7 highlights of ENHYPEN's first night in Manila

There’s definitely no stopping ENHYPEN as they brought the arena down with their heart-stopping performances during their sold-out “Manifesto in Manila” a.k.a. “Manilafesto” concert on February 3 — and mind you, it’s only the first day!

With the show spanning for two and a half hours, the 4th Gen K-Pop powerhouse did not let the jam-packed crowd’s energy “flicker.” From the insane production, to the setlist, to the heartwarming ments, ENHYPEN really made everything worth every ENGENE’s wait. So, we're here to highlight them one by one.

Fair warning to the Filo ENGENEs who will watch the two remaining sold out shows this weekend — this is a complete major spoiler alert! (Don’t say we didn’t warn you.)

1. Banger setlist

Debuting as a “pandemic” group in 2020, it is indeed the Filipino fans’ first time to witness ENHYPEN perform the songs they’ve grown to love from the boys’ growing discography — right in the flesh. And so, being able to hear most of their songs live not only makes you want to stomp your feet to the beat, but also feel a bit nostalgic.

The K-pop boy group’s setlist completely took ENGENEs through a quick glimpse of their eras. From their smashing entrance of “Given-Taken” from the “BORDER: DAY ONE” album, to their promising performances of their recent releases “Future Perfect (Pass the Mic),” ENHYPEN’s evolution and maturity evidently resonated all throughout the show.

2. Body rolls and aegyo poses

Who would forget the body rolls during their iconic dance break in between the “One in a Billion” performance shifting to their chart-topping B-side track “Fever?” Definitely not their fans!

When the seven members did their body rolls rather sexily while biting down the collar of their shirts, which is part of the choreography, naturally, the crowd absolutely lost their minds!

Still, ENHYPEN didn't the chance pass by without showing the other side of them — their innate aegyo! Sunoo, known as the member with the most aegyo, gave his biggest heart pose with a matching jump for the fans to savor.

Intense eye contact and finger hearts after another, ENHYPEN really knows just how to make their fans swoon!

3. Superb fan interaction

When “Polaroid Love” started to play, that meant one thing — ENHYPEN serenading their “Polalove” which every fan looked forward to. The members went beyond the extended stage to hold hands and take selfies with their dearest fans.

And not once but twice did ENHYPEN make sure to come down the stage to get closer to their fans because during the encore, the boys simply had to interact with them once more by singing “Let Me In” and “Go Big or Go Home” yet again.

Apart from coming down the stage, ENHYPEN also gave some of their fans a little something to remember the night — an official tour orange ball. And to return the favor, ENGENEs also showered the group with gifts such as plushies and letters that ENHYPEN gladly took with them as a precious souvenir.

The love was definitely “given-taken” by ENHYPEN and ENGENEs alike!

4. Outstanding production set

Upon entering the venue, huge LED screens that surrounded the stage welcomed concert-goers with ENHYPEN music videos flashing on screen that absolutely pumped their spirits up for pre-concert gaming. Aside from the usual camera setup during performances, there were also individual cameras focused on every member that really captured their candid reactions real time.

As soon as the concert began, lights blindingly lit up the whole arena. But what made the fans’ jaws drop even more? The surprise stage mechanism that lifted the whole group during their heartwarming performance of “SHOUT OUT,” that not only added feels but also tears to the audience’s eyes.

5. “Walang uuwi” at “sumigaw”

Apart from the usual Filipino words such as “mahal kita” and “salamat” that these boys already knew by heart, they proved that they also learned a new Filipino word that got the fans cackling and hyped up at the same time.

ENHYPEN members kept screaming “sumigaw”  which they meant as “make some noise” that the fans rather obligingly did.

Halfway through the concert, fans only wanted to “Go Big” and not “Go Home.” Thus, the immense chant of “walang uuwi” all throughout the boys’ last ment.

“Shall we spend the night together?” Heeseung teased the fans in response.

Well, don’t mind if we do.

6. Successful fan project

Hours prior to the big concert, fans of the “OT7” set up fun and exciting booths for every ENGENE to enjoy. There were photo booths, food stalls, and giveaways that made D-DAY seem like a huge fiesta.

And of course, they wouldn’t let the chance pass by without proving themselves as the best fans of ENHYPEN at the show! During Jungwon’s last ment, ENGENEs sang him a birthday song for his special day on February 9 which the member happily danced along to.

For the fan project at the end of the show, the plan was to only hold up their banners to express their gratitude and admiration to their beloved idols. However, the fan project became more meaningful when they sang the fandom’s special song “SHOUT OUT” for ENHYPEN only.

It was safe to say that the fan project was a win!

7. Filo ENGENES as the most passionate

The energy of the crowd did not falter despite hours of patiently waiting before the concert. ENGENEs were really consistent in making it the most memorable concert for ENHYPEN to remember.

“This may not be the biggest arena we’ve been to, but this is the loudest,” Jake said. “You guys are amazing, we don’t know why we waited so long to come here.”

Jay seconded Jake by saying that they will truly create many memories with their ENGENEs in their two remaining shows.

Former figure skater and now ENHYPEN member Sunghoon mentioned that 10 years ago he came back to the Philippines for an ice skating tournament but he was rather more than happy years later because he was able to share new memories with the members and ENGENEs.

“We went to a lot of countries for our concert, but Philippine fans are the most passionate,” Jungwon said.

Ni-ki, the maknae of the group, expressed his love and gratitude through a series of "thank yous” and “I love yous” that fans will definitely not forget.

ENHYPEN is a seven-member group composed of Jungwon, Heeseung, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo and Ni-ki. After almost two years since their debut, these boys embarked on their highly anticipated first world tour with Manila as their final stop for the Asia leg.

Last December 2022, the group visited the country for their first fan meet. —JCB, GMA Integrated News