MANILA, Philippines — Halfway into their “Born to Be” Manila concert in Mall of Asia Arena last Saturday, Korean girl group ITZY surprised MIDZYs when they danced to the chorus of “Pantropiko,” the smash hit of Filipino girl band BINI.
After performing the Act I of their set list, which included the titular “Born to Be” as opening number, ITZY had an interaction with their fandom MIDZYs, and during the interaction, the group, composed of Yeji, Yuna, Ryujin and Chaeryeong, shared that on their way to their Philippine comeback, they received many requests from Filipino MIDZYs, and one of them was the “Pantropiko” dance challenge.
Thus, during the interaction, Yeji, Yuna, Ryujin and Chaeryeong took turns, two by two, to dance to the “Pantropiko” chorus, which they repeated when MIDZYs pleaded for the group to do it again.
Presented by Live Nation Philippines, the one-night-only “Born to Be” concert is from the group’s third overall studio and second Korean-language album released last January 8, 2024 through the group’s talent agency, JYP Entertainment, as well as Rebublic Records and Dreamus. The album is promoted by the group as a quartet following Lia’s hiatus due to health concerns.
Besides the title track, “Born to Be” songs performed by ITZY during the concert included “Untouchable,” “Mr. Vampire,” and the four members’ solo performances such as Chaeryeong's "Mine,” Ryujin's "Run Away,” Yuna’s "Yet, But," and Yeji's "Crown on My Head.”
The group also performed other tracks from their previous albums, including “Swipe” from “Crazy in Love” album; “Wannabe” from “It'z Me,” “Sneakers” from “Checkmate,” “Cake” from “Kill My Doubt,” and “Be in Love” and “Boys Like You,” among others, for the encore. The members concluded with their first commercially successful single, “Dalla Dalla,” complete with popping confetti akin to a rain of cherry blossoms.
They returned to Manila from last year for their first world tour concert, "Checkmate." They then came back for a fan meet in April last year, then performed at the Asia Artist Awards 2023 last December.
Apart from Manila, the group will also perform in cities in Asia, Europe and US, including Bangkok, Tokyo, Hong Kong, London, Madrid and Los Angeles. — Video by Deni Rose M. Afinidad-Bernardo, video editing by Anjilica Andaya