K-pop group The Boyz holds 1st-ever concert in the Philippines

IF you’re a K-pop fan, you probably know how it is to like a group so much, but never admit it to yourself because it’s so expensive to add more idols to your already long list. But somehow, you get to watch all four of their appearances in the country in the last five years so you just admit defeat and add them to your list of favorite groups.

That is exactly how I feel about The Boyz from Cre. ker Entertainment. I first met the then 12-member group when they came to Manila in 2018 for MBC Show Champion. They had just debuted a year before that but they already performed with such passion and fervor.

And that became The Boyz’s trademark: Intense performances that would leave the audience breathless.

Aptly, The Boyz—Sangyeon, Jacob, Younghoon, Hyunjae, Juyeon, Kevin, New, Q, Haknyeon, Sunwoo, and Eric—opened their “Zeneration” concert at the Araneta Coliseum last weekend with literal and figurative fireworks.

They started with “Ego” and continued with “Reveal,” “Awake,” and “Roar.”

Normally, there would be a ‘ment after the second or third song. A ‘ment, in K-pop concerts, is the portion where the performances would introduce themselves and/or make speeches. In The Boyz’s case, it took eight songs before the members did their first ‘ment. Before that, they performed “I’m Your Boy,”

“Text Me Back,” “Keeper,” and “Only One.”

Ako si Eric, ang inyong boyfriend [I’m Eric, your boyfriend],” was how Eric started the first ‘ment. “I’m your energy boy Eric. Mahal kita!”

Mabuhay,” said Kevin. “Kumusta mga beshie ko [How are you, my friends]? We’re so excited to be here as 11.”

Kumusta ka? Ako si Sangyeon. Philippine Deobi [as their fans are called], maganda Philippine Deobis [are beautiful],” said the group’s leader Sangyeon.

“So it’s been a while since we came here. I hope you all enjoy the show tonight,” said Sunwoo.

Na-miss na ko kayo [I missed you],” said Juyeon.

“Deobi, mahal kita,” said Younghoon.

“Let’s have fun tonight. It’s been a long time,” said Hyunjae.

Main vocalist New, whose voice I really like, said the opening numbers showed the The Boyz’s “powerful” and “cute” sides. Sides are usually themes or concepts adapted by K-pop groups for their albums and concerts.

The Boyz performed 23 songs in Zeneration. These songs included “I’m Your Boy” from the group’s debut extended play (EP) to songs from the latest EP Be Awake. The group’s last solo event in the country was its 2019 fan concert at the New Frontier Theater. But because The Boyz is an actively promoting group with several albums released every year, it’s understandable that they can’t perform many of their songs during concerts.

One of these songs is “Stealer,” which they did perform snippets of. They also did snippets of “Savior” and “Bloom Bloom.”

“I know there’s a lot of songs that you guys want to hear so let this be a promise that we’ll be back again,” said Kevin.

The Boyz did a lot of fan service that night and even the hours leading to the concert. Some of the members were spotted around Araneta Center snapping pictures of banners and posters put up by fans.

“From start to finish [of the concert], you guys have been amazing...We’ll be able to take this and work harder to come back with better music for you guys,” said Jacob.

One of the best moments of the concert was toward the end when Kevin talked about how they were touched by what Filipino fans did for them.

“It’s actually so crazy because I’ve been there. I’ve been where you guys are standing. I’ve gone through the stress of ticketing, gone through the stress of getting to the venue early so I could be at the front row of your favorite artist. I know what that’s like. And to have someone do that for me and for The Boyz, it’s absolutely amazing and I feel very blessed,” he said. ■