ENHYPEN amazed by Filipino ENGENEs in historic ‘MANIFESTO’ in Manila

With the number of achievements under their belt, it’s hard to believe that South Korean boy group ENHYPEN made their debut only two years ago. 

And over the weekend of February 3 to 5, the seven-piece act made history again with their MANIFESTO concert in Manila, as they became the first K-pop group to hold three consecutive sold-out shows at the Mall of Asia Arena. 

This was also the first time that the group – Jungwon, Heeseung, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, and Ni-ki – headlined a solo concert in the Philippines, and their fans, the Filipino ENGENEs, put out all the stops to make it a memorable event. 

At an adjacent street in front of the MOA Arena, a fan zone was set up, where stans – concert ticket holders or not – could enjoy a myriad of activities that were prepared by several fan bases. There were booths for each member that gave out freebies and had standees that ENGENEs could pose with, and a poster where fans could leave their messages for the group. The fan bases also prepared several events, such a “random play dance” segment, where fellow fans could win concert tickets. 

While the atmosphere around the MOA complex already felt like a festival on its own, the pent-up excitement and energy was more evident inside the arena, especially when the ENHYPEN members graced the stage. 

The group kicked off the two-and-a-half hour show with their hard-hitting debut track “Given-Taken,” which was closely followed by “Flicker” – a song that the boys first performed in their reality talent competition series I-LAND. 

“We’re so overwhelmed that so many of you guys are here to welcome us,” member Jake said during the start of the show. In a press release given by BELIFT LAB, a total of roughly 27,000 Filipino ENGENEs were in attendance for the group’s three-night residency. 

They upped the ante with performances of tracks “Let Me In (20 CUBE),” “TFW (That Feeling When),” “Upper Side Dreamin’,” and “Mixed Up.” 

The second section highlighted the group’s vocal prowess and synchronization, as they executed intense back-to-back numbers for “Drunk-Dazed,” “One In A Billion,” and “FEVER.” Leader Jungwon even admitted that this part of the concert was the hardest for them to perform. 

Even in the moments when ENHYPEN took the time to breathe and change costumes, the energy never faltered. ENGENEs let out the loudest screams when the members showcased their knowledge of Filipino words and granted the fans’ request for solo dance challenges. 

The atmosphere got more playful when the group performed “Attention, please!,” “Just A Little Bit,” and “Tamed-Dashed.” The highlight of this section, though, was when ENHYPEN serenaded ENGENEs up close by leaving the stage and interacting with the crowd for their “Polaroid Love” performance. 

The group kept the energy going with crowd favorites “Blessed-Cursed,” “Go Big Or Go Home,” and “Future Perfect (PASS THE MIC.)” What made the performances even more astounding was the individual cameras focused on every member, which gave fans a closer and clearer look at the group. 

As they tried to wrap up the show, the members expressed their bewilderment at their huge throng of supporters in the Philippines, with member Sunoo admitting that he was shocked that an additional show was set up after their two concert nights got sold out. 

“You guys are amazing! We don’t know why we waited so long to come here,” Jake said. “Your energy was just phenomenal.” 

Ni-ki told the crowd, “To be able to perform at such a big venue and be surrounded by ENGENEs every moment has been a blessing,” while Sunghoon said that spending time with Filipino ENGENEs really made him happy. 

After a five-minute interlude, the boys returned to the stage for their encore set of “ParadoXXX Invasion” and “SHOUT OUT.” The night had no shortage of remarkable moments, but the cherry on top would be when the whole group was lifted up – literally, by a stage mechanism – during “SHOUT OUT.”

But the treats didn’t stop there, as the group surprised the Friday show attendees with another round of “Let Me In” and “Go Big Or Go Home” for the encore set. “We’re not done, ENGENEs. We’re not done,” Jake said, as they went offstage again to be closer to the crowd. 

When the crowd chanted “Walang uuwi (No one’s going home),” Heeseung promised that they would come back soon to meet more Filipino fans. 

The Filipino ENGENEs, of course, had prepared their own surprise – holding up a banner that read “Our manifesto that ENGENE and ENHYPEN will draw together” while singing the group’s song “SHOUT OUT.” 

This drew compliments from the members. “We went to a lot of countries for our concert, but the Filipino fans are the most passionate,” Jungwon said. Jake added, “This may not be the biggest arena we’ve been to, but this is the loudest.” 

Jay shared, “Our tour is about to end, but I swear that this is one of the most energetic concerts ever.” 

The Manila show served as the group’s last stop for MANIFESTO – ENHYPEN’s first concert world tour since their 2020 debut. For five months, the septet staged 22 successful concerts (with 19 of them sold out!) in a total of 12 cities worldwide. This is no ordinary feat, especially for a group that is still technically considered rookies. 

“ENGENEs, our journey has just begun so please continue to be with us. As long as we have ENGENEs to cheer for us. I think we can do this all night,” Sunoo said. 

It’s a delight to see how much ENHYPEN has achieved, and if there’s one thing we’ve seen from their MANIFESTO world tour, is that their ENGENEs will be there every step of the group’s growth. – Rappler.com