K-Pop girl group 2ne1 was in Manila to promote their latest studio album and a one-night only concert at the Mall of Asia Arena as part of their “AON: All or Nothing” world tour.
One of the hottest K-Pop acts, 2ne1 (which is a combination of “21st century” and “new evolution”) is composed of group leader and rapper Lee Chaerin or CL, Park Bom, Gong Minji or Minzy, and of course, Sandara Park or Dara, who we all know from her early Philippine showbiz days (the fact that she can still speak fluent Tagalog is endearing).
I’ve been a Blackjack since the girls debuted in 2009 when they released their first EP “Lollipop”, a collaboration with male group BigBang, who are also under YG Entertainment. Their funky electropop music characterized by CL’s insane rap skills, powerful vocals, and dance moves combined with fierce and sexy fashion is just hot, hot, hot!
The girls made a special appearance at the East Atrium of Shangri-La Plaza for an open press conference last Friday and were greeted with banners, screams and much love from their fans.
When asked what their favorite songs are from their new “Crush” album, Minzy picks the intense title track while Dara’s pick is “Good To You” because she can relate to the lyrics. Meanwhile, Bom likes the slower tracks “If I Were You” and “Baby I Miss You”, both written by CL. CL also wrote Crush and co-wrote her solo “MTBD” with Teddy Park, a producer for YG Entertainment, and couldn’t pick a favorite out of her “babies”.
“We have very different styles when it comes to music, fashion, everything. Even our character, you know? So the whole mixture of that is perfect,” said CL.
They also shared what the best part is about working with the group and expressed their gratitude to Filipino Blackjacks:
What’s the best part of working with the other members?
CL: When we’re on tour, we make lots of good memories, and we get to meet our loving fans. That’s the best part.
How would you describe the group in one word?
CL: Nolza!
Your songs are often about love and empowerment. How do you feel about being role models of women all over the world and what would you like to tell them?
CL: You know what they say, girls just wanna have fun. So I want people to just enjoy music together and have fun.
Are you hands-on with your album and concert tour? If yes, then how?
CL: We always get involved when we make music, when we make a video, the tour. This time, I wrote a couple of songs for my girls so that was special.
What can the Filipino Blackjacks expect from the All or Nothing world tour?
CL: First of all, you guys get to see our new stages like Crush and Come Back Home, the new songs on our album.
Please give a message to all Filipino Blackjacks.
Minzy: Thank you for your support, I love you all!
Bom: Mahal kita!
Dara: Sobrang saya ko na nandito kami, kasama ko pa silang lahat. Mahal ko kayo.
CL: I don’t know why it took us so long to get here but we’re very happy to be here. I’m very excited tomorrow night. I love you so much.
Fans took it a decibel higher when CL said “It’s unbelievable. Thank you so much. I can’t put it into words. I’ll show it to you tomorrow.”
Don’t Stop the Music!
The crowd was already singing along to the music videos playing while waiting for the concert to start. Then, the lights went out, the countdown began and it was pandemonium. “Are you ready?!” screamed CL. Decked out in glittering red, gold and black, the group sang “Crush” and everybody chanted “Nolza! Hey, hey, hey, nolza!” at the end of the song.
The song “Fire” from their first mini-album followed then dance tunes “Clap Your Hands”, “Pretty Boy” and “Don’t Stop the Music” also energized the crowd.
The tempo slowed down a bit when they sang “Missing You” while sitting on white swings high up from the stage. “If I Were You” and the acoustic version of “Come Back Home” followed, with them sitting on stools near the edge of the stage. I could see their faces clearly but I couldn’t fully grasp the reality that I was seeing them live and not from a TV screen.
“Don’t we all feel like we’re ugly sometimes? But there are also those times when we feel beautiful,” said Dara in pure Tagalog before they all sang “Ugly," the first half as a ballad then picked up the tempo as they danced and encouraged everyone to sing along.
The female part of the crowd was surprised when the five boys of YG’s new boy group Winner came out and sang “Just Another Boy” and “Go Up”. Before exiting, the boys namely Kang Seung Yoon, Lee Seung Hoon, Kim Jin Woo, Song Min Ho, and Nam Tae Hyun greeted everyone “Magandang gabi!”
2ne1 came back with a sultry number of “I Love You” with a few special guests. “Are you nervous,” Dara asked the men, namely Sam Milby, Jason Abalos, Joross Gamboa and Ram of G-Force, who each sat on a chair and paired with a 2ne1 member. The girls did some crazy lap dance and though the lights dimmed, I’m pretty sure it made the guys a little (if not a lot) flushed.
“Come Back Home”, “Gotta Be You” and “Do You Love Me” followed and after a short break, CL came out and sang her solo tracks “The Baddest Female” and “MTBD”.
The blonde bombshell head banged to the rock version of “I Don’t Care” and by the time they performed “Go Away”, I was close to shedding fan girl tears.
“I want to show them just how beautiful the Philippines is, how nice the people here are, how delicious the food is,” said Dara. She also shared that the girls really love mango shake and dried mangoes.
The girls repeatedly said how special this concert was because it was also their 5th anniversary and you can really see the happiness on Dara’s face to be celebrating it with her girls in her hometown. Surprise cakes came out from under the stage and they ran around and put icing on each other’s faces.
The night wouldn’t be complete without Dara singing her Taglish song “In or Out”. She sang the whole song although she candidly expressed she forgot the lyrics during the second part of the song. Bom seemed to be so into the song, singing the Tagalog lyrics and even singing in second voice.
CL said she hopes to be back in 5 years (that’s too long!) and the group closed the show with “Can’t Nobody”.
‘Twas definitely a good night for all us Blackjacks. My concert hangover will probably last for months but I’m not complaining.
