SEVENTEEN and Philippine Carats once again made their mark in Philippine concert history as they wrote a new first with SEVENTEEN TOUR FOLLOW TO BULACAN!

When CARAT declared, “No matter where we go or who we meet, in the end, it’s SEVENTEEN,” they meant it wholeheartedly, and FOLLOW TO BULACAN was a monument to the steadfast love and support of the fandom who proudly colored the Philippine Sports Stadium last January 13 and 14 with colors of rose quartz and serenity—as in all the venues that saw SEVENTEEN on the Philippine concert stage since 2016.

The country was a witness to the growth of S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon, Dino, and the Philippine Carats. They have come a long way since their two-day SEVENTEEN 1st Asia Tour 2016 Shining Diamond at The Theatre at Solaire, a 1,740-seat auditorium. Each time they visit the Philippines, they write a new chapter in the history of the local concert scene. Through BE THE SUN in Bulacan, they became the first K-Pop group to perform a solo show at the Philippine Arena, the largest indoor arena in the world, in 2022. Now, they’ve made history by being the first musical act to perform two consecutive shows at the Philippine Sports Stadium, as well as the first K-Pop group to perform in a stadium.

From the opening to the closing acts, SEVENTEEN once again dominated the Philippine concert stage. Their outstanding showmanship, enticing stage presence, endearing personalities, and love for their fans were all on display, and all of this was complemented by a visually spectacular stage production.

Once again demonstrating the unrivaled high energy of the Philippine concert crowd, Carats gave fierce cheers as SEVENTEEN took the stage at the Philippine Sports Stadium. The highly-awaited FOLLOW TO BULACAN began with the blazing “Super” stage, one of the lead singles of South Korea’s best-selling album, FML. Then, the boy group performed “Don Quixote” for the first time in person and brought back “Clap” to the local concert stage.

The members—aside from leader S. Coups and Jeonghan, who were unable to attend the concert due to their current recovery from injuries—greeted the crowd with their trademark “Say the name, SEVENTEEN!” before individually saying hello to their fans (leading the horanghae “cult” membership renewal, in Hoshi’s case) and expressing how much they missed Philippine Carats. “We missed you, guys, so much! We’re glad to be back. From soundcheck and right now, you, guys, are crazy, honestly. We really love your energy. Let’s have fun tonight,” said Joshua. Astonished by the number of people in attendance and the unwavering enthusiasm of the crowd, the members devoted their introductions to expressing their gratitude for the support demonstrated by the large number of fans who attended.

“Let’s make fun memories tonight,” encouraged Philippine superstar Dino who reciprocated the loud cheers with a sample performance of his solo song, “Wait”. And in classic SEVENTEEN concert style, the members taught Carats a special chant for FOLLOW TOUR.

With everyone getting set to plunge back into the performances, SEVENTEEN unleashed their timeless hit song “Don’t Wanna Cry,” their pulsating lead single “F*ck My Life” from FML, and the powerful Director’s Cut title song “Thanks.” Carat bongs lit up the stadium, giving the space a starry night sky that complimented the stage lights and fireworks to perfection.

A SEVENTEEN concert is never complete without the unit stages. The vocal team’s Joshua, Woozi, DK, and Seungkwan signaled the beginning of the unit stages with “Dust” and “Pinwheel”. Warming the hearts and bringing tears to the audience’s eyes, the members concluded their performances with a tribute to Jeonghan: “Jeonghan-hyung, hanihae!” Wearing suits, the performance team’s Jun, Hoshi, The8, and Dino left fans speechless as they scorched the stage with a double dose of the much-missed “Highlight” and the eagerly awaited “I Don’t Understand But I Luv U.” The hip-hop team, tasked with capping the unit stages, did not let down, dazzling the audience with a blazing entrance in red and their scorching performances of “Back It Up” and “Fire”.

The boys’ enjoyable parade of performances of “HOME;RUN,” “Left & Right,” and “BEAUTIFUL”—with the members’ lovely “Manila Carats” preceding every “beautiful” lyric and DK’s “Mahal ko kayo” towards the song’s end—kept the party going as they took Philippine Carats to the FOLLOW FESTIVAL. Amidst the loud and clear reverberating “쿵치팍치, 쿵쿵칞팍치, 예” throughout the stadium, the boy group also debuted their newest lead single, “God of Music,” on the Philippine concert stage. The Going SEVENTEEN theme song made a delightful cameo appearance on the local concert scene and concluded the act with smiles.

Sadly, after the unit stages, Seungkwan had to miss the remainder of the performance due to health issues. Even though he tried his hardest to keep up with the concert, the condition he has been experiencing since the morning has made it tough for him to take part in the remaining portions of it. Carats led Seungkwan’s singing parts and chanted his name to make sure he knew how much they loved him.

Carats were treated to a beautiful rendition of “April Shower” by SEVENTEEN, which was followed by a beautiful and touching rendition of “Kidult,” one of the concert’s most anticipated songs. The stadium came to a halt, soaking in the moment and letting the rush of emotions wash over them as DK delivered his high note flawlessly.

The boys then gave strong and engrossing performances of “Anyone” and “Good to Me,” channeling SEVENTEEN racers. The audience was then treated to brief performances of songs not on the set list, like BSS’s “Fighting,” “Dar+ling,” “Mansae,” and “SOS.” With much excitement, Hoshi demonstrated the “SOS” challenge made by a Philippine Carat. Additionally, FOLLOW TO BULACAN had the honor of hosting the Philippine concert stage debut of Pi Cheolin, the peasant who became the CEO of BOMG, widely known as the alter ego of Philippine superstar Dino. The CEO, who recently performed as a rapper for the first time at the Golden Disc Awards, displayed his talents on his “Fighting” collaborative stage with MinSeokSoon.

The stage was set ablaze when “HOT” returned to take center stage. The breathtaking pyrotechnics show brought even more excitement to the already intense performance, making the Philippines’ fireworks capital well-represented.

SEVENTEEN sang “Run to You,” “Together” in English, and “To You” as they made their way around the stadium on moving carts for the encore, getting closer to their Carats in each section. Wonwoo said, “It’s so nice to see your faces.”

Then, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Vernon, and Dino gave Carats their parting words, thanking the audience for coming to the show and enjoying themselves to the very end. Carats joined Hoshi in delivering his well-known goodbye speech, having also committed it to memory. The performance leader said, “Thank you.” “I’m really happy today because I am with Carats. Please don’t be sick and please stay healthy. I hope we can meet again. Thank you so much for today. Salamat po.” Wonwoo said.

DK also expressed his gratitude for getting to perform in a stadium. The8 agreed, recalling their performances in the arena in 2022 and the one they are in now—a stadium filled with Carats. “We dreamed of performing on a bigger stage, in a stadium. Because of Carats, we achieved that dream. Mahal ko kayong lahat,” he stated.

“It’s been such a long time since we last came here. We missed you so much, honestly. Every time we come here, your energy is amazing. We always have a great time with you, guys, so we wanted to be back. And, we’re back now. We came to such a big stadium because of you guys. Hopefully, today is a really great memory for you, guys. We’ll be back so don’t worry. Mahal ko kayo!”

JOSHUA

Mingyu and Woozi shared their closing statements in Filipino, saying “mahal ko kayo” and vowing “babalik kami para sa inyo.” Vernon hailed the evening as an “amazing night.” “To perform in this huge stadium with all you guys here was such an amazing thing,” he stated. Reiterating Vernon’s words, Dino described performing in the stadium among Carats as an honor.

“Maraming salamat po! I want to express my gratitude in every different language to you, guys. Because of you, you gave me happy memories and allowed me to live happily every day. Thank you so much for having fun with us. Maraming salamat po!”

JUN

Carats didn’t pass up the chance to show the members how much they are loved and appreciated by creating a banner project dedicated to their favorite boys, SEVENTEEN IS OUR FOREVER HEADLINER, as well as a birthday banner and song for Seungkwan.

With “HIT” and seemingly never-ending “Aju Nice”, SEVENTEEN and Carats jumped along to the music with the greatest fervor, feeling every second and every moment of the realization of a shared dream — to take on bigger stages together.

“You are our headliner, always!”

DINO

SEVENTEEN IS OUR FOREVER HEADLINER. History has been once again written by SEVENTEEN and Philippine Carats as the boy group makes their mark once again in Philippine concert history as the first musical act to hold a solo concert at the Philippine Sports Stadium with FOLLOW TO BULACAN. No matter where we go or who we meet, in the end, it’s SEVENTEEN. Indeed, Philippine Carats did, welcoming S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon, and Dino to the Philippine concert stage every time, on every tour. SEVENTEEN’s every visit to the Philippines has become a new page of history written with their Philippine Carat proudly coloring every venue with rose quartz and serenity since 2016.

Wherever CARAT goes, SEVENTEEN will be there. See you again, Carats! And on every tour, SEVENTEEN never failed to make the Philippines a stop, returning to their Philippine Carats—from their first Asia tour, Shining Diamond, in 2016—the only two-day stop—to wrapping up their first world tour, Diamond Edge, in Manila in 2017, then Ideal Cut in 2018, becoming the last stop of Ode To You in 2020, reuniting in Be The Sun in Manila in 2022, making history at the Philippine Arena with Be The Sun in Bulacan that same year, and once more writing another first in Philippine concert history in 2024 with FOLLOW TO BULACAN.

Until the next “Say the Name, SEVENTEEN!” on the Philippine concert stage with S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon, Dino, and the Philippine Carats.

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The article includes events during Day 1 of FOLLOW TO BULACAN. Special thanks to Live Nation Philippines.