All-out love for Youngjae as Ahgases welcomed him back to the country with their warmest affection and loudest cheers!

Youngjae returned to the Philippine concert stage on February 24 for his Inside Out Tour at the New Frontier Theater. This marks his second solo event here, the previous one happened two years ago. Known as the main vocalist of GOT7, the 27-year-old singer showcased not only his many talents but also his unwavering sincerity toward his fans.

The concert, which lasted for 2.5 hours, was a joy from start to finish. The setlist featured Youngjae’s personality inside out, so to speak. Starting with the grooves of “Vibin’” followed by the enticing “SUGAR” and the cheeky “Deal”, he flexed his smooth moves early on. His vocal prowess shone through his sweeter and slower songs like “Dreaming Again” and “Thinking of You”. He had the crowd hooked with the LSS-inducing “Do It,” his latest single.

Youngjae admitted he wasn’t feeling 100% that day. It seems he was going through a coughing spell which affected his singing, throwing off his focus at some parts of the show. Still, he tried his best to give more than 100% to his fans by powering through his performances and more importantly by openly communicating with them. He mostly spoke in Korean with a translator interpreting his words to the audience. In between songs, he would talk about tidbits of trivia for his songs: how “Lonely” is a song that best reflects his inner self and how he sets up many alarms just to get himself to wake up in the morning about “Snooze”.

It is a well-known fact that Youngjae is a huge fan of Bruno Mars, and he took the chance to highlight that while he was here. As a special gift for his Filipino fans, he performed a rendition of “When I Was Your Man”, citing Bruno’s deep connection to our country as the reason. He even promised to upload his cover of the song on YouTube soon.

In the middle of the show, he revealed that he has two sides: Artist Youngjae and Player Youngjae. Artist Youngjae is his serious, perfectionist side. Since 2016, he has been composing songs under the name Ars, lending a hand to some of GOT7’s discography. As a solo artist, he took on this endeavor unrelentingly as he took command of the songwriting for most of his tracks. On the other hand, Player Youngjae is more of a relaxed goofball, the kind that chooses to take things slowly. Conflicting as they might be, he said he needed both sides to make music. “Music is my safe place,” he explained.

“I want to work as a musician until I become an old man. I want more people to remember my music.”

YOUNGJAE

Filipino Ahgases, of course, showered Youngjae with their heartfelt fan projects. Before the concert, they set up ‘Tindahan ni Youngjae’, a snack bar set up in the same fashion as a sari-sari store. Youngjae was so fond of it, he posted it in his Instagram stories. Another one was the banner project featuring Youngjae’s beloved pet, Coco. Holding up the banner, he was moved to tears because of his fans’ efforts and also because he missed his dog. Last but not least, Ahgases made a surprise video tribute featuring Youngjae’s moments from his debut up to his solo career.

Towards the end of his concert, he also performed a medley of GOT7 songs including “Hard Carry”, “Lullaby” and “Girls Girls Girls” which got Ahgases on their feet.

Overwhelmed by the love of his fans, Youngjae thanked the crowd again and again. He said that although he wasn’t feeling well, he was able to perform well because of their support. In the near future, he promised to show an improved version of himself as he works on new music.

The bonuses kept piling up even at the end as Youngjae asked the crowd which song they wanted to see him perform again. As fans would have it, they wouldn’t want him to leave so easily. Ever obliging, he ended up performing three additional repeat songs with full choreography for the encore. Truly, Youngjae is a beautiful person inside and out.

Special thanks to CDM Entertainment!

by Sandra Mae Laureano