Mamamoo "4WARD" Concert in Manila

Mamamoo holds a very special place in my heart, and I know some of you say, I say this literally to every artist/group I adore but all of them really just have a tiny corner in my heart. I tend to relate memories or people to music, that's kind of my thing. 

Let’s go back to 2015. I was a fresh college graduate, a new and upcoming adult, starting my very first job as an RMA. Our office was in QC, and I lived in Manila, so I would ALWAYS blast MAMAMOO songs on the way to work. “Um Oh Ah Yeh,” “Piano Man,” and “Mr. Ambiguous” were just a few of the songs on repeat.

I couldn’t afford Apple Music back then, so I’d just illegally download their songs online and make do lol. I was DEEP into K-pop at that time, and I discovered MAMAMOO because they were known as the “4 lead singers.” That alone made me so intrigued, so I checked out their music, watched “Um Oh Ah Yeh,” and immediately got hooked. With the entirety of K-pop becoming obsessed with the sexy concept back then, Mamamoo was a breath of fresh air. Such a talented group legit walang tapon!

My brother loved them too! We used to binge-watch their live performances and would discuss/analyze them to the bit. That's how we bonded before. Even my mom came to love their rendition of "Delilah" but ofc she said some stuff first like "bakit nood ka ng nood nyan naiintindihan mo ba yan" lol Eventually she would ask us to play it, and she would listen while cooking!!!! 

And now, 11 years later… I finally got to see them live. AHHHHHHH!!!

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Came the day of the concert. It was hella rainy!!! Rey and I booked a room in the Red Hotel near Araneta so we could just walk our way there since going home after a concert carless screams nightmare. 

We were just in time because traffic was so bad and checking in at the hotel took so much time already.

 T^T But we were all set! We found our seats, and the concert started not too long after. 

Mamamoo opened the stage with Mr. Ambiguous, and to my surprise, Solar and Moonbyul were in the audience section! It was very unexpected! Seeing them perform live after so many years of just listening to their songs, I didn't even want to blink coz I didn't want to miss a single moment! First thing I noticed though - Moonbyul is so charismatic juskolord I was having a bi panic moment!!! She ain't even my main bias but she's the first thing that caught my eye. 

They played so many amazing hits, but these are my faves/highlights

1.) “Decalcomanie”— simply because it was my brother’s favorite song. I got teary-eyed when they sang this. I just knew he was there with me. 

2.) “I Miss You” — I LOVE LOVE LOVE this ballad!!! I fell in love with it the first time I heard it. The harmonies, the falsettos, and the belts—EVERYTHING. This song is just so good.

3.) “Yes I Am” — this was THE song I played over and over during my training days at my first job lol. Hearing it live brought me straight back to that time.

4.) “Um Oh Ah Yeh” — such a classic!!!! I seriously believe this was the song that really made them known to a lot of people. This was SUCH a hit back then. I remember playing this song all the time and Moonbyul dressing up as a guy in that one live performance. 

5.) “Starry Night” — this one takes me back to a spontaneous trip I took years ago. The TV in our transient only had Korean channels, and they played this song. I was over the moon!!!  “Starry Night” feels like taking a walk through a big, endless field full of flowers. There’s just something about this song that is so freeing~

6.) “Wind Flower” — I really love the melody of this song, especially the chorus. It’s technically a breakup song, but the whole tune is just so soothing to the ears. It’s sad but somehow comforting at the same time.

7.) “1 cm"—one thing I absolutely love about this group is that they know how to have fun! They’re so unserious that they literally made a song about their height differences. Only MAMAMOO could do that and make it this entertaining. They even made and sang the trot version!

8.) Individual performances — throughout the years, all four of them have released solo songs, so I loved that they were able to perform them here. I was just a little sad that Hwasa didn’t sing “Good Goodbye” and went with “So Cute” instead, coz I’ve been STREAMING that song!!! I love the performane still, ofc!!! and the crowd was so lucky to get up close!

Wheein performed “The Symphony of Fuckboys,” and whoever did this to her is probably crying somewhere because BOYYY, she was singing that song with SO MUCH ANGST!!! 

Moonbyul hyped up the crowd with “Hertz,” and she performed the whole thing at the VIP pit. I was FREAKIN JEALOUS!!!

And last was Solar, who sang “Blues,” a classic jazz song that really showcased her vocals. It was SO intense. She absolutely killed it and then ended their solo performances with a literal MIC DROP!!!! 

more snaps

I was actually a bit scared to show up at the concert knowing mostly their old songs because, admittedly, I haven’t really been keeping up with every release lately (aside from the popular ones). But to my surprise, I STILL knew the lyrics to their songs by heart!!! 

Also, most of the fans I saw were around my age hahaha! You could easily tell who the OG fans were. Trentahins unite!!!

I'm so happy I decided to watch this concert! I don't know when I will see them again, but I hope they will have another show here in the next few years. 

Thank you, Rey for getting us the ticket and for braving the storm just to watch this with me. 

I shared my ticket with my brother, and I just know he was singing his heart out with me! 

Another fan gave this to me. Gomawo~ 

xoxo

Grasya