K-pop group Red Velvet performs at the Mall of Asia Arena for the Manila stop of their 'Happiness: My Dear, ReVe1uv' fan concert tour, September 14, 2024. MJ Felipe, ABS-CBN NewsPrior to showtime of the recent Manila stop of Red Velvet’s “Happiness: My Dear, ReVe1uv” fan concert tour, the excitement from the audience could be felt even backstage.

“Before the fan con started, I felt like the venue was shaking. And I thought, ‘What’s that noise?’ I was really curious,” Irene, who leads the five-member K-pop girl group, said through an interpreter.

“When we finally went onstage, I saw how many you guys were and your cheers were so loud. I was really surprised,” she told fans who packed the Mall of Asia Arena.

The anticipation to see the “Cake Girls” was understandable. While it had been just over a year since Red Velvet’s last visit to the Philippines — and despite three members having performed at a New Year’s countdown event last December — the fan concert marked a special occasion for the Filipino supporters. This time, the band was complete with all its members, including Joy, who was absent from the previous “R to V” concert due to health reasons.

To roaring cheers, Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, and Joy emerged onstage through a parting LED screen. When Seulgi kicked off the show with the opening lines from the group’s debut single “Happiness” — “Sometimes, you gotta be bold / Just rock the world / Boo-ya!” — the fans joined in, loudly delivering the lines alongside her. From that moment, the crowd was relentless.

From the first number up until the encore, fans — affectionately known as “Luvies,” derived from the official fandom name “ReVeluvs” — maintained their fervent energy, their passionate chanting, cheering, and singing resonating throughout the arena.

“The energy and the cheers of the Philippine fans are really amazing! You recited [the opening lines of ‘Happiness’] with me. I was so surprised,” Seulgi said in her opening remarks.

“Out of all the countries for the fan con, the energy in the Philippines is truly the best,” said Yeri, the group’s youngest member.

Yeri emerged from the B-stage after “Happiness,” delivering a brief dance solo before rushing to the main stage to join her bandmates for “Ice Cream Cake.” This two-track set was the perfect opener for the fan concert celebrating Red Velvet’s 10th anniversary, serving as a reminder of the group’s journey from a quartet to a five-member act (Yeri joined the team in 2015 during promotions for “Ice Cream Cake”).

Setlist

The 20-piece repertoire spanned various eras of the group’s decade-long career. Early in the show, the girls, dressed in red and white cheerleader uniforms, delivered bright and bubbly songs like “Parade” from the 2019 album “The ReVe Festival: Finale,” “Sunny Afternoon” from the 2016 extended play (EP) “Russian Roulette,” and “Sunflower” from the recently released EP “Cosmic.”

Clad in form-fitting dresses, the girls set a more relaxed mood with performances of “Underwater,” “So Good,” and “Bubble,” which highlighted their individual vocals and gorgeous harmonies even more.

The quintet then swapped their light-colored dresses for darker pieces, a costume change that suited the series of edgier tracks “Knock Knock (Who's There?),” “Bad Boy,” and “Psycho.” They then followed up with a string of newer singles, including “Feel My Rhythm,” “Queendom,” and “Cosmic.”

Midway through the show, Joy remarked that the fans’ cheers were so loud, she could even hear them through her in-ear monitor.

“Where does your energy come from?” Wendy asked. The fans expectedly responded that their energy came from seeing Red Velvet.

For the lengthy encore, the girls performed “My Dear,” “Sweet Dreams,” and “You Better Know,” along with fan-favorite singles “Red Flavor” and “Zimzalabim.”

During “Zimzalabim,” the venue transformed into a full-blown rave, with fans eagerly jumping, waving their light sticks in the air, as laser beams sliced across the space, while the girls energized the crowd from the stage.

Just as Red Velvet were about to say goodbye, they yielded to the fans’ requests for one more song with “Hit That Drum,” its pulsating beats and electronic elements creating a festive atmosphere that brought the evening to a thrilling conclusion.

The members of Red Velvet in a photo taken backstage from their Manila fan concert. Photo from Red Velvet's X accountFan surprises

The three-hour event was billed as a fan concert, which usually blends song-and-dance numbers and interactive segments. However, “Happiness: My Dear, ReVe1uv” leaned more towards being a full-fledged concert.

Despite the lack of the typical segments found in fan meetings, the event was still rich in fan-artist interactions. At one point, the girls granted fan requests written on sticky notes, including picking a song they felt matched their group (EXO’s “Ko Ko Bop”) and Yeri composing an acrostic poem using the word “Manila.”

Fans also prepared three tarpaulins with special messages, which were unveiled at various points during the show, including one celebrating Joy’s recent birthday.

“I was really surprised that the fans celebrated my birthday. While I was doing the performance, I was really touched,” Joy said.

Filipino ReVeluvs also brought paper planes and confetti bearing messages for the girls. “Mahusay! (Excellent),” Wendy said of the fan initiatives.

‘Really the best’

Before ending the show, presented by Wilbros Live, Seulgi confessed that during rehearsals, she worried whether the group could fill the arena. “But right now, we can see this venue is filled up. So when we came out for the first performance, I was really surprised,” she said.

“Thank you so much, Manila Luvies, for keeping the energy up until the end of the fan con. You guys are really the best!” she added.

The other members also expressed their gratitude to the fans and continued to praise them for being a lively crowd.

“Because of the positive energy that Philippine Luvies gave, I was super happy to be on stage while performing… Loving you is the easiest thing I have ever done,” Yeri said, flipping the message from one of the fans’ tarpaulin that read, “Loving you is the easiest thing we have ever done.”

Joy shared that she “didn’t feel that I was exhausted” because of the fans. “Because of your smiles, I was able to get positive energy for this fan con,” she said.

“We promise you guys that we’ll come back here in Manila as five of us,” Wendy said.

Irene added: “For sure, I'll miss the energy of the Philippines and the smiles of our Manila Luvies.”

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