2NE1 comes home
It was a scorching night and fans who lined up early at the SM Mall of Asia Arena were sweating buckets. But the summer heat did not stop Filipino Blackjacks from showing their support for their Korean idols. Blackjacks are fans of the Korean girl group 2NE1 and they trooped in force to the venue in Pasay City last May 17, Saturday, to witness the Manila leg of the group’s All or Nothing World Tour.
The concert was a momentous occasion for the Blackjacks in general and the Filipino Blackjacks in particular. The concert coincided with the group’s fifth anniversary and was eyed as a double celebration of sorts as it signified a homecoming for Sandara Park as well.
Park, arguably one of the more popular members of 2NE1, started her showbiz career in the Philippines and enjoyed a massive fan base that carried over when she joined 2NE1.
The event was also a fulfilment of a promise Dara, as she is now called, made when the group performed years ago to come back to Manila for a full-length concert.
With Park were group leader Lee Chaerin or CL, Kong Minji or simply Minzy, and Park Bom.
At a press conference held the day before the concert, the girls promised to give their fans a show.
And that’s what they did! The production was impressive, with amazing stages, flashing lights, jumbo LED screens, movable scaffoldings and platforms (even a few fireworks in between) providing the backdrop for the girls’ high octane performances.
Showtime!
CL, Dara, Bom, and Minzy emerged on stage wearing their signature flashy outfits and immediately revved up the crowd. They followed this up with “Fire,” “Clap Your Hands,” “Pretty Boy,” and “Don’t Stop the Music.”
The group left the stage but shortly came back hoisted up by individual white cloth swings, singing their haunting ballad, “Missing You.” The girls then alighted from their swings and sat on a faux rock formation as they sang more of their slow songs such as “If I Were You,” the acoustic version of “Come Back Home” and “Ugly” to complete the feel-good set.
After being serenaded, the fans were treated to a surprise appearance by actors Sam Milby, Jason Abalos, Ram of G-Force and Joross Gamboa who were called by Dara to sit onstage and enjoy the lap dance the girls performed while singing “I Love You.” The boys were paired with each member—Dara with Sam, CL with Ram, Bom with Joross, and Minzy with Jason.
Living up to her label as the Queen of Swag, CL then performed a mashup of her self-composed songs “The Baddest Female” and “MTBD (Menbung).”
Homecoming
It was refreshing to hear Dara speak Filipino so fluently. She talked to fans in Filipino and almost forgot that she was with her group members who could not understand the language. Despite the language barrier, the other three members happily sang and danced to Dara’s Tagalog novelty song “In or Out” which she made popular 10 years ago while in the Philippines. The song is based on her Star Circle Quest stint. Additionally, Dara made CL, Bom, and Minzy do Vice Ganda’s “Boom Panes” dance.
During the encore, the girls took a moment to bring out some cake given by the fans and to acknowledge the other members of the team. This included their dancers, band and managers. CL said the Philippines is Dara’s hometown and she wished it was hers, too. The fans sang happy birthday and everybody joined in the party. The group thanked the fans for their continued support. Each one of them yelled “Mahal ko kayo! (I love you!)”
Winner debut
Another reason why young fans flocked the venue was because members of YG entertainment’s newest boy group, Winner, were the special guests in the concert. Kang Seung Yoon, Song Minho, Nam Taehyun, Kim Jinwoo, and Lee Seung Hoon sang “Just Another Boy” and “Go Up.” The boys were part of Team A and are the winners in the YG Entertainment reality show Who is Next: Win, thus, their name.
Other songs performed were “Gotta Be You,” “Do You Love Me,” “Scream,” “I Am The Best,” “I Don’t Care,” “Come Back Home” both acoustic and dance versions and “Go Away.”
The show closed in a rain of glittering gold streamers.
Return of a star
Dara flew in two days earlier than the other members of 2NE1 for show appearances on ABS-CBN, her former network. She appeared in Abunda and Aquino Tonight and Gandang Gabi Vice and entered the Pinoy Big Brother House.
On Friday, May 18, 2NE1 held an open press conference in Shangri-la Mall in Mandaluyong that was attended by hundreds of fans.
2NE1 All or Nothing World Tour was produced by Pulp Live World Productions and supported by the Korean Tourism Organization, Shangri-la Edsa, SM Malls and Solaire Resort and Casino.
Credits: Manila Standard Today
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