SEVENTEEN during the first of their two-night 'Right Here' concert at the Philippine Sports Stadium in Bulacan, January 18, 2025. Photos courtesy of Pledis EntertainmentThe night began with a resounding bang that echoed across the open-air expanse of the Philippine Sports Stadium. A vivid red glow bathed the stage, revealing the silhouettes of a troupe of dancers as they moved to an animating tune. As the music swelled to a dramatic crescendo, three familiar figures emerged: Wonwoo, Vernon and Hoshi.

With his gravelly voice, Wonwoo delivered the signature opening line of “Fear,” igniting a wave of deafening shrieks from the massive crowd. Seconds later, the trio vanished behind an LED screen, which slid apart like a curtain to unveil the full ensemble of SEVENTEEN, positioned atop stepped platforms, their gazes locked onto the sea of fans.

SEVENTEEN was, as their tour’s title promised, right here.

The K-pop sensation, ranked as the second-best selling recording artists of 2023 after superstar Taylor Swift, kicked off the Bulacan leg of their “Right Here” tour with “Fear.” While the song lacked the high-energy appeal of previous concert openers like “Hot” and “Super,” the haunting 2019 single still proved to be a potent choice, effectively igniting the crowd’s fervor.

“Every time we come to the Philippines, the reactions of Filipino Carats are really hot,” Hoshi said through an interpreter in his opening remarks during the first night of the group’s two-day concert.

“Amazing! Fantastic!” vocalist DK shouted, praising the crowd.

The “Right Here” tour marked SEVENTEEN’s return to the Philippines after a year, following their two-day "Follow" concert at the same venue in January 2024. This time, however, the 13-member group performed with two members absent: Jeonghan, who is currently fulfilling his mandatory military service, and Jun, who is focusing on activities in his home country of China.

However, this tour also saw the return of the group’s leader, S.Coups, who had missed the previous concert due to a knee injury that required surgery. Fans were evidently thrilled by his comeback, erupting into cheers every time he spoke or appeared on the screen during performances.

Musical, visual spectacle

SEVENTEEN is known for delivering bombastic concerts, and the “Right Here” show was no exception. It featured striking background visuals, dazzling beams of light cutting through the open air and thrilling pyrotechnics—all coming together for a breathtaking musical and visual spectacle.

The group wasted no time boasting these production elements. “Fearless,” the second song of the night, began with fireworks shooting up into the sky and flames bursting from the front of the stage, amplifying the intensity of the hard-hitting, rock-tinged track.

The “Journey to the West”-inspired “Super,” which closed the main show, featured a longer fireworks display that illuminated the Bulacan sky throughout the outro.

Accompanied by a live band, SEVENTEEN delivered a repertoire of over 20 songs, including their 2024 singles “Maestro” — where Woozi played the opening chords on a piano while Hoshi, towering above him on a raised platform, danced with a conductor’s baton — and the feel-good, romantic track “Love, Money, Fame.”

Other highlights included “God of Music,” which had the entire stadium chanting along to the “Kung chi pak chi” line; “Ima (Even If The World Ends Tomorrow),” which returned to the setlist after being excluded from the tour’s United States leg; and the heartwarming “Home,” which enveloped the audience in its comforting melodies.

Hip-hop unit

Performance unit

Vocal unit

As with the usual format of SEVENTEEN’s concerts, the group’s three units each had their time to shine, starting with the hip-hop unit consisting of S.Coups, Wonwoo, Mingyu and Vernon (who surprised fans with a new buzz cut hairstyle). The quartet hyped the crowd with “Water” and “Monster.”

Backed by futuristic visuals, the performance unit of Hoshi, The8 and Dino had fans grooving to the city pop song “Rain,” followed by “Lilili Yabbay,” which the team also performed during their “Ode To You” concert back in 2020.

Garbed in earth-toned princely attires, Woozi, Joshua, DK and Seungkwan of the vocal unit serenaded fans with “Candy,” delivering the ballad with passion, before fielding the livelier “Cheers to Youth.”

Playful energy

SEVENTEEN are not only exceptional performers, but they also win the hearts of fans with their fun and laidback personalities, which shine through in their reality content such as the YouTube series “Going Seventeen.”

That same playful energy carries over into their concerts, with the members occasionally setting aside choreography to indulge in lighthearted antics, adding a touch of spontaneity and theatricality to their performances.

In “Oh My,” for example, the members brought an extra layer of fun by playing badminton and basketball on stage. The song even took a brief pause when they “woke up” Vernon, who pretended to be asleep, wrapped in white sheets. Towards the end, the dancers dressed in animal costumes entered the stage to engage in a dance battle with the idols in what was considered a “Jumanji”-inspired segment.

In “Snap Shoot,” DK led his bandmates in a carefree, child-like skip from the main stage to the extended stage before bursting into a silly dance.

However, the concert was not enough to fully cover SEVENTEEN’s extensive discography. To make up for it, the group delighted fans with brief performances of songs that were not part of the official setlist, including “CBZ (Prime Time),” the latest single from sub-unit BSS (featuring DK, Seungkwan and Hoshi).

Encouraging the crowd to sing along, the group also dished out snippets of beloved tracks like “Our Dawn Is Hotter Than Day,” “Mansae,” and “World.”

Not that the group even needed to ask Filipino Carats to sing along—they did so enthusiastically throughout the concert, which ran for about three hours. The effort certainly didn’t go unnoticed, as the members frequently remarked how beautifully the local fans sang.

‘Super passionate’ fans

By the end of the night, the boys were clearly moved by the Filipino fans’ overwhelming enthusiasm and expressed their heartfelt gratitude.

“When we were performing, of course, the energy of the Philippine Carats, they were super passionate. Even before coming out on the stage, you guys were singing so well. So we were also very hyped up to do our performances tonight,” DK said.

“We really have good memories about the Philippines. I’m truly touched by the huge, passionate energy you give,” Woozi said.

SEVENTEEN fans fill the Philippine Sports Stadium during the first night of the group's 'Right Here' concert

Wonwoo said he had “fun” for the group’s first concert this 2025. “We received a lot of good energy from you guys... We will try our best to give you guys good music,” he told fans.

Turning sentimental, S.Coups said, “After 10 years, I’m very, very happy that we are artists, singers that could fill up this kind of stadium.”

Adding to some of his bandmates’ promise to return to the country, S.Coups said: “Although we’re not 13 [members right now], I really, really hope that there will come a time that we could fill this kind of venue up with 13 members.”