Time out with 2PM

MANILA, Philippines - Imagine this: Fans camping out for hours at the hotel where the K-Pop boy band is staying to catch a fleeting glimpse, or patiently waiting — standing — at the airport for their arrival, or shelling out P11,500 to be in the mosh pit, only to stand for three hours to see the boys up close.

Talk about Filipino fan devotion to 2PM, one of the top boy bands in Korea and Asia.

The group blew into town for a one-night-only concert at the Mall of Asia Arena dubbed What Time Is It on Saturday night.

Taecyeon, Wooyoung, Jun K., Nichkhun, Chansung and Junho performed their K-Pop hits Hands UP, Heartbeat, Again and Again and Crazy Over You to hundreds of swooning Filipino fans at the arena.

It was an eardrum assault as the crowd, made up of young girls, women in their 20s, 30s and 40s (I saw a couple of grandmas) yelled at the top of their lungs as the boys gyrated with provocative dance moves.

It didn’t matter if the songs were in Korean, the audience hummed along and knew the lyrics by heart. And as the ritual in any K-Pop concert, the fans were armed with cameras, Ipads, fanboards and glowsticks, which they waved as the muscular boys of 2PM performed.

The Filipino fans got wild and loud the moment the group came onstage and sang its first song for the night, I’ll Be back.

Every minute the fans yelled, especially when Chansung launched a solo number, Love You Down. The crowd went insane the moment he took off his shirt to reveal his abs.

2PM is known in Korea for being “beastly idols,” which means they project a manly image, complete with abs and muscles, unlike some K-Pop boy groups that border on being androgynous.

In an interview, Nichkhun said they do rigorous workouts to stay fit and muscular.

Each member had solo performances, some of which were even original compositions.

Jun K. sang his Just One Night while Nichkhun performed on the piano Let It Rain, which he said he wrote for his fans who are collectively called “The Hottests.”

Junho sang Just a Feeling while Taecyeon deejay-ed and rapped on It’s Time.

One thing that made the fans happy and worth the money they paid was the warmth and congeniality of the 2PM members toward them. The Korean idols did a lot of fan service, shaking hands with fans, posing for pictures and goofing around. Three members even lingered long after the encore songs were finished.

The group also sang a Tagalog children’s  song, Tong, Tong Pakitong-Kitong, to the delight of the crowd who sang along.

They also prepared a video where they showed a note in Tagalog.

The boys and the production staff also made the effort to relate to the crowd as everything the boys said was translated in Tagalog through sub-titles in a video screen. There was a Filipina translator likewise, although hidden, in real time.

Some of the translations became funny because they appeared to have double-meaning in Tagalog.

Example: When Chansung was preparing to say goodbye and speaking in Korean, the translation read: “Malapit na kami magtapos dahil marami na kaming nagawa at naipakita na po naming ang aming pagkalalaki.”

They don’t have mellifluous voices like our very own OPM singers Jed Madela or Erik Santos, and there were parts when the boys seemed to lip-synch but it was OK, they more than made up for it with their looks, expert dancing and warmth to their fans.

The production was world-class and did not scrimp on the special effects and other stuff. Stage was big, with revolving platforms, lifts, laser lights, giant LED screens and fireworks. 2PM was accompanied by a live band and a battalion of dancers.

The 2PM boys profusely thanked their Filipino fans for the outpouring of love and support, and promised to come back to the Philippines.

What was also noteworthy during the concert was their camaraderie.

At the presscon, Taecyeon said that five years of being together only strengthened their bond.

“It’s normal, we disagree at times, even brothers fight sometimes, but at the end of the day, we try to talk things out. We’ve actually become a family, we look out for each other, we love each other,” said Taecyeon and Nichkhun.

They see many more years of being together and hopes to penetrate the US, Latin America and Europe markets.

“We want to be successful in places like Europe, US and in other parts of Asia. That’s our goal,” Taecyeon said.

Meanwhile, they also revealed plans to soon launch an album, which is “going to be more mature and sexy. We can’t divulge the details yet but soon, we will release the album.”

The group just recently released its second Japanese album The Legend of 2PM and a week after its release, the album climbed on top of the charts.