When Jay Park said in his song, “Ain’t No Party Like an AOMG Party”, he meant it.

Stretching into a four-hour-long concert, AOMG artists, Simon Dominic, Loco, Gray, LeeHi, Yugyeom, and Woo showed nothing but the best experience for the fans to remember when they paved the way in the AOMG WORLD TOUR 2023 – FOLLOW THE MOVEMENT Asian leg in New Frontier Theater last January 15, 2023.

Thanks to PULP Live World, one of the leading Korean hip-hop and R&B record labels have finally landed on the Philippine shores, kicking off the new year right as one of the first shows in 2023 in the country. As the AOMG’s six multi-talented and versatile artists rocked the stage, the night went on a colorful genre performances switch: from hard-hitting, bouncy hip-hop beats to heartfelt ballads and slow R&B songs with intimate and hilarious interactions, here’s a recap on what AOMG brought to the table.

WOO, WOO, WOO!

Opening the concert strong with his signature black bennie look, one of Show Me the Money 6’s front runners, Woo Won Jae or more commonly known as WOO started his set with “R.I.P.” plucked directly from his 1st Album, BLACK OUT which is a bouncy hip-hop piece that made the crowd jump from the get-go. In another song from the same album, he did not let the crowd breathe when he transitioned to “Chik Chik Pok Pok”, originally featuring Jvcki Wai and SIMO (MA).

WOO proved that he belonged on that AOMG stage when he hit the crowd with the fast-paced “Chingiz Khan” showcasing his rap skills and squeezing in the song “Devil” originally with Code Kunst, the 3rd chapter of the music video SignHere. Closing in his powerful set albeit it being short, he showed his intimate side with the song “ME” from his latest EP comma, telling the crowd that he poured his soul into writing the song, with lyrics showing on the big screens so that fans can easily connect with the message he was trying to portray.

Despite being a last-minute addition to the line-up for the tour’s Asian leg, WOO showed beyond doubt that being an opener–which is usually a difficult task for any act–is a breezy work with his command and made the crowd have it with them repeating his name over and over like a chant.

Manila says Hi! To LeeHi

One of the most recognizable voices and known names in the Korean music industry, LeeHi opened her set and mellowed out the crowd with her most well-known songs that made you feel nostalgic and experience emotions, her usual effect on everyone who hears her music.

Starting with her most-listened and most popular song “ONLY” from her overall 4th full album 4 ONLY, a release that marked her boarding the AOMG family, LeeHi made the fans feel that they belong in the story by letting them sing the choruses. Continuing the mellow train singing “Breathe”, another familiar ballad from her album SEOULITE that she delivered flawlessly as if it came straight from the actual recorded song. These ballads reminded us that LeeHi remains one of the strongest vocalists in South Korea as she is simply accompanied by nothing but a simple stage, and still able to immediately seize the attention of every person in the venue.

Speeding the mood a bit, LeeHi sang “Savior”, another song from her 4 ONLY album and originally with B.I., a crowd favorite that made you dance a little, and digging into her old discographies, she officially pumped up the crowd with her song “Rose” from her 2013 album FIRST LOVE.

Bringing out some backup dancers signaling an upbeat set of tunes, LeeHi added “No One” and went way back to her first song, “1,2,3,4” to keep the fans energized while showing everyone that despite the only female act of the night, she can keep up with a fast-paced AOMG stage.

“You are our real thing right?” she asked the crowd, to which the fans answered with a resounding YES. The fans proved that all right when she asked them to chant “머리 어깨 무릎 발” for the song “H.S.K.T” and the fans did not miss a beat. LeeHi responded to the enthusiasm by impressively rapping the song’s featured artist Wonstein’s rap part, showing how much of a versatile artist she is. Capping her performances for the night, she danced to the retro-styled funky song “Red Lipstick”, originally with Yoonmirae, leading us into a complete full circle of mood from dulcet to upbeat.

Loco for Loco

If you’re into Korean hip-hop, it’s almost impossible to not have Loco in your playlist. As the original winner of the most recognized rap reality TV Korean show, Show Me the Money, Loco proved to be a household name in Korean hip-hop as he exhibited his talent on the Manila stage.

Starting his set with an explosive song titled “MBTI” a song produced by GRAY, Loco showed that he didn’t come to play and was serious. The fans matched his energy while he bounced with everyone and told the crowd, “You guys are so hot!”. He also shared that he visited the Philippines when he was young and he went to Cebu in his small talk with the crowd, while preparing to open a full-blown party portion of the evening.

Performing songs from his EP Summer Go Loco, “Party Band” and “OPPA” that made you feel like the summer came too early and it wasn’t too much when he sang “Too Much” from his only LP release, BLEACHED, originally featuring DEAN. Adding to the lineup of incredible songs, Loco showcased two songs in collaboration with Hwa Sa, which got us all ‘shipping’ the duo because of their chemistry. Said songs are called “Don’t” and “Somebody!”.

Rendering the usually confident rapper speechless, the Filipino fans surprised the artist by singing the song “Say Yes”, an OST for the popular Korean drama Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo after he shared that he heard that the song was popular in the country. As it has been a long time since he performed and recorded the song for the drama, he promised that he will practice the song to sing for the fans and immediately fulfilled his promise later when he came out to sing the song cutely in front of the fans with lyrics on hand.

In line with this, he tackled “It Takes Time”, the last song from his act before he shook the grounds with the next portion.

Immediately making the crowd jump up from their seats and dance, he performed “ON IT + BOSS”, a song from Show Me the Money 4, and “No Manners”. No manners indeed when he decided to set aside his jacket and went topless, sending the crowd into a frenzy. He topped that performance by spraying water to the crowd like how rockstars do, even hyping them and making sure that his act is not something you easily forget.

Who could forget Loco really, he led a whole generation of rappers when he took the crown for SMTM 1 and continued to have collaborations with the biggest artists in the industry like Baekhyun of EXO, Heize, Crush, and many more.

Get Colorful with GRAY

Another household name in the Korean Hip-Hop scene, the singer, rapper, and producer GRAY steered the fans to a colorful act, opening it with a song that goes back to his roots, “Dream Chase” from the album CALL ME GRAY. As if being transported to different times and places, GRAY showed us that he has a vibrant discography along with the hypnotizing visuals that accompanied on stage, which moved from the groovy, “Show Window” featuring pH-1 from his album grayground. to a slow R&B “TMI” and then jumping back up to a funky track of “Summer Night”.

“Kamusta ka?” GRAY greeted the fans, a fail-safe kilig factor for Filipino fans everywhere when the artist makes an extra effort to greet the crowd. GRAY then continued his show with “Close 2 U”, “Baby Don’t Cry” and “Make Love” three songs from the album grayground. and followed it with a synth-rich track “Moon Blue.” Being a skilled producer, GRAY gave the fans a treat when he played the melodica for the song “Lose Control”, which was most likely the inception of most of his creative and colorful tracks. Joining a handful of artists for the webtoon She is My Type, GRAY contributed to the series with the song “STAY THE NIGHT”. A serenade? GRAY got you. He slowed the mood for a moment when he sang “U”, another great track from his grayground. album.

Joining GRAY on stage, Loco once again came out on stage and performed “Just Do It” and “Late Night” completing the stage of the well-rounded artist that witnessed and expressed how energetic and welcoming the Filipinos are in one of his small talks with the fans.

Yugyeom in the sea of Green

Undoubtedly one of the most awaited acts of the night, the Aghases never failed to show up for all of the members of GOT7 including their maknae, raising their green-colored lightsticks before Yugyeom even stepped on stage for support. Reciprocating this act, he performed “I Want U Around” from his EP Point Of View: U, a slow R&B track that helps the audience find their groove in between the beats.

Following the same genre, he performed “Take You Down” and “Lights” both coming from his single release, Take You Down, and excited the fans, even more, when he approached them, closer than any fan would ever dream of. Coming out the third time and upping the atmosphere a bit, Loco came out to add his voice on stage with Yugyeom with the song “All About U” while the latter showed off his dance skills, proving to everyone that he’s still that incredible dancer we all love.

He continued his set with “Running Through the Rain” accompanied by GRAY who does the synths and instrumentals and GRAY sang the song “All Your Fault” next, hailing also from his EP Point of View: U and “Love the Way.”

Being a notorious but humble dancer, he let his backup dancers have their light under the spotlight, with solos and freestyle the crowd welcomed. After the two dancers had their style showcased, Yugyeom also showed off a bit of krumping and locking, all these talents under the song Chingiz Khan by WOO. We love a humble king!

Ending his set, he proudly sang his latest 2023 release, “PONYTAIL” featuring Sik-K, not missing a single step on the dance floor.

Yugyeom also reminisced on the previous times he was in the Philippines, from coming in as a GOT7 member or just a solo artist, he couldn’t help but still be in awe of the welcome he was getting. The appreciation was evident as towards the end of the whole show, he went down to the crowd and took a couple of selfies with his fans, signing paraphernalia and merchandise, to give them back the love they have been giving Yugyeom since Day 1.

SPELL HIS NAME. It’s Simon D-O-M-I-N-I-C oh oh!

Opening strong despite being the last act of the night and garnering the largest cheers from the venue yet, Simon Dominic manifested the phrase, “Save the best for last!” and showed that belongs to him.

The Filipino fans showed how impressively passionate they are when they can catch up with his single “DAx4” even though the chorus will get non-fans tongue-tied. No one in the room faltered that night so he then transitioned to one of his most famous tracks, “Simon Dominic” with fans spelling his name as a part of the lyrics regardless of it being released way back in 2015. He even garnered more cheers when he squeezed a “Magandang gabi po!” a phrase you rarely hear from international artists. This only showed his dedication to the fans, the same way fans are dedicated to him.

“This is my first time coming to Manila right?” he asked. “One of the things I’m surprised is… how crazy you guys are. So crazyyyyy!” he pointed out before letting the room bounce with the songs “POSE!”, “room type”, “ya ain’t gang”, and “GOTT” from his 2019 EP release, No Open Flames.

Giving a kilig factor to the fans, he said he’s looking for his “Wifey” from the crowd, a song that featured CAMO.

As he is one of the most prominent names in the K-hip-hop industry, he had a whole portion of all the best songs he was featured in. He sang “Baddest Nice Guys” a song originally he was featured on led by Jay Park and Krin, “NO THANKSXXX” with Epik High, MINO, and The Quiett, “At Night” and “make her dance” with Loco, who came out again to sing the song with him on stage and still keeping Jay Park’s spirit in the house, he performed “MOMMAE”.

Closing the set with a slow R&B song that was showcased originally in Show Me the Money 5, and bringing out GRAY who was featured in the song, Simon got comfortable with “Comfortable.”

Simon talked the most to fans that night with hilarious banters about the cheeky banner brought by a fan–which he could not get over the whole night and taking the piece of paper home, drawing a fan’s next tattoo, and telling everyone that as much as he would like to date the Magagandang Filipinas–meaning beautiful Filipinas–(another Filipino word he learned and played with MAGANDA FOREVER), he doesn’t like long-distance relationships or giving bottled water to fans who were thirsty, nearly tripping in the process, it’s hard to believe that it’s his first time interacting with the Filipino fans. A contradiction to the strong powerful rapper that he is, he showed that there’s more than meets the eye and despite the rapper image he has built over the years, he’s still that humble, approachable idol you feel close to.

The Avengers of Hip-Hop: Encore

The group closed the night with “119 Remix”, “UPSIDE DOWN”, “TTFU”, “Party for the Night”, “ON AIR”, “WE ARE” and, “WHO YOU” in evincing the power AOMG label has in all genres of music and how they’re not the people you mess with but the people you respect in the industry.

Follow the Movement in Manila was an all-out eye-candy event as well because the production did not fell short with the stage set and visualization that matched the bigger stages of KPOP.

It was a good chaotic last hour stretched as if all security measures were scratched. It showed that despite being giants in the scene, meeting fans and getting closer to them by going to different ticket tiers–like Loco and Simon Dominic running close to the Royalty area, just behind the VIP Standing tier–or LeeHi almost diving into the crowd desperately looking for a pen to sign an album a fan brought or Yugyeom going around the area for a selfie with whoever asks for it while GRAY and WOO take cameras from the crowd for a selfie is more important.

The passion the fans showed proved that they are the “real ones” as LeeHi kept on repeating the whole night when the whole venue did not fall short on any of the songs, noting that there are 6 artists who mostly sang the lyrics in Hangul.

The music transcended through space and geographical borders and making it yet again, another win for music in general as it’s unofficially declared as the universal language. And we may not know when is the next concert but we can hope that it should happen soon, wishing for a possible whole AOMG family line-up. We are incredibly glad that we witnessed a commanding set of talents and we await their next step in music as we follow the movement.

Words by Arielle Elep
Photos by Arielle Elep

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AOMG World Tour 2023 – FOLLOW THE MOVEMENT in Manila was presented by PULP Live World and Happee Hour. Special thanks to PULP Live World for the invitation to the event.