Kpop fairy godmother Happee Sy has an unspoken tradition of celebrating her birthday by bringing major Kpop acts to the Philippines: 2015 was Big Bang, 2017 was Super Junior, this 2019 it’s JYP girlgroup Twice

Twicelights in Manila was highly anticipated by Filipino ONCEs, who have waited 3 years to see the girls perform live and dance to their catchy songs. The weather outside the arena was gloomy but the fans made up for the downpour with a feverish welcome. Team Concert or Team Labas, one couldn’t really tell who’s who as the level of excitement was just the same.

Surprisingly, the crowd was dominated by fanboys. They chanted religiously to music videos while waiting for the concert to begin, proudly waving their multi-colored Candy Bongs.

Deafening screams filled the arena as TWICE opened their stage with “Stuck In My Head” , looking beautiful clad in gold-embellished black dresses. The crowd went wild as they performed the hit “Cheer Up” , the chant was particularly thunderous during Sana’s famous “shy shy shy” line. PH ONCEs gladly moved to the beat with “BDZ,” “Yes or Yes,” and” Dance the Night Away.”

The crowd erupted in shrieks as the members introduced themselves in Filipino, individually greeting their Pinoy fans with a lovely”Mabuhay”.

“Mabuhay ako si Dahyun. Kumain ka na ba? Ang galing!” which sent the crowd to an uproar. (You are so adorable Dubu!)

After changing outfits, the girls went back on stage dressed in white flowy dresses. TWICE showed that not only do they pull off cutesy concepts to a tee, they also have powerful vocals. They serenaded the audience with “After Moon”, “You in My Heart” and “Sunset”. Nayeon applauded the crowd saying how nice it was to see a lot of Candy Bongs.

The group divided up into units for special performances. Sana, Dahyun and Tzuyu wowed the audience with their sexy rendition of Beyonce’s “Dance for You”. Dahyun commented “ONCE, you guys know, these are the sexiest members of Twice”. Jihyo and Momo emulated Taemin’s graceful dance moves for their cover of “Goodbye”. The rest Nayeon, Mina, Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung covered Lady Gaga’s “Born this Way”.

Twice assembled again as a group and everyone in MOA Arena was up on their feet dancing along to their chart-toppers ” What is Love,” “Like Ohh-Ahh,” “TT,” “Knock Knock,” and the newly-released “Fancy”.

The girls expressed how grateful and overwhelmed they were for every fan that attended their first concert in the country. Each of them promised to come back again.

“We also really wanted to meet Manila ONCE. I feel very apologetic to you guys but I’m really thankful to you. As you guys waited for us, we will come back soon, we’ll try out best to comeback soon as possible. Magkikita tayo ulit”- Sana

“3 years is a long time, thank you guys for waiting for us. It’s our first time here but thank you for welcoming us with this energy. As promised, we will try to comeback. Salamat sa pagpunta nyo”- Mina

“Thank you guys so much. Of all the ONCE we saw dancing, I think you guys have the most energy. We’ll see each other again soon. Ingat”.- Jihyo

” You guys are so loud. I really do wish we could come back to the Philippines to perform for you guys. Masaya kami ngayong gabi!”- Chaeyong

” Let’s meet again soon. ONCE, the best kayo!”- Jeongyeon

“You guys really patiently waited for us. So since this is our first time. I feel really really sorry for you guys. I will really come back to the Philippines. Babalik kami”- Nayeon

“Thank you guys for waiting. Thank you guys so much for enjoying our songs. I wish we could see each other again in our next concert. Mamimiss ko kayo”- Tzuyu

“Did you guys have fun? SIGAAAW! Maganda! Even though TWICE and ONCE are far apart but I know our hearts are together. Mahal ko kayo!”- Dahyun

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Twice capped off their Twicelights in Manila tour with their song “Stuck” as a gift of gratitude for their ONCEs, the lines of the song capture how they feel towards their fans – “My eyes want to see you, my heart remembers all of you, 24/7 I wanna be with you. I’m stuck on you”.

Three years in the making, three hours of full blast performance, nine girls, and thousands of fans made for one unforgettable heart-shaking night.

Special thanks to PULP LIVE WORLD

Words by Gellie Jam Alonto
Photos by Josiphine Tagudin and Gellie Jam Alonto