Words and photos by Danica Lacson

Superstitions tell us that Friday the 13th is unlucky, but December 13, 2019 got us believing otherwise as South Korean singer-actress Lee Ji Eun, also known by her stage name, IU, treats everyone at the SMART Araneta Coliseum with the luckiest and most memorable concert experience in 2019 IU TOUR CONCERT <LOVE, POEM>.

The chart-topping and award-winning singer-actress made sure her MA-AENAs went home with big smiles on their faces and satisfied hearts, filling the almost four-hour long show with a jam-packed set list and charming and heartwarming talk session. In return, her MA-AENAs gifted her with the loudest cheers and most passionate energy, showing no signs of tiredness and sending across their love to their queen.

IU kicked off her first ever solo concert in the Philippines with “Unlucky”, a track from her newest release, Love Poem, and “Palette”, her collaboration with BIGBANG’s G-Dragon. And right from the start, fans did not hold back in showing the singer-actress how much they longed for that moment to happen with thunderous fan chants filling The Big Dome and surprising IU and her team.

“Wow, Manila. You guys are really passionate… I feel like I fell in love… Seriously, seriously, ang galing nyo,” IU said during a talk portion, adding that Love, Poem in Manila was the first time she can’t hear herself because of the loud cheers. She even revealed that her team was having a mental breakdown at that moment because the crowd was louder than the microphone.

Divided into four parts — Love for Moment, Love for Message, Love for Meaning, and Love for Miracle —- the concert saw the first live performances in the Philippines of “Autumn Morning”, “Friday”, “Secret Garden”, “The Visitor”, “Jam Jam”, “Twenty-Three”, “Bbi Bbi”, “Hold My Hand”, “Last Night Story”, “Blueming”, “Meaning Of You”, “Knee”, “Lullaby”, “Through the Night”, “dlwlrma”, “The Red Shoes”, “Above the Time”, “You & I”, “Good Day”, and “Love Poem”.

It was definitely an unforgettable concert, made special by the passion and love of IU and her fans for one another.
The singer-actress treated fans to a special stage of MYMP’s “Say You Love Me”, a song she said she loved and sang a lot during her teenage years, and re-encore of songs fans requested namely “Leon”, “Raindrop”, “Merry Christmas in Advance”, “Ending Scene”, and her finale song “Heart”.

She was also adorable as she tries her best to speak in English and Filipino (“Masaya ang pakiramdam ko!”, “Ang galing nyo!”, “Salamat dahil gusto ninyo ako.”, “Iinom lang ako ng tubig.”, and “Babalik ako.”) to send her messages across to her MA-AENAs and also got us smiling from ear to ear with her cute humor (“If there are people sleeping right now, don’t wake them up.”, “Did those who fell asleep wake up already?”).

MA-AENAs prepared fan projects for IU, gave their all in cheering and singing along, and created memories for the singer-actress that we are sure she brought home with a happy heart. “If every concert my fans are as loud as this, I think I will have so much fun,” IU even said during the concert. It was a really job well done for the whole fandom who patiently waited for their favorite idol to come and as IU said, “It was so much fun and touching.”

Love, Poem in Manila was a history made — the longest K-Pop concert in the Philippines and IU’s first solo concert in the country. More so, it was a testament of IU’s growth as an artist in the past 11 years and her humility and sincerity towards her fans, the staff, and her team and a showcase of the unwavering dedication of MA-AENAs.

“Thank you, guys, for showing me something beautiful,” IU said. And indeed, Love, Poem in Manila was beautiful — a fruit of more than a decade of patiently waiting for this first meeting that bloomed prettily on Friday.

“Don’t forget our first meeting.”

Lee Ji Eun

Check out more photos from that night below:

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The 2019 IU TOUR CONCERT <LOVE, POEM> in Manila is presented by PULP Live World. Special thanks to PULP Live World for having us.