The iconic performances that made Asia Artist Awards 2023 in the Philippines: From SB19 and &TEAM’s ‘Gento’ collab to SEVENTEEN BSS’s exhilarating closing stage – photo gallery

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A six-hour programme on a weekday could be daunting, but the 2023 Asia Artist Awards (AAA) (14/12) created memories that had fans abuzz for days. Some – not just those in the bleachers, but the artists as well – might even say they had life-changing experiences there. There were firsts for them, in the same way that the AAA was a first for the Philippines.

Out the gate, the lineup was everything: around 35 music acts and 22 actors. That was the magnet. Leading up to D-day, you would hear “I have to see (insert song title here) live” and its different permutations. From long-time favourites and K-Pop titans to breakout rookie acts – not to mention homegrown talent – getting the spotlight onstage (and screentime), the hype and anticipation paid off. Yes, it was an awards show, but it also had the trappings of a music festival with artist stages that became the talk of the town for days.

A handful of the guest idols and actors had not set foot on Philippine soil until this moment. Some of them only got to meet their fans in this part of the world for the very first time. Naturally, the converse meant that having the Philippines host the occasion would be a true treat, especially for those who stan multiple groups or who avidly binge-watch K-Dramas. Different fandoms gathered under one roof and coloured the Philippine Arena with their assortment of light sticks, cheering and singing along even if it wasn’t their ult’s turn onstage, whether to perform or receive their hard-earned trophies.

Beyond the allure of it all, the AAA stage became a platform shared by industry juggernauts and up-and-comers alike, by artists from home and abroad. While the crowd in the arena soldiered on and remained glued to their seats, the entire affair was also beamed across the planet via different streaming channels (like Weverse, hulu, and Lazada). So naturally everyone brought their A game to the 8th AAA and kept surprises to deliver unforgettable – perhaps you can say iconic – performances.

Below, relive the night in official photos and videos:

WHIB

The rookie group, fresh as they can be from their November debut, did the honours of opening the festivities mid-afternoon, performing their debut singles ‘DIZZY’ and ‘BANG!’

SB19 x &TEAM

Josh, Pablo, Stell, Ken, and Justin wasted no time in scorching the stage red-hot with the crowd favourite (read: idols who did the challenge) ‘Gento’, then ‘Mana’, ‘Bazinga’ and ‘Crimzone’.

The clincher, however, was when the boys of &TEAM – EJ, Fuma, K, Nicholas, Yuma, Jo, Harua, Taki, and Maki – joined SB19 as they reprised the ‘Gento’ chorus, setting the stage for collaborations, interactions, and easygoing spirit that would shape the evening.

Lapillus

Filipino audiences love to draw connections to their countrymen (or someone who has Pinoy heritage), and they found that in Filipino-Argentine Lapillus member Chanty. But that’s not the end-all be-all of giving all-out support, with all the cheers coming from the rafters to the floor. Seeing the girls performing ‘Who’s Next’ with impeccable timing and incredible stage presence, people ought be asking, “what’s next” for Lapillus?

HORI7ON

HORI7ON have been hard at work building their worldwide fanbase, named Anchor, since debuting mid-2023. Sharing the AAA stage with Asian artists of various backgrounds was a milestone for them, no doubt. To mark the occasion, the all-Filipino boy group gave a new twist to their debut song, ‘SIX7EEN’, giving it a high-voltage rock edge.

LUN8

Even with prominent hyungs (형들) or seniors like ASTRO at Fantagio, LUN8 have been gradually coming into their own (not to mention their subunit, LUN8wave), showing their unique charms this early in the game. For their AAA debut, they brought their thrilling and buoyant pumper of a debut single, ‘Wild Heart’.

ATBO

ATBO brought tropical-flavoured levity to the occasion with ‘Mayday’ and smile-inducing grooves with ‘Next to Me’.

Yaochen 姚琛

There was Yaochen’s cheeky but touching nod to Stray Kids’s Bang Chan in his New Wave award speech: about promises they made to each other as trainees at JYP Entertainment, and how happy he had been to get this far and be able to share the same stage with his friends. When the soloist got the spotlight for his ‘Adventure Player’ stage, that promise materialised.

Paul Blanco

The Korean-Canadian artist had a fitting song for the event – as after all, this is the tropics: his BE’O collab, the balmy and languid ‘Summer’.

Kingdom

Kingdom made an impassioned bid to stir up the crowd, ramping up the energy once more with ‘Coup d’Etat’.

Ash Island

Ash Island gave his entrance some flair and drama as he belted through his power ballad, ‘Melody’.

Tempest

Tempest revved things up in the blustery ‘Vroom Vroom’, before making a splash as they took a ‘DIVE’.

NMIXX

While they were shimmying to earworm ‘Soñar’ (Breaker) (“Come a so-soñar” could really get stuck in your brain for quite a while), NMIXX was clever for interpolating it with unmistakable passages from ‘Love Me Like This’ in the short but sweet time they had onstage.

Kep1er

‘WA DA DA’ hitmakers Kep1er are practically experts at giving the last song syndrome (LSS). Here they were again, doing it on the live stage with 'Giddy'.

ONEUS

ONEUS’s ‘Baila Conmigo’ stage was such a fantastical and mesmerising affair – from its flamenco rhythm to the boys’ deft movements. There was no denying, too, how member Leedo was quite the magnetic presence.

Lee Young Ji 이영지

‘나는 이영지’ (I am Lee Young Ji), shouted the phenomenal rapper in her song of the same name – as if she had needed any more introduction. At the end of ‘Not Sorry’ (featuring the special participation of her BSS 오빠들/oppas/older brothers) where she exclaimed, “Make some noise for me,” the response was resounding – and that was pretty concrete proof of how much the crowd loved her.

BOYNEXTDOOR

The KOZ Entertainment boy group, still in the middle of their debut year, likely gained more than just a few new fans at AAA (shoutout to Jaehyun having the time of his life during BSS). Bursting with personality, the charming lads of BOYNEXTDOOR made their Philippine live debut memorable with ‘뭣 같아’ (But Sometimes) and ‘One and Only’.

ZEROBASEONE (ZB1)

Just barely into their debut year, wunderkind rookie act and Boys Planet victors ZB1 continued to rack up achievements and prove their mettle as artists (that dance break; not to mention Hanbin on emcee duty). While the group truly missed member Ricky, suffice it to say, they crushed it with their ‘In Bloom’ and ‘CRUSH’ (가시) stages.

Kim Jaejoong 김재중

As the opener of the second half of the whole show, Kim Jaejoong was a presence to behold onstage, and his voice, a true earthshaking force. With his very own band and his powerful tenor technique, he left everyone breathless as he sang ‘One Kiss’ and ‘Mine’.

DinDin

DinDin took the stage by his lonesome, yet he manage to captivate the arena crowd with his effortless charm and confidence performing ‘이러면 안 될 거 아는데 너 앞에만 서면 나락’ (I’m not myself when I’m around you) and '속는 중이야’ (Foolin’ Myself).

Dreamcatcher

The septet rocked the AAA stage with the sleek numbers ‘Shatter’ and ‘OOTD’, making an indelible mark on this big stage, as if to declare – just like their song – “비춰 (shine the) spotlight, unforgettable / I'm the future, so incredible.”

&TEAM

After their scorching performance with SB19 at the start of the show, the HYBE Japan global group returned to the stage with some fresh cuts from their First Howling: NOW album, ‘Dropkick’ and ‘War Cry’.

Kang Daniel

The singer and 2023 AAA emcee took a bit of time off his hosting duties to take the stage spotlight for himself with ‘Selfish’ and ‘Nirvana’.

KARD

After an unforgettable stage at last year’s AAA, BM, J.Seph, Somin and Jiwoo returned to this year’s edition with even more scintillating performances: ‘Icky’ and ‘Cake’.

STAYC

When you hear that catchphrase, “STAYC girls, it’s going down,” you know it is indeed going down – with copious amounts of sugar and aplomb. The fourth generation queens of cute brought a handful of their bops to AAA 2023: ‘Teddy Bear’ and ‘Bubble’.

Kwon Eunbi 권은비

Kwon Eunbi said the mic was on. With the immersive and impactful ‘Underwater’, the solo artist had such a commanding stage presence, keeping thousands of and ears fixed on the stage.

Sakurazaka46

The standout Japanese idol group amazed dozens of fans and fandoms with the epic and supercharged ‘承認欲求’ (Shōnin Yokkyū).

NewJeans

The arena has long been waiting for Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein to take the stage and make their live Philippine debut. Truly, the energy was so palpable – from the massive wall of sound built in the bleachers, down to the floor with the other artists who couldn't take their eyes and ears off the ‘OMG’, ‘ETA’ and ‘Super Shy’ hitmakers, who earned trophy after trophy that night. “Standing on this stage today truly felt like a dream to us. All this wouldn’t have been possible without these amazing artists,” said Danielle, just as NewJeans became a double AAA Daesang winner for 2023.

Now, Bunnies here will just have to wait with bated breath if the group will have their own headlining show up next – if any of the hints they were dropping throughout the evening were any substantial indication.

LE SSERAFIM

As the night was winding down to the last few acts – but not the energy – LE SSERAFIM was determined to make it into an even more ‘Perfect Night’. Just as the song went, “I got all I need, you know nothing else can beat / The way that I feel when I'm dancing with my girls,” there was no shortage of good vibes, until they switched things up, promptly stunning the audience and serving with their runaway hit, '이브, 프시케 그리고 푸른 수염의 아내’ (Eve, Psyche and the Bluebeard’s Wife).

AKMU

It’d be hard not to beam from ear to ear with sibling duo AKMU (a.k.a. Akdong Musician) filling the entire place with joy and positivity, performing crowd favourites like ‘Love Lee’ and ‘Give Love’.

ITZY

The ITZY girls killed it on the AAA stage, amping up the voltage with ‘Kill Shot’, and then their pièce de résistance: a generous serving of ‘Cake.’

The Boyz

The Boyz had turned the heat on these tropical isles earlier this year for their ‘Lip Gloss’ shoot in Siargao, but the flames they had lit this time burned ever so hypnotically until they engulfed you – you better watch it. Even with just one number, ‘WATCH IT’, the group made such an impact that would leave you wanting for more – perhaps there should be another headlining Manila show soon.

Lim Young Woong 임영웅

Yes, the core demographic of Lim Young Woong was definitely well-represented at AAA in the Philippines. These passionate fans were even blessed with a Daesang themselves, and the beloved crooner returned the love with the tender ‘모래 알갱이’ (Grain of Sand) and also the intense ‘Do or Die’.

Stray Kids

Trust the night’s Stage of the Year winners to tear up the AAA stage, delivering an astonishing string of one high-octane number after the other, as if without a pause or breath: ‘MANIAC’, ‘죽어보자’ (GET LIT), ‘TOPLINE’, and their big finish, ‘락’ (樂) (LALALALA)

BSS 부석순

SEVENTEEN’s resident gag trio BooSeokSoon (BSS) has come a long way from their dancing little ‘Catallena’ days, and now they’re getting Daesangs as a unit – and even teasing comebacks that’s sure to be blockbuster hits.

Everyone had waited long enough for the charismatic Boo Seungkwan (부승관), Lee Seokmin (이석민 a.k.a. DK) and Kwon Soonyoung (권순영a.k.a. Hoshi) to take the stage, and when they finally did, people surely let loose and had the time of their lives. From ‘7시에 들어줘’ (7PM) where they had actors Kim Sejeong, Kentaro Sakaguchi, and Lee Dong Hwi (이동휘) play along; ‘파이팅 해야지’ (Fighting) where even their partner-in-unseriousness, the queen Lee Young Ji herself, was caught off-guard in their onstage reunion; to the OG BSS banger, ‘거침없이’ (Just Do It) – everyone left their inhibitions behind and danced the night away without a care in the world. “우린 여러분의 부석순” (We are everyone’s BooSeokSoon): the trio delivered their promise.