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MANILA, Philippines – Filipino DIVEs were feeling “Eleven” as they finally got to see K-pop girl group IVE live during their The Prom Queens fan concert on Saturday, June 17 at the Araneta Coliseum.
Manila served as the first stop for the group’s Asian leg of The Prom Queens tour, something that motivated the IVE members to give it their all to energize the Filipino crowd. The girl group has only previously brought their fan concerts to South Korea and Japan.
The Manila stop was also the first concert since IVE released their first studio album I’VE IVE in April. “We’ll be performing songs from the album that we’ve never shown before,” Yujin said during the press conference held on Friday, June 16. “Every member also prepared a lot of things so our fans can be excited about it.”
Gaeul added that while they’re “nervous and excited” for their first visit in the Philippines, IVE shared that they appreciate the warm welcome of their Filipino DIVEs.
During the Saturday concert, Rei told their supporters that they waited a long time to also perform in front of their fans. “Because of your warmth, no matter what we do, we can say that we are happy tonight,” she said.
The six-member girl group, consisting of Wonyoung, Yujin, Liz, Gaeul, Rei, and Leeseo, have captivated hearts and dominated charts worldwide since their debut in December 2021, even winning “Song of the Year” awards in their short two-year career.
For The Prom Queens concert, IVE centered their performances and segments around a “school high teen” concept that reflects the youthful energy and following of the group.
“We prepared a prom party that can be enjoyed by you, our DIVEs, so we hope that everyone can have a fun time,” Liz shared.
IVE kicked off the concert with a performance of their hit song “After LIKE” to the scream and chants of Filipino DIVEs.
WHAT’S AFTER LIKE! 🌟@IVEstarship kicks off “The Prom Queens” fan concert with “AFTER LIKE.” #IVEMNL2023 #ThePromQueens #ThePromQueensInManila | via @russellchengku pic.twitter.com/mVxRLPN6pW
— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) June 17, 2023
During their opening segment, IVE greeted fans with Tagalog phrases such as “Mahal kita (I love you),” “Kumusta (How are you),” and “Masaya ako (I am happy),” among others.
DIVE INTO IVE! 🤩@IVEstarship introduce themselves with Tagalog phrases. #IVEMNL2023 #ThePromQueens #ThePromQueensinManila | via @russellchengku pic.twitter.com/jOATw6s01q
— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) June 17, 2023
The group then moved on to sing their B-side tracks “Take It” and “My Satisfaction,” before moving to the extended stage for the first time during the night with “Royal.”
“Seeing you guys closer, I think it’s making us happier. Can you see us well,” Rei said after the “Royal” stage.
.@IVEstarship also performed their B-side tracks such as “Royal” and “My Satisfaction.” #IVEMNL2023 #ThePromQueens #ThePromQueensInManila | via @russellchengku pic.twitter.com/kJKI29u3So
— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) June 17, 2023
Filipino DIVEs got to know the group better as IVE played games to become the “prom queens” for the night. The members were divided into three teams: Gaeul and Yujin (Team Manila), Liz and Rei (Team Couples), and Wonyoung and Leeseo (Team Halo-halo).
The first game was “I-Ting Golden Bell!” where the members had to answer an “IVE Quiz” that tested their knowledge of their teammates and the group’s career.
In between answering questions, the IVE members got to show their charming personalities, sharing their favorite emojis, among others.
After the first game, IVE got to perform “Kitsch” for the first time on tour. Filipino DIVEs got excited during the performance and chanted along to the song’s lyrics.
The IVE members then shared their different talents with the crowd through their unit stages, with Wonyoung and Rei performing a cover of Meghan Trainor’s “Me Too,” Yujin and Liz singing a cover of Jessie J’s “Flashlight,” and Gaeul and Leeseo dancing to BLACKPINK’s “Kill This Love.”
During the unit stages, Filipino DIVEs switched the color of their lightsticks to create a pink, white, and blue ocean.
Yujin shared that “Flashlight” was one of the songs that she prepared and performed during her auditions to become an idol. Meanwhile, Gaeul and Leeseo said that they wanted to show DIVEs a “new image” through their performance.
The IVE members then moved on to playing “Silhouette Random Dance” where they have to guess the song based on an image of a dance move. IVE got to dance along to Jisoo’s “Flower,” Girls’ Generation’s “Into The New World,” and Lee Chaeyeon’s “Knock,” among others during the segment.
Once all the games were finished, Team Halo-halo was declared as the “prom queens” for the night. “I’m so happy that I get to enjoy these games with Leeseo too,” Wonyoung said.
IVE then finished their regular set with “Blue Blood” and their hit songs “I AM,” “LOVE DIVE,” and their debut song “Eleven.” After “Eleven,” the Filipino crowd immediately chanted for an encore, which was heeded with IVE performing band versions of “After LIKE” and “LOVE DIVE.” Filipino DIVEs also raised a banner that said “IVE is our dream come true.”
“When you screamed our names, we enjoyed [these stages] more,” Liz said.
The group was driven to tears after watching a fan video that shared dance covers to IVE’s hit songs and a promise from Filipino DIVEs that they will continue to stay by their side “from the beginning until forever.” The crowd also chanted “Mahal namin kayo (We love you)” at the end of the video.
“I’m very thankful that you guys gave us this surprise gift. It’s been so long since I’ve felt this much excitement on stage…. From the intro itself, I heard your cheers and you guys were so great in reacting to our performances. I’m thankful to each and every one of you that [came] to see us,” Leeseo said.
“I’m really thankful and I can’t imagine how long our Filipino DIVEs have waited for us to arrive here…. I know everyone waited for this day and for every DIVE that has been cheering and motivating us, we’re really thankful to each and every one of you,” Liz added.
Gaeul and Yujin complimented the atmosphere of the Manila crowd, saying that their performances were “hot” and “off the roof” due to their energy. Wonyoung also thanked Filipino DIVEs for the “memorable [and] precious memories” that they got to make during the concert.
However, it was Rei who was the most emotional during the Manila stop as she fought back tears while delivering her final message to Filipino DIVEs. Rei recently came back from a month-long hiatus due to poor health, affecting promotions for I’VE IVE.
“Obviously, it’s been so long since I performed in front of DIVEs so I was very nervous. Seeing how countless DIVEs came tonight to see our performances gave me such joy. Every time I see the face of the DIVEs, I really get positive energy…. And I’m very happy that we get to start this Asia tour here with six members together,” she said.
As IVE finished their concert with “Not Your Girl,” the group promised Filipino DIVEs that they’ll come back to the Philippines more often and work harder to repay the love that fans gave to them.
Filipino DIVEs finally got to see their “dream come true” through The Prom Queens fan concert, with the hope of meeting them again on a bigger stage. – Rappler.com
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