don’t Flirt”

    “Don’t Flirt” is the third track on WINNER’s debut studio album 2014 S/S. The song showed a beautiful contrast from the first two tracks of the studio album, “Empty” and “Color Ring”, which are soulful and emotional in sound and lyrics. Through its fun and catchy sound and lyrics, “Don’t Flirt” ups the mood and prepares listeners for Mino’s solo track “I’m Him” which comes fourth in the track list.

    The boys performed “Don’t Flirt” on music shows, showing off their playful and cute sides (They were flirting with us!) The song was written by Hoony, Mino, iHawk, Ham Seung Cheon, and Kang Uk Jin with music and arrangement by iHawk, Ham Seung Cheon, and Kang Uk Jin.

    #2 “Sentimental”

    Eighteen months after the release of their debut studio album, WINNER returned with another commendable release with their first mini album EXIT:E which include the song “Sentimental”. “Sentimental”, written by Hoony, Mino, and Taehyun, dwells on loneliness, making references on wanting to reach out and be in the midst of someone’s company.

    Despite the heart-breaking lyrics of the track, “Sentimental” features an upbeat and groovy arrangement.

    #3 “Really Really”

    “Really Really” marked WINNER’s first release after reforming as a four-member boy group, following Taehyun’s departure. The lead track of Fate Number For, “Really Really” boasted a tropical sound that was well-received by the public, giving the songs more than 2.5 million downloads and taking the number one spot on Gaon Digital Chart.

    Jinu, Hoony, Mino, and Yoon held their first comeback stage on April 8 on MBC’s Show! Music Core which marked their first stage on the show since debuting in 2014.

    “Really Really” was written by Hoony, Mino, and Yoon with Mino and Yoon contributing to the song’s music. Kang Uk Jin worked with the boys once again for this track in terms of music and arrangement.

    #4 “Movie Star”

    From the boy group’s second studio album EVERYD4Y, “Movie Star” is refreshing — a beautiful mixture of various sounds and sentimental lyrics that touch deep.

    Look back
    The last month took 30 frames, just one second
    How many actors of life have fallen during that time?
    Acting just disappears into the air
    Let’s not live as strangers, even if we have to work hard
    Let’s not sell our beauty, who cares if we make NGs, GN

    “Movie Star” was written by Hoony, Mino, and Yoon. Yoon also worked on the song’s music with Airplay, who also did the song’s arrangement.

    In last year’s EVERYWHERE Tour, Philippine Inner Circles used “Movie Star” for their fan project — and it was beautiful.

    #5 “Love Me Love Me”

    “Love Me Love Me” is one of the two tracks in WINNER’s second single album, Our Twenty For which was released in August 2017, marking their second comeback that year. Hoony, Mino, and Yoon wrote the lyrics of the song. Mino and Yoon also contributed to the music, working with Future Bounce who also arranged the song.

    The song is carefree, perfect for the summer beach vibe with its funky and catchy tune.

    “Love Me Love Me” peaked at the fifth spot of Gaon Digital Chart and fourth spot on Billboard chart.

    #6 “Millions”

    WINNER ended 2018 in the best possible way by gifting Inner Circles with “Millions”. The feel-good song gives listeners an upbeat, dance, and summery listen that will get stuck in your head.

    “Millions” once again proved the chart power of WINNER as it peaked at the second spot of South Korea’s Gaon Digital Chart and K-Pop Hot 100. It also secured the fifth spot on Billboard Digital Songs Chart. In addition, the song gave winner six music show wins!

    #7 “OMG”

    Capping off this list is “OMG”, one of six tracks on the boy group’s latest extended play Cross. The song was written by Hoony, Mino, and Yoon to express gratitude to their Inner Circles who have given them support and love through the years.

    The boys also teamed up with their fans for the special lyric video of “OMG” which was done with the help of 3,000 people who contributed their handwriting for the video.

    Are you ready for WINNER, Philippine Inner Circles? Limited tickets are still available through SM Tickets online and outlets. See Jinu, Hoony, Mino, and Yoon live at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on January 25 in WINNER [CROSS] TOUR in Manila.