Astro’s MOONBIN and SANHA took the stage at their first fan con in Manila, and the energy was dynamic! AROHA (ASTRO’s fans) came from all over to show their love for these two talented performers. From heart-stopping performances to unforgettable moments, this event was entertaining. Let’s take a closer look at what went down during the night of DIFFUSION in Manila.
Astro’s MOONBIN and SANHA diffused
Astro’s MOONBIN and SANHA held their first fan con in Manila on March 25, 2023. Their duo is the first official sub-unit of ASTRO, a 7-year-old idol group consists of MJ, Jinjin, Cha Eunwoo, Moonbin and Sanha. The group had already visited Manila back in 2017 for Show Champion and now, 2 out of 5 members (originally, 6) is back to meet their fans who has been waiting since. Manila is the first stop of their Asian fan con tour, after the one in Seoul last March 18th.
The New Frontier Theater was colored Vivid Plum and Space Violet when Moonbin and Sanha entered the stage, performing “Who”, the title track of their second EP, Refuge, followed by the opening VCR that showed their powerful chemistry. “Bad Idea” from their debut EP, In-Out will never be missed out and the alternative R&B, “DIA” will make you move to its beats.
It’s time for the solo stages as Sanha serenaded the fans with “Distance” as the intro and “Wish” that was accompanied by an instrumental instead of his guitar and a trip down to ASTRO’s memory lane as a film slideshow of the group’s photos were playing on the screen. Fans went wild when Moonbin began his performance with “Perfumer” followed by “Desire” where he definitely showed how sexy he can be.
AROHA TALK TALK, MOONCASSO and MUSIC QUIZ
Ms. Sam Oh graced the stage for a Q&A portion with MOONBIN & SANHA. She asked about their first memory here in the country and they answer that it’s the fans’ reception – the energy from 7 years ago did not change and they are here to make the best memories with their fans. She also taught Moonbin and Sanha some tagalog words such as “Ang init” (so hot!) and “charot” (a slang term for ‘just kidding’) which the boys used very well. They also said “Mahal kita” as they create a big heart together. They are truly lovely boys!
From the AROHA TALK TALK corner, here are the answers to the questions submitted by AROHAs on Twitter, respectively:
1. What are you most excited about your sub-unit for this year?
They get to visit different countries and happy that the Philippines is the first stop who gives the loudest cheers.
2. Which places would you like to visit in the Philippines?
Sanha shared he visited Cebu before and would like to visit Palawan. Moonbin praised Philippines for having beautiful places as vacation spots and he would like to visit Boracay.
3. While you were preparing for your first fan con, is there anything new that you discovered about each other?
Moonbin has spoken about Sanha became very mature when it comes to practice and also with his physical features. Sanha shared they get to compose their songs and Moonbin contributed a lot to it, expressing his respect to the latter.
4. What is the most recent gift that you’ve given to yourself?
Sanha bought a new Galaxy smartphone, got to work out and take protein shake.
Moonbin thinks it’s the love from their AROHAs, the sweet naps that he had and the good food he had eaten.
The corner then ended with a dance to the Tiktok trend “Ting Ting Tang Tang” as a fan requested for it.
Moonbin and Sanha seems to be fond of drawing, so they played a segment where one draws at the back of the other and draw it in the pad. Highlight of the game was when they bicker over their drawings and in the end, Moonbin wrote AROHA ♡ They danced to NewJeans “OMG” as their punishment after choosing the letter “U” from DIFFUSION which letters has corresponding penalties for the game.
Their MUSIC QUIZ made them dance to Seventeen’s “FIGHTING” and a freestyle to Blackpink’s “Pink Venom” as they were not able guess some of the songs in the mix where most of their songs were included. It ended with a photo time where fans gets the chance to capture cute photos of the duo and remarked that fans doubled their happiness thereafter.
2nd part of the Fan Con
The stage lit up once again as they performed “MADNESS”, from their latest mini album, “Incense”. A VCR of a video camera recording of them playing in a room comfortably together was shown, contrary to their initial performances. It is time to show their adorable sides with “Chup Chup”, then soothe us with their beautiful voices during “Alone” and our favorite B-side, “Dream Catcher”.
Special Moments during the Encore
One of the most special moments during the fan con was when MOONBIN and SANHA was about to take a group photo with about 2,000 fans in attendance. A video made by their fanbase flashed on the screen showing how they support the two, through these years. When they turned back, AROHAs show their banners with the message, “You’re always our REFUGE in this world of MADNESS” and then proceeded taking the commemorative photo.
The boys were clearly touched by the outpouring of love from their Filipino fans and even took the time to interact with them when they went down the stage during their encore performance that started with “Boo” then “All I Wanna Do”. Their feel-good music “All Day” ended the show with Moonbin and Sanha singing the hook, “Hello, hello, coming, new day. Sunny, shiny, today’s your day” harmonizing with AROHAs.
It was an unforgettable experience for both the fans and the boys, and we can’t wait to see MOONBIN and SANHA back in Manila again – hopefully, with the whole ASTRO.
2023 MOONBIN and SANHA FAN CON: DIFFUSION IN MANILA is presented by DNM Entertainment
Aespa, stylized as æspa or aespa, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. They debuted on November 17, 2020, with members, Karina, Ningning, Winter and Giselle, for the digital single, Black Mamba.
