OF course, fans set to watch IU’s first Manila concert expected to fall in love with her. But what was unexpected was for her to fall in love with her audience.
IU, whose real name is Lee Ji-eun, was in Manila for her Love, Poem concert tour on December 13, at the Araneta Coliseum.
IU, who starred in the 2019 hit drama Hotel del Luna, debuted when she was only 15. She has had one of the most successful solo careers in Korea.
She opened her concert with “Unlucky,” a track from her Love, Poem album released last November. She followed that with her 2017 song “Palette.”
She came out like a queen in a lavender dress and sparkly silver props. Her makeup was also sparkly and her eye makeup was exquisitely done in such a way that she looked like she was teary-eyed. She wore her signature bold lip.
Props to IU’s stylists for dressing the 26-year-old singer in clothes that fit her personality.
Later on, IU would say that it was the first time for her to hear a fan chant for “Unlucky.”
“Today feels like a festival,” she said.
“It’s my first time performing in Manila, first time being here since I was born. Right now, I’m very thrilled and so excited. You guys are so passionate. I’m so surprised. I can’t hear my voice. I’m sorry that I came here too late,” she said.
IU’s Love, Poem tour concert in Manila was presented by Kakao M and Pulp Live World.
Happee Sy Go of Pulp Live World promised months before that it would be a four-hour concert and it was. It was slightly longer than a plane ride to Singapore and so worth every minute.
IU performed so many songs, including some covers. There were two encores and at the end of it all, the audience gave her a standing ovation.
IU sang a full range of songs ranging from ballads to fast songs. She showcased not just her singing and dancing talents but her endurance as a performer. To sing and perform for four hours with only short breaks for changing…. I mean, there are a few singers in the world who can do that. The quality of her voice was unchanged from beginning to end.
Among the songs she performed were “The Visitor,” “Jam Jam,” “Twenty Three,” “BBIBBI,” “Hold My Hand,” “Last Night Story,” “Last Night Story” (originally by the Korean group SoBangCha or Firetruck and was used in the Reply 1988 drama series, which happens to be my favorite Korean drama of all time), “Knees,” Meaning of You,” “Lullaby,” “Through the Night,” “dlwlrma,” “The Red Shoes,” “Above the Time” and “You and I.”
IU also performed “Say You Love Me,” the Filipino group MYMP’s version of the Patti Austin original. IU said she started singing this when she was young. She even asked the audience to tell MYMP that she likes them and is a big fan.
She sang “Hold My Hand”, which she said she wrote when she was 17. It was then that we were all reminded that IU doesn’t just sing and dance. She also writes music. Oh, and she acts, too.
Throughout the show, IU kept saying how amazed she was at the audience.
“If my concert will have the 360 stage where I was surrounded by my fans, I will never ever like lose from the energy from the fans. But for tonight’s concert from the first song I realized, tonight I lost. Because I’m I quite tough to beat but you guys are too strong. It’s okay, I like strong people,” she said.
IU also crowned Manila as the city of passion because of the crowd’s cheers.
“I actually thought that the city of passion was Busan in Korea. If you guys come to Korea, please visit Busan. The city of passion and they have really loud voices like you guys, and very warm hearts exactly like you guys. You guys might be brothers with Busan. But today, the ranking will be changed,” she said.
For the encore, she performed the 2011 Song of the Year “Good Day” and “Love Poem,” and the additional encore included songs like “Leon,” “Raindrop,” “Someday,” “Merry Christmas In Advance,” “Ending Scene” and “Heart.”
It was a good night for IU and her fans.
“This is not something that I just say really. I’m gonna bet everything that no one can beat Manila. I feel all my staff are so shocked right now. You guys are really the best,” she said.