GOT7's Choi Youngjae staged the Manila leg of his solo concert Inside Out 2024 Asia Tour at the New Frontier Theater on Saturday, February 24, 2024. 

MANILA — Choi Youngjae has been known as the ever-reliable vocalist of K-pop group GOT7, capable of belting out high notes while executing hard-hitting choreography.

But in the recent Manila stop of his "Inside Out" concert tour, the 27-year-old singer-songwriter showed he has more to offer apart from his vocals, commanding the stage as a soloist with potent dance moves and sharp rapping.

Before a packed crowd at the New Frontier Theater, Youngjae fired up the concert — presented by CDM Entertainment — with upbeat tracks "Vibin'" and "Sugar."

"Mabuhay! Ako si Youngjae (Greetings! I'm Youngjae)," he greeted fans waving GOT7's signature lime-green lightsticks.

"I was here last 2023 in July for a fan meeting. I'm back again for my Asian tour this year. It's nice to see you again."

Youngjae explained that the tour's title came from the idea that everyone has various versions of themselves.

"I believe that everyone has different versions of themselves deep inside... It's gonna be player Youngjae and artist Youngjae," he said.

"I'm gonna show you guys the actual difference of the two of them so let's have fun until the very end."

Among the songs that Youngjae performed were "Deal" and "Dreaming Again," which showed his cool, vibrant vocals and sleek dance moves.

As a special treat to his Filipino fans, the K-pop idol belted out a heartfelt rendition of Fil-Am superstar Bruno Mars' hit "When I Was Your Man."

"He's one of my favorite singers," Youngjae said of the Grammy-winning singer. "He had a concert in Korea last year and I also attended there."

Youngjae also fielded bubbly tracks like "Focus," "Tasty," and "Do It" — numbers that showed why he came to be known as "sunshine" by fans.

Despite having throat problems, he made sure to power through in mellow songs like "Moonlight" and "Never Leave You Alone."

Technical glitches

A dramatic performance of "Lonely" went a little south when Youngjae turned visibly upset as his ear monitor malfunctioned.

The artist kept signaling to the technical team about the problem, only to get frustrated as the issue remained unsolved for the entire duration of the song. Nonetheless, he went on with the performance without missing any notes.

"I'm really sorry," he told fans, who responded cheerfully and chanted his name.

"I really don't usually get mad at these things, but you know, it's the smallest things that I wasn't able to perform well," he said.

Youngjae treated his Filipino fans with a wide array of songs from his discography, including his first full album 'Do It.' 

Youngjae did more than well that evening as he dished out more than 20 songs, also including "Roses," "Crema" and "Flower."

Fans treated Youngjae to a heartwarming video that looked back on his journey from being a GOT7 member to being a soloist. The singer turned emotional, especially after seeing banners bearing the face of his dog Coco.

During the encore, Youngjae went back to his GOT7 roots, bringing out the group's singles "Hard Carry," "Lullaby," "NANANA," "Breath" and "Girls Girls Girls."

Youngjae and his dancers took a bow as they thanked fans for attending the nearly 3-hour concert. 

Fans especially went into a frenzy as he executed the rap verses in "Girls Girls Girls."

"[The year] 2024 is a very special year for me because my roots, my beginning, GOT7 is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year," Youngjae said.

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Youngjae also went down from the stage and around the venue for a closer interaction with fans.

As he was supposed to bid Ahgase farewell, fans asked for more encore songs, to which Youngjae obliged. Pushing the concert to nearly three hours, he gave reprise performances of "Do It," "Deal," and "Dreaming Again."

"Ahgase, mahal ko kayo," he said.

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