MANILA, Philippines – Korean group Twice showed Filipino Onces that they were really worth waiting for as they rocked the Manila stage on Saturday, June 29, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Despite the heavy downpour that day, both concertgoers and #TeamLabas fans alike trooped to Pasay for the much-anticipated concert. There were experiential booths inside MOA Arena for the fans to try out before the event. 

The show started past 5 pm Saturday, and loud cheers greeted Twice members Jihyo, Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu, as they opened the 3-hour concert with their first 3 songs, “Stuck In My Head,” “Cheer Up,” and “Touchdown.”

The girls then greeted their Filipino fans for the first time with the classic “Mabuhay!” But Dahyun said her hello differently: “Magandag gabi! Ako si Dahyun. Kumain ka na? Ang galing!” (Good evening! I’m Dahyun. Have you eaten already? That’s great!)

Manila was the third stop of the Twice World Tour 2019. The girls wore black at the start of the concert and said they prepared a lot of colors for the rest of the night.

After greeting their fans, Twice went on to sing “BDZ,” “Yes or Yes,” “I Want You Back,” and a different version of their summer hit “Dance the Night Away.”

Clad in long white dresses, the girls went back onstage to sing “After Moon,” “You In My Heart,” “Sunset,” and a few parts of “Heart Shaker.”

During a short ment in between songs, the girls talked about seeing Filipinos’ candy bongs (light sticks) for the first time, and how they couldn’t even hear their own MR (music recorded) because of how loud the audience was.

The girls, now in red dresses, returned to the stage to perform the rest of “Heart Shaker,” plus “Strawberry,” and “Woohoo.”

Then it was time for the unit performances. The first unit was Sana, Dahyun, and Tzuyu, with a cover of Beyoncé’s “Dance For You.” Here’s what they had to say about their performance:

Momo and Jihyo, meanwhile, performed a cover of Taemin’s “Goodbye.”

The last unit, composed of Nayeon, Mina, Jeongyeon, and Chaeyoung, performed Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.”

All the members returned together onstage to sing the last songs from their setlist (and also some of their biggest hits), “Likey,” “What Is Love,” “Like Ooh-Aah,” “TT,” and “Fancy.”

During the encore, the girls first performed “Knock Knock” before pausing to watch Filipino Onces’ fan project – a video that showed how long the fans have waited for Twice to come to the Philippines.

The girls went on to meet their fans up close before singing their last song, “Stuck.”

The members each said their goodbyes and promised to come back soon for their Filipino fans.

Mina: Salamat sa pagpunta n’yo!
Sana: Magkikita tayong muli!
Jihyo: Ingat!
Jeongyeon: Once, the best kayo!
Chaeyoung: Masaya kami ngayong gabi!
Momo:  Masaya akong makita kayo, mga Once!
Nayeon: Babalik kami!
Dahyun: Mahal ko kayo!
Tzuyu: Mamimiss ko kayo!

– with reports from Pia Inserto/Rappler.com