A new story of The Boyz and Philippine The Bs unfolded last July 15 at The Big Dome as the boy group brings their ZENERATION Tour to the country.

Zeneration, according to Kevin, represents people with a common state of mind who experience the same generation and culture — like The Boyz and The Bs. It is a stage to show a new story of Sangyeon, Jacob, Younghoon, Hyunjae, Juyeon, Kevin, New, Q, Ju Haknyeon, Sunwoo, Eric, and their fans in 2023.

And true to these words, a new story was told last July 15 at the Araneta Coliseum. Lightsticks up and cheers loud and proud, The Bs in the Philippines welcomed with resounding excitement the boy group to their first solo concert in the country. THE BOYZ 2ND WORLD TOUR: ZENERATION IN MANILA was a promise made true and a dream realized. Although the boys have performed on the local concert stage a couple of times, with the latest visit happening in April this year for an omnibus concert, the July 15 concert marked their highly-awaited first solo concert in the Philippines since their debut in 2017.

Performing a total of 20 songs in a concert that spanned more than two hours, The Boyz took The Bs on a journey —traveling through time from their debut to their present zeneration — with a setlist that saw them perform their songs from 2017 to 2023.

Sangyeon, Jacob, Younghoon, Hyunjae, Juyeon, Kevin, New, Q, Ju Haknyeon, Sunwoo, and Eric began the show with “Ego” and “Reveal” from their debut studio album, Reveal, released in 2020. They then allowed the crowd to marvel at their performances of “Awake” and “ROAR” from their 2023 extended play, Be Awake.

And the ultimate throwback came on in the second set of performances, when the members, dressed in casual/school looks, brought back “I’m Your Boy” from their debut EP, The First, followed by “Text Me Back” from their second EP. The Start, “KeePer” from their first single album, The Sphere, and “Only ONE” from their third EP, The Only.

A+ for effort should be granted to The Boyz also as they made it their serious business to learn Filipino and communicate their words to the fans in the local language. More than the usual “mahal ko kayo“, “mabuhay“, and “salamat po“, we got to hear sweet and adorable messages of “Ako si Eric! Ang inyong boyfriend!”, “Mabuhay! Kamusta ang beshy ko? Nagagalak akong makita kayong muli.”, “Philippine The B, maganda! Natutuwa akong nandito.”, “Na-miss na-miss na-miss na ko kayo.”, among others.

The energy, as Jacob described, was definitely crazy as there was no shortage of cheer and applause from the crowd. The passionate enthusiasm intensified with the continuation of the performances of “Whisper”, “Water”, “Thrill Ride”, and “D.D.D”. With a short break, the members, handsome in white, returned on stage in a dreamy medley of “Lucid Dream”, “Daydream”, “Butterfly”, and “Wings”. And the dreams then turned into the most beautiful nightmare as Sangyeon, Jacob, Younghoon, Hyunjae, Juyeon, Kevin, New, Q, Ju Haknyeon, Sunwoo, and Eric re-emerged for the “Nightmares” stage.

Contrasting the white outfits they donned prior, The Boyz took on their charisma to a new high with a black-and-white ensemble for “Russian Roulette”, and “Insanity”. With a total of 20 songs, the setlist was packed with tracks from the boy group that showcased their different colors and charms —yet there are well-loved songs that unfortunately did not make the cut. But The Boyz, in all their love for their The Bs, understood and treated them with a snippet of “The Stealer” and promised to return to perform all the songs their fans wanted to see. Ending the set of charisma-high stages, the boy group performed their 2021 hit, “Maverick”, from the single album of the same name.

The Boyz then diverted from the usual encore fit as they came back on stage looking princely in white tops and black bottoms —ready to serenade The Bs with “Spring Snow” and “Horizon”.

Eric then greeted The Bs with the sweetest “Happy five years and seven months to my forever”, adding he wants to be with The Bs forever. And one after the other, the members relayed their gratitude to the fans who have become their horizon. “I think each one of you will be remembered in my mind like a photo. Thank you. See you.” New said.

Jacob also expressed his appreciation to the fans who showed up despite the heavy rains. “From start to finish, you guys have been amazing. Your energy is amazing. It’s been a long time since my ears have hurt from the screaming. Thank you so much for your love and your energy. I feel like we’ll be able to take this and work harder to come back with better music for you guys. We will be back. Please wait for us. Thank you so much! Mahal kita,” he added. Haknyeon and Q echoed this promise to come back and give their best.

Hyunjae reflected on their first solo concert in the Philippines, noting that it made up for all the years they have been unable to perform for their Filipino fans. “I really wanna say to our Filipino The Bs that we thank you so much. Today, I really had a happy moment with you. We will come back.” Younghoon also expressed his happiness to have had the concert and asked fans to look forward to their comeback in August. Similarly, Juyeon thanked fans for coming today — for giving him energy today. “Let’s cheer each other up and have happy lives together.”

Sunwoo said his farewell message while adorably granting fans’ requests randomly in the middle of his speech. “Thank you so much for enjoying the show with us and we will come back to the Philippines with more energy,” he added. Sangyeon got his Filipino words out one last time, saying “Natutuwa akong makilala kayo. Nandito ako para makita ka.” He went on to say that the Philippines always gives him good memories. “I wanna come here more often and see our Philippine The Bs more often too. I love Philippines! Mahal kita.”

“It’s actually so crazy ‘cause I’ve been there. I have been where you guys are standing… I know what’s that like. And to have someone do that for me and for The Boyz. It’s actually so amazing and I feel so blessed today. You guys, every time we come to the Philippines, you have unmatched energy and I can’t get enough of it. Thank you, guys, so so much for making time for us tonight. I promise we’ll be back.”

KEVIN

Eric also expressed his astonishment at the Philippine concert crowd’s seemingly unmatched energy. “I rarely see people with louder voices than me. Every single one of you here beat me… Shout out to you guys and congrats. Thank you.” And with those words, The Boyz once again —for the last time that evening— took the stage with their 2022 single, “Timeless”, from Be Aware.

As Sangyeon, Jacob, Younghoon, Hyunjae, Juyeon, Kevin, New, Q, Ju Haknyeon, Sunwoo, and Eric exited the stage, handwritten letters from them filled the screen— letters of love and gratitude to The Bs who, throughout every zeneration, has stood by them. And this gratitude went both ways as The Bs made sure the members knew how they, too, got through the dark times with The Boyz and their music.

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THE BOYZ 2ND WORLD TOUR: ZENERATION IN MANILA was presented by DNM Entertainment and In2une Entertainment. Special thanks to DNM Entertainment for the invitation.