‘Big Bang’ takes over Manila

MANILA, Philippines—Move over Psy, South Korean boyband “Big Bang” has taken over Manila and reduced us to squealing fangirls.

Big Bang, a popular five-member boyband from South Korea whose fame has reached global proportions, shook the SM Mall of Asia Arena Wednesday night with its songs and the deafening din of screaming fans.
The group is composed of its leader G-Dragon, Seungri, T.O.P., Daesung, and Taeyang and has grabbed many awards, one being the “Best Worldwide Act” in the 2011 MTV Music Awards. So it was no surprise, with the Korean fever sweeping through the country, to see the mammoth crowd waiting outside the concert venue at past lunch that day.

Mostly composed of female fans armed with glow sticks and banners, the crowd had started chanting and screaming their lungs out just watching Big Bang music videos playing before the Manila leg of theAlive Galaxy Tour 2012 began. By time the curtains dropped and the five-member boy group from South Korea were revealed, seemingly frozen in their time capsules, everyone in the crowd was squealing (this writer included) the names of their idols.

Opening the show with Still Alive and following up with fan favorites Tonight and Hands Up, the boys dashed out dancing and singing from their time capsules much to their fans delight. Many were screaming about how different the experience was seeing them in person, and for some, seeing them up close as they waved at fans near the stage.

Daesung said that they had prepared “something special” for their Filipino fans that night and by the time they performed Fantastic Baby, it was evident how special the show was with the crowd dancing and jostling each other to get a good look at the boys. Fans went wild seeing Seungri and Daesung’s charming smiles, TOP’s seemingly reserved stare, and G-Dragon and Taeyang’s uninhibited dancing. At some point throwing gifts on stage, a panda stuffed toy which Seungri took and some fans said TOP caught a bra flung towards the stage–but immediately dropped it when he realized what it was.

Local fans, and a smattering of foreign fans, sang along to How Gee, Stupid Liar, High High, Gara Gara Go, Bad Boy, Haru Haru, Lies, and Monster among others.

Many of them noted the playful interaction on stage . The group paid a lot of attention to its fans, each member striding off to either wave, dance or just smile at the crowd in separate areas of the stage–each time eliciting squeals.

Fans took to Twitter even during the concert, giving other Big Bang fans a peek at what was going on inside the arena, and many saying that this was TOP’s night due to the overwhelming screams that filled the concert venue whenever he appeared on stage.

A lot of them observed how TOP went from being reserved to smiling, waving, saying in his deep voice “mahal ko kayo”, and even at one part obliging to Taeyang’s suggestion to start choom dancing.

Seungri kept on saying that he loved the Philippines and that they would definitely be back soon. This was possibly what boosted the mood up to nearly manic levels even after the fans’ obvious glee when they heard their idols shout “salamat”, “Manila, sigaw!”, and “mahal ko kayo” and play pranks on each other on stage.

Fan favorites Bad Boy and Fantastic Baby were just two of the songs which were performed twice that night, with fans screaming for more when their idols started saying goodbye. They obliged with several more songs and started throwing off jackets, towels and spraying water on each other (Daesung got most of a bottle of mineral water from TOP) and on fans, this writer among the lucky ones.

Fans kept saying they got “blessed” during that night after being sprayed with water by Seungri, TOP and Daesung. Mostly Daesung when TOP emptied two bottles of mineral water on his head.

By the time the concert finally came to a close, the fans, dazed and probably half deaf after all that wild screeching, walked out with dazed but content expressions on their faces. And I must take this moment to admit: I’m a convert!

In fact, like one of my friends said, I will probably have this weird grin on my face for the entire month–or until they come back for another show.

I believe some ten years has been stripped off my age after this night. I’m a 25-year-old but I went out giggling like a teenager after ogling Big Bang a few steps away from the stage.

As I write this just hours after the concert, beginning to feel my muscles aching from much jostling and hardly having any voice for work the next day, like many fans must be thinking right now: it was all worth it.

And what else can I say at this point but “Wow, Fantastic, Baby.”