Friday nights have always been synonymous with flashing neon lights, good music, and people dancing without a care in the world; and that was exactly the scene at YUGYEOM’s return to Manila. 

On 19 August, the GOT7 member took over New Frontier Theatre, gathering thousands of fans to sing and dance their hearts out to what soon was going to be a night to remember. 

Presented by PULP Live World, the concert was YUGYEOM’s first time in the Philippines as a soloist. Later that day, he would share how nervous he was to be gracing the stage alone but his actions said otherwise, as he commanded his way through the night with confidence, power, and charisma. 

To kick off the evening, DJ Wegun took the stage, warming up the crowd with remixes of GOT7 songs and AOMG favourites. With each song earning a chorus of cheers, it started to feel like the beginnings of a party where everyone was slowly getting themselves settled and preparing their hearts for what was to come. 

Soon thereafter, the man of the hour emerged from the darkness, immediately winning over the crowd with his heart-fluttering renditions of ‘I Want U Around’, ‘Running Through The Rain’, and ‘When You Fall’. 

YUGYEOM then greeted the crowd, thanking fans for the warm welcome back before diving back into tracks from his solo debut EP, Point Of View: U. The singer even debuted a new unreleased track 'Always Ready'.

It was particularly heartwarming to see YUGYEOM speak English throughout the entire show. Communicating what the past year has been in a language he wasn’t all that familiar with, the singer shared how he wanted to show different sides of his artistry and music in his solo career, whether that be on stage or on his tracks, and how he happy he was finally getting to display that in front of his fans. 

“I’ll be back to you and I will always think about you. I’ll be rooting for you like you always did for me,” he said.

For GOT7 fans who have been following the group for a while, YUGYEOM has always been the sweet maknae who could never get too playful without the older members lovingly stopping him but tonight, it was his stage and his alone. 

From teasing the crowd with Jay Park’s ever-popular dance to ‘MOMMAE’ and showing his dandelion tattoo during ‘All I Wanna Do’ (also by Jay Park) to getting everyone hyped with his dance break, YUGYEOM was having the time of his life and the crowd was right there with him. 

And because everyone knew that a concert is only as great as its ending, the ‘Lights’ singer closed the show making his way to the crowd singing GOT7’s ‘Hard Carry’ and ‘Two’ before painting the entire theatre in green and confetti with ‘1+1’. 

As we were leaving the venue, you couldn’t help but hear passing conversations from excited fans: “That was so much fun”, “Parang party lang (That was like a party)”, and “That was the best concert ever.”

The entire concert felt like a party you didn’t want to end and even when it eventually did, the adrenaline and buzz still lingered on. While YUGYEOM was only on stage for just over an hour, it never felt like you didn’t get what you came for as he singlehandedly created one of the best Friday nights we’ve all probably had in a while. 

YUGYEOM Live in Manila Setlist

• 'I Want U Around'
• 'Running Through The Rain'
• 'When You Fall'
• 'Falling In Love'
• 'All About You'
• 'Take You Down'
• 'Lights'
• 'All Your Fault'
• 'MOMMAE' (Jay Park)
• 'All I Wanna Do' (Jay Park)
• 'Always Ready'
• 'Chingiz Khan' Dance Break (Woo)
• 'Love The Way'
• 'Hard Carry' (GOT7)
• 'Two' (GOT7)
• '1+1' (GOT7)