ITZY celebrates 2000 days as a group with energetic 'Born To Be' concert in Manila (2024)

MANILA, Philippines – Saturday, August 3, was a day to celebrate for ITZY and their Filipino fans, also known as MIDZY, for many reasons. ITZY’s return to the Philippines for its Born To Be concert at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena became the backdrop to mark 2,000 days since the group made their debut.

“Whenever we come to Manila for the stage…we always look forward to you guys because you are so enthusiastic…. So I really looked forward to today and it was perfect,” member Ryujin said.

Ryujin also looked back about how her parents were amazed by the Filipino crowd during the group’s CHECKMATE concert, which was held in the same arena last January 2023. “They told me that Manila fans are awesome.”

“Our Manila MIDZYs, they never disappoint us. Your passion, your love, your cheers, it’s off the roof. And we thank you for always loving us,” Chaeryeong added.

Before their concert, the girl group also held a press event at the Glorietta Activity Center on Friday, August 2, wherein they dedicated their track “Domino” to their Filipino fans.

“This song shows how ITZY and MIDZY are dependent on each other,” they said. “There’s a lot of warm messages in here, too.”

Yeji added that while they’ve been to Manila “often” – it’s the group’s fourth visit to the Philippines in two years – they’re still looking forward to feel the passion and energy of their Filipino fans.

Yeji says they've been to Manila often but it's still an honor to see their Filipino MIDZYs one more time. She adds that the group is impressed with their Filipino fans' energy. pic.twitter.com/kc1pLyi9T7

— Ysa Abad (@ysa_abad) August 2, 2024

Only four members – Yeji, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, and Yuna – were in Manila for the concert as main vocalist Lia is still on hiatus. JYP earlier announced in July that Lia will return starting with ITZY’s upcoming album.

Minutes before the show started, Filipino MIDZYs from all corners of the MOA Arena screamed and cheered in excitement. The concert began with “Born To Be,” which was met with fans singing along to the song’s chorus.

The ITZY members greeted fans in Filipino following their performances of B-side tracks “RACER” and “KIDDING ME!” Ryujin also praised the energy of the Manila crowd, saying “I think you guys can sing along well.”

“Sabay tayo kumanta (Let’s sing together),” Chaeryeong said as ITZY moved on to perform “Mr Vampire.”

Filipino MIDZYs kept the energy up as the four members sang “Swipe,” “Wannabe,” “Untouchable,” “Dynamite,” “Loco,” “Not Shy,” “CAKE,” “Kill Shot,” and “SNEAKERS,” among others.

The ITZY members also got to show off their solo stages with their own tracks that were introduced in the BORN TO BE album.

Chaeryeong showed her charismatic charm with “Mine,” Yuna went the cute route with “Yet, but,” Ryujin sang her heart out with “Run Away,” and Yeji confidently ended the solo stages with “Crown On My Head.”

“Every city has different vibes. Manila was the best [city] for my ‘Yet, but’ today. Salamat po (Thank you),” Yuna said.

In between songs, the ITZY members hopped on the BINI fever and performed a dance cover of “Pantropiko” to the shock and delight of the Manila crowd. They also did the “Eyy” pose and chant, which was popularized by Sheena, during multiple points of the concert.

ITZY would later post the “Pantropiko” cover on their social media accounts.

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A post shared by ITZY (@itzy.all.in.us)

BINI’s Mikha shared her excitement for the dance cover. The BINI member is known to be a fan of ITZY, with her even attending last year’s CHECKMATE concert.

Following the encore performance of “LOVE is” and “Be In Love,” the group was surprised by a video made by Filipino MIDZY fan group Filo MIDZY Alliance. The video compiled moments of the group together throughout the years.

Filipino MIDZY also raised banners that said “Seasons may change, but ITZY will always have MIDZY” in Korean and shouted “I bet on you, ITZY” at the top of their lungs.

The video drove Yuna to tears. She was later hugged by the rest of her members as she looked back on the Manila show and the past 2000 days she got to spend as a member of ITZY.

“The brightest smile that I actually had was when I was in front of MIDZY. In a blink of an eye, it became the first year, second year, third year, and now it’s our [2000th day as a group],” she said.

“For Manila MIDZY, though I cannot come here often, I was able to feel your love and how much you think about us…. Thank you so much for cheering us from afar and staying by our side until day 2000.”

Yeji said she was also touched watching the video and got strength from Filipino MIDZYs in the concert. She added that ITZY will always be by fans’ side with “new good music” and hope to be their “power and energy.”

“You know, Manila MIDZYs are the best. You know [I’m] not lying. While performing on stage because of you guys, we really had fun and we really felt happy tonight,” she said.

Chaeryeong added that compared to last year’s CHECKMATE concert, she felt comfortable with MIDZYs and had fun on stage. Ryujin also promised that ITZY would “practice more and be cooler” so that Filipino fans would enjoy them more when they come back to the Philippines.

During the press event, Ryujin shared that she’d like the concert attendees to gain confidence from them while watching the show. The other members noted that they were able to apply the lessons they’ve learned from their first world tour to this BORN TO BE concert tour and hoped that their fans will be able to notice how they’ve improved as performers.

ITZY ended the Manila concert with “Boys Like You” and “Dalla Dalla” as they did their signature bow and “ITZY, MIDZY, Nalja (Fly high)” chant to say goodbye to the Filipino crowd.

“Salamat sa pagpunta ngayong gabi. Mahal namin kayo, Manila MIDZY (Thank you for coming tonight. We love you so much, Manila MIDZY),” ITZY said a social media post following the concert.

– Rappler.com