aespa, THE BOYZ, and Girls’ Generation’s TAEYEON gave their Filipino Fans a Stellar Night at the K-Verse: The Ultimate Pop Universe Concert

Three K-Pop fandoms gathered together last April 11, 2023 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum for K-Verse, an event by MakeItLive that brought together renowned K-Pop acts aespa, THE BOYZ, and Girls’ Generation’s TAEYEON. It was an exciting night witnessing different light sticks up in the air, as Korean music fans bopped to their favorites in a universe of all things K.

AESPA

First up was the four-piece South Korean girl group aespa from SM Entertainment. They opened the K-Verse stage with stellar performances of their hits Black Mamba and Illusion!

During their interview with K-Verse hosts Denise Laurel and Kyungmin Kim, the girls Karina, Giselle, Winter, and Ningning said that it is their first time in the Philippines, but have been wanting to visit their Filo MYs for the longest time. They wanted to try authentic adobo, a classic Filipino dish, and visit Boracay someday. The Big Dome went wild with cheers and screams of adoration every time the girls answered.

Their interview segment was followed by performances of Life’s Too Short and Lingo, songs that aespa prepared to feel closer to their fans. Filo MYs then sang the birthday song for aespa’s leader and main dancer Karina, who was celebrating her special day. “You guys are my gift. I am very thankful you guys gave me a moment, it will always be precious to me. I really love the Philippines. Thank you so much!”

aespa closed their stage with memorable performances of Savage and Next Level. They also gave a quick “spoiler” of their comeback through 3-second hand gestures and facial expressions, indicating something spicy!

“We actually arrived in the Philippines yesterday, and we will leave right away tonight. It’s such a shame. When we come back, you will watch us again, right? We thank you all for spending your precious time with us. We will make sure that AESPA will come back,” said Winter. Definitely, so much to look forward to for their fans.

THE BOYZ 

The stage went wild as Sangyeon, Jacob, Younghoon, Hyunjae, Juyeon, Kevin, New, Q, Ju Haknyeon, Sunwoo and Eric, collectively known as THE BOYZ, entered the stage with Roar.

After their first performance, the South Korean boy band formed and managed by IST Entertainment were definite charmers, greeting their Filipino Deobis with so much love in the local language they learned just for this show.

“Maganda gabi po. Masaya ako na makita kayo uli,” said Kevin in Filipino. “Philippines, make some noise! I miss you guys so much, it has been 4 years since the last time we were here. Mahal kita!” followed by Eric.

The all-visuals boy group encouraged the crowd to have a fun night together, and even prepared a setlist that they know the Philippine fans will enjoy. When asked what they have been up to the past weeks, they said that they’ve been actively going to music shows to promote Roar. “We are doing our best now to perform for you guys,” THE BOYZ said.

After the short interview, they also performed MAVERICK and The Stealer, showcasing their refreshing vocals and choreography. Their fans also sang the birthday song to Sunwoo, who celebrated his birthday the next day, April 12. The humble idol gave the crowd a big bow, to express his gratitude to his loving fans.

The performances continued with Salty and Dancing Till We Drop. It was a short and sweet moment for the Deobies and the boy group, but no time was wasted. The night was not done yet, and they were already promising to return. “I feel like THE BOYZ… we might come back. Do you guys want us back? Make some noise! Lets see what we can do,” the group said.

THE BOYZ closed their stage with a fun number for Thrill Ride, a sure hit to the whole Araneta Coliseum. “To the fans here who are not Deobis, stan THE BOYZ before it is too late! You guys here are going to be Deobis. Oh they surely definitely converted a lot of the audience that night into fans.

TAEYEON 

Every single member of the audience was all ears when Queen Taeyeon entered the stage to perform for K-Verse. She sang I and Toddler, her captivating voice filling up the venue for a fitting finale performance. In between the songs, the crowd chanted her name “TAEYEON! TAEYEON!”, making the venue shake from the all-out reception of the Filipino Sones.

“You are very well loved here and have so many nicknames. Here in the Philippines, our favourite is BESHIE,” said the host. “BESHIE or best friend. They (your fans) love it so much when you call them beshies.” With this trivia, the superstar gave her fans a loving smile.

When asked how she maintained her popularity even after being in the K-Pop industry for so many years, Taeyeon replied, “Of course, the biggest reason why I can continue is because of the love of fans for me. I am very happy.” The hosts then taught her how to say “Masaya ako” or “I am happy” in Filipino.

It has been too long, Taeyeon last came to the Philippines for a concert on December 14, 2018. The crowd truly missed her, and started chanting again “Solo con! Solo con!”, hoping that Manila will be part of Taeyeon’s next tour. “The reception is so hot, I really need to come back for a solo con,” the idol replied–before doing a pinky promise with one of the event’s hosts Denise Laurel. “I am preparing for a concert. So if you guys will wait for me just a little bit, I will meet you guys once again,” Taeyeon added.

The main vocalist also performed the songs Set Myself on Fire, Four Seasons, and What Do I Call You. And finally, closing the stage with INVU. “It has been so long since I heard your cheers, and tonight I am enjoying it very much,” she said. It was indeed the ultimate pop universe with these shining stars at the K-Verse in Manila.