As early as yesterday afternoon, fans of KPop group Seventeen began arriving at the Mall of Asia Arena to stake out places in front of the venue's ticket booths.
The goal: to secure a VIP Package to Seventeen's Diamond Edge in Manila concert. Presented by MMI (the group that brought Madonna, ColdPlay and Shawn Mendez to the country), the concert will be held on October 6 at the Arena's cavernous hall.
The prize: lucky ticket holders earn themselves a VIP package which includes not only a spot on the VIP floor but also the opportunity for a hi touch encounter, wherein fans can actually touch the hands, although fleetingly, of members of the group. The catch: only the first 600 fans who buy the SVIP tickets will be awarded the VIP Package.
Given what's at stake, it's no wonder Carats (the name given to Seventeen fans) are willing to spend an uncomfortable night lining up at the Arena (yes, we've seen the tweets) to get first dibs on these coveted tix.
The tickets don't come cheap. The VIP Package is priced at P12,500. Without the hi touch perk, a Standing VIP ticket will cost a Carat P10,500. But these prices are par for the course for a BTS or Exo concert.
Other seats are priced at P7,500 for Lower Box A, P5,500 for Lower Box B, P2,000 for Upper Box and P1,000 for the nosebleed, or General Admission, section.
Only those who were going for the VIP Package and the SVIP tickets lined up at the MoA ticket booths, which opened at 8:00 a.m. today.
Those who bought tickets to other seats tried their luck at SM Ticket Outlets (some even went to farflung SM branches like SM East to avoid the long lines) or online at www.smtickets.com. starting at 10 a.m. today.
Most of those who did not go for the VIP Package opted for Lower Box tickets. According to SeventeenPH, the official local fan club, as of 11 a.m.Only a handful of the Lower Box tickets were left.
Monster rookies
Debuting in 2015, Seventeen, a 13-member group from Pledis Entertainment, is a popular, fast-rising boy group in South Korea. The group is divided into three sub-units. The Hiphop unit is composed of overall and Hiphop leader SCoups, Wonwoo, Mingyu, and Vernon. The Performance unit is made up of Performance leader Hoshi, Jun, The 8 and maknae (or youngest member) Dino. Finally, the Vocal unit is composed of Vocal boss Woozi, Jeonghan, Joshua, Dokyeom or DK, and Seungkwan.
Seventeen separated itself from the rest of the boyband pack by styling itself as a "self-producing" idol group. As such the group is heavily involved in composing, producing and choreographing its songs, even taking a hands-on approach with regards to the group's branding.
Barely two years in the business, Seventeen has already produced one full album and five mini albums, or EPs. Their latest release, Al1, features the EDM-influenced hit, "Don't Wanna Cry." Other hits from the group include their debut song, "Akkinda," "Mansae," "Pretty You," "Aju Nice," and "Boom Boom."
The group is expected to showcase these fan favorites as well as other songs from their discography like "Shining Diamond," "Fronting," "Habit," "A Quick Pace," "Still Lonely," and "Rock," among others. Filipino Carats are also anticipating the Hiphop Unit's "Check In," which mentions "Manila" in the lyrics.
Manila is the last stop in the group's 13-city Diamond Edge World Tour, which kicked off over the weekend with a three-day concert at the Jamsil Auxiliary Stadium in Seoul. The tour is expected to bring them to Saitama, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Chicago, Dallas, Toronto, New York, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Singapore, Taipei, before winding up in Manila.
This is Seventeen's second visit to Manila–having been here for a fan meeting at the Solaire Theater in August, 2016–and this time they are expected to have a complete lineup. Chinese members Jun and The 8 did not make last year's stop. At the time, leader SCoups promised the group would be back with all members in tow.
Filipino Carats can definitely look forward to Seventeen's high-octane performances, which feature the group's awesome choreography. Not to mention, the colorful hair.
The concept for the concert is "fire and water" (or, hot and wet), so draw your conclusions from there and bring the necessary paraphernalia–fans, umbrellas, raincoats, waterproof phone cases, and water guns–because this promises to be one amazing concert.
*Concert starts at 8 p.m. Don't be late!
