Promises are made to keep and Youngjae certainly kept his. 

A little over two years ago, GOT7 held their KEEP SPINNING concert in Manila, serving as their highly anticipated return to the Philippines since 2015. It was then that they promised they wouldn't make their fans wait another three years for them to come back. On 23 July 2022, Youngjae fulfilled his promise, coming back to Manila for his SUGAR MINI-CONCERT TOUR. 

Presented by CDM Entertainment, the 'Vibin' hitmaker took over New Frontier Theatre for a mini-concert and fansign event in celebration of his sophomore mini-album SUGAR. It was a day's worth of fun, laughs, colourful visuals, and stunning performances. 

Emerging from the darkness onto the pastel pink lit stage, Youngjae opened his concert with performances of 'Tasty' and 'Focus', each of which was greeted with a chorus of excited cheers and screams. It's no secret that the 'Walk With Me' act is an incredible singer but there's something about his stable vocals (even as he danced and interacted with the crowd), his mellifluent falsettos, and the way he effortlessly transitions between vocal ranges that still leaves you in absolute awe. 

After the opening, we're immediately brought into the next segment: 'Kwentuan with Youngjae (Conversations with Younjae)'. 

Hosted by VJ Ai, this portion of the concert—often interrupted by sporadic proclamations of love and compliments from the crowd—had everyone laughing as the singer-producer shared stories about his latest mini-album, learned some Tagalog (particularly, his new favourite word gwapo which meant handsome), and raved about the delicious meal he had from Jollibee the day before. 

There was even a round of games where Youngjae had to guess some songs from its first few seconds (including 'Wait For You' by Elliot Yamin, who he shared helped him find his musical colours), and where fans had to answer questions about Youngjae. It was 30 minutes or so of just pure fun, where the crowd got to laugh and bond with the 'With You' act. 

As we enter the second half of the show, Youngjae returned to the stage to give mesmerising performances of 'Vibin' and 'SUGAR'. Complimented by colourful stage visuals, the singer-songwriter was a delight to watch as he sang every note and hit every dance move with such precision and passion.

As a gift to Youngjae, IGOT7 or Ahgases (GOT7 fans) prepared a heartwarming video to thank the 'Roses' singer for not only keeping his promises but for being a source of light and joy even from so far away. "Despite the distance, you are the person who gives us strength every day. For working hard and sharing your music, we are sincerely grateful. You never fail to make us feel loved no matter what and we hope you feel our love back 333 times more," said the video. 

“I was thinking that maybe if it was like this sweet, I should have come earlier," responded a teary-eyed Youngjae who sincerely thanked the crowd for sticking by him. It's always endearing to see artists connect with their fans live, through music or otherwise, but there was something special with Youngjae's connection with the crowd. 

Beyond the video, Youngjae interacted with the crowd with such ease, overcoming the language barrier (with a lot of help from the translator) like it was nothing. It spoke volumes how, even after almost three years apart, Youngjae managed to pick up right where he left off when he last came to Manila. 

The concert ended much like how it started, with excited cheers and adrenaline buzzing in the air. Youngjae closed out the show with a performance of 'Crema', as well as GOT7's 'NANANA' and 'Girls Girls Girls'—the latter of which brought him down from the stage into the crowd as he danced and sang with his fans. 

They say happiness is contagious and Youngjae's certainly was. Whether he was performing or joking with the crowd, there was always a smile on his face that you couldn't help but return back.

Across an hour and a half, we sang, danced, almost cried, and laughed. By the end of the show, it felt less like a concert but rather a reunion with longtime friends. During it all, Youngjae promised he'll return as soon as he can and there's no doubt he'll keep his word.