The night of March 26th at the Big Dome was not a phantom – contrary to the concept of the fanmeeting based on the group’s 4th mini album, Phantom. “Phantom in Manila” is certainly vivid in WayV and WayZenNi’s memories. They promised last October 2022, during their first visit, that they will come back, and they did. They have delivered an unforgettable experience that left us energized and happy.
Fun at Phantom
Lights went off and WayV kicked off the fanmeeting with a strong performance of their 2021 singles, “Kick Back” and “Try My Luck”. Fans’ cheers were totally louder when the five members of WayV introduced themselves as a group and individually. It is Ten’s first time here in the Philippines, so he’s really overwhelmed of the WayZenNi’s love and support from every part of the dome.
Hendery takes out a bag that is more like a suitcase, for their “What’s in my Bag?” segment, where an “abaniko”, a type of hand fan in the Philippines and a “Good Morning” towel was found; inside were Filipino snacks that they enjoyed and brochures of tourist spots in the Philippines that the members would like to visit or actually visited, because it was revealed from their Instagram posts that they went to Intramuros that Sunday. Polaroid photos from their first visit in Manila were also pulled from the bag, showing, and telling stories behind each, especially their “Pirates” ride in the seaside park where Xiaojun encountered a fan who kept calling his name. He even mimics the fan and asked if she was present that night. A lot of WayZenNi’s raised their hands but that fan knows and is certainly proud and happy that Xiaojun remembered her. A special item was also shown by Hendery – it is a gift from Yangyang’s mom who is also present among the audience. She smiled fondly when the members greeted her, mentioning that they also received the same gift.
WayV surprised the fans with special stages as they danced to their labelmates’ songs while wearing tiaras and cute animal headbands. They were as good as aespa as they covered “Illusion”, adorable as NCT Dream when they performed “Candy” and energetic as SHINee as they do “Sherlock”.
The group proved how versatile they are as they performed their ballad, “Broken Love” followed by their first original Chinese song, “Dream Launch” that has a dreamy melody and harnesses the group’s vocals, as they move around the stages to interact with fans. The stage and the crowd were calm while the VCR played, not until WayV graced the 2nd stage with the English version of “Love Talk”. They knew it is a fan favorite as they hear the fans in frenzy until their 2nd ment where they sung an acapella of “Dream Launch” and asked if anyone wears Diamonds to introduce their next song, “Diamonds Only” followed by their alluring “Nectar” performance.
Kun & Xiaojun were left on stage as the other members changed and they serenaded us with a duet acapella of their song, “Back To You” that they performed last October. They also sung a part of “After Midnight” while they were waiting for Ten, Yangyang and Hendery who got back with the right timing. It was then their stage time, and they went forward to talk to the fans, asking their favorite performance, then fans sung along to “Low Low”, Ten and Yangyang’s single, making Ten surprised and expressing that he would like to perform it next time.
The five members were complete on the main stage for their final ment and they each expressed their gratitude and their wanting to come back to meet the Filipino WayZenNis once again. It was mentioned that Kun has a slight leg injury, but he chose to dance and perform for all the fans who came to their fanmeet. They appreciate the fans’ cheers and even joked about their last song as “Take Off” but of course, it would be their latest release, “Phantom”.
Before ending the fanmeeting with a final VCR – a special video of “We go Nanana” and a feel-good moment while singing “Good Life” during the encore, members walked down the ramp one by one or as a duo, as if it’s a runway, after taking a commemorative photo with WayZenNis and bidding their farewell. WayV really enjoyed their time here show and promised to be back in the country again.
WAYV Phantom in Manila Fanmeeting Tour is presented by DNM Entertainment