Photos by Ernestine Marie Cunanan
No doubt about it, Winner’s version of the ‘Tala’ dance routine captured the hearts of its Filipino fans, Inner Circles (ICs), and the public as its video clip garnered over a million views in a matter of hours right after the conclusion of the Cross Tour concert at the Mall of Asia Arena on January 25.
It was Sandara Park of the former 2NE1 group who suggested the dance challenge to be the group’s surprise fan service performance. According to Park’s Instagram post, she passed on a dance video to the group’s main dancer, Hoony, who mastered the dance routine and taught his team as well.
With smooth and effortless moves, Hoony covered the Tala dance perfectly and, to add his own flair, he came up with a few steps of his own. Right after, members Yoon, Mino and Jinu joined Hoony for a repeat of the Tala dance routine that surely recruited a new batch of baby ICs thanks to the video that went viral. The feat, however, is just a sliver of the sensation the Winner stars created that night as they crossed paths with ICs.
Sans the dance cover, Winner’s concert is a banger in itself. With so much confidence compared than the last concert, each of the performances was lit as they delivered their hit tracks such as “Empty,” “Everyday,” “Love Me Love Me,” “Island,” and “Really Really” to name a few.
Each of the Winner members shined on stage as their individual charms and presence easily commanded the stage. Hoony was oozing with sexiness with every move as he performed his single, “Flamenco” from the Cross album, in his fitted black outfit with flaming red embellishments. Before he sang his unreleased cut, “Serenade” he addressed the audience as, “Mahal ko” so everyone just lost it with screams.
The group’s prince of charms, Jinu, performed his very first solo single “Call Anytime” that was just so sweet, the kind that pulls you and drops you in heaven. Yoon, whose next door boy type appeal can easily win the crowd with his smile, turned naughty and sang a couple of lines of Jinu’s song, before he belted his own solo track from the Cross album. Strutting his guitar, Yoon displayed his powerful voice range and left the audience astounded with his song, “Wind.” To finish off the solo set, Mino started rapping from an elevated ramp as he segue to “Trigger” in full swag mode. The overly crowd then was enthralled with his rendition of his solo monster hit, “Fiance,” the lead track from his solo album, XX, complete with backup dancers and full stage set up similar to one of the scenes of its music video.
Speaking of stages, the concert production got some serious upgrades with added set design and lights, moving ramps, huge video walls, and most importantly, a live band, a first for a Winner tour. The live accompaniment did wonders to pump up the intensity of Winner’s performances to which audience responded with the same vigor and excitement, filling up the halls of the Arena with a party vibe.
Since the Chinese New Year coincided with the concert date, Winner greeted their fans wearing the traditional handbook while Inner Circles took the occasion to belatedly greet, Yoon for his birthday. Surprised and he jokingly replied, “It’s the 25th, guys! It’s not my birthday!” Nevertheless, he enjoyed the attention.
Inner circles were also treated to a freestyle rap as Mino played around with words that rhymed with Manila. As subtle messages of good byes, Hoony sang impromptu the words “wag nyo kaming kalimutan,” similar to Jinu’s farewell bid, since he’s due to start his mandatory military service this year, that came with a promise of the group’s comeback.
Update: The Winner Cross Tour concert in Singapore was recently cancelled due to the nCoV health risk.
Image credits: Ernestine Marie Cunanan