by Jonathan Hicap
Three years after their first outing in Manila, K-pop group ITZY returned to the Philippines with a two-night concert that drew loud cheers from Filipino fans.
ITZY held their “Checkmate: The 1st World Tour” in Manila on Jan. 14 and 15 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Manila was the first stop of the Asia leg of the world tour and their first concert in 2023. They launched the world tour in Seoul in August last year and embarked on a US tour until November.
When they first came to Manila in December 2019, ITZY held their Premiere Showcase Tour after having just debuted in February of the same year.
More than three years later, after the pandemic restrictions were eased, ITZY launched their first world tour “Checkmate.”
In Manila, ITZY opened the show with “In The Morning,” “Sorry Not Sorry,” “Shoot!,” “What I Want” and “365.”
“Kamusta kayo? [How are you?]” said Yeji.
“Na-miss ko kayo, Midzy [I missed you, Midzy]” said Lia.
“Masaya akong makita kayo [I am happy to see you],” said Ryujin.
“Mahal namin kayo [We love you],” said Chaeryeong.
In Manila, ITZY also performed “Cherry,” “Icy,” “Free Fall,” “#Twenty,” “Wannabe,” “Dalla Dalla” and “Sneakers.”
Each member also had solo spots. Ryujin performed “Boss Bitch” by Doja Cat; Yuna sang “Maniac” while Lia had “Red” by Taylor Swift. Chaeryeong performed “Bloodline” by Ariana Grande and Yeji sang “Hotter Than Hell” by Dua Lipa.
They finished their set with “Cheshire,” “Loco,” “Not Shy,” “Domino,” “Trust Me (Midzy),” “Boys Like You” and “Nobody Like You.”
“Midzy, I think I can feel how much you have been waiting for us. So I want to say, really, really, thank you so much and I really missed you so much. So this time is really an honor to me and (it is) the happiest moment in my life. Salamat sa paghihintay at salamat napasaya ninyo ako [Thank you for waiting and thank you, you made me happy],” said Yuna.
Chaeryeong said, “I’m so surprised to see you guys welcoming (us) warmly. Thank you so much for waiting and welcoming us.”
She added that they started their first Asia tour “with great energy, thanks to Philippine Midzy. I will never forget these cheers from you guys. You are the best. Thank you always and I love you, Philippine Midzy. Mga Midzy, the best kayo [Midzy, you are the best].”
“First of all, thank you for coming here and I was really surprised you guys cheering. Even when we were doing the soundcheck, we were so surprised that we think today will be so crazy. I think we expected, maybe more than we expected you guys give us so much energy and so much love tonight so thank you for that,” said Ryujin.
She added, “And I always saw Filipino Midzy [online] and they always wanted us to come to the Philippines so bad and now we finally came. Sorry if it took a little long time.”
Lia said, “First of all I want to say thank you so much. The amount of energy, the amount of love, the amount of support you guys always give to us is unbelievable and we are so grateful for it.”
“From the new year, we have prepared for this Asia tour and a lot of you came to welcome us. And while doing our performances on stage today, we were able to see how much love and excitement all the fans have for us. Thank you so much for this beautiful memory and from now on, we will be working so much harder so we can come back to Manila,” said Yeji..
A day before the concert, ITZY held a press event at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati.
ITZY’s “Checkmate: The 1st World Tour” in Manila was presented by Live Nation Philippines.
