The audience howled. A video clip of wolves roaring was screened in the stage background. Accentuated with a kaleidoscopic light effect and a blast of pyrotechnics, the seven-member girl group XG (short for “Xtraordinary Girls”) made their “first howl” of the night with SHOOTING STAR, a track from last year.
Sporting a white and shimmering silver ensemble, JURIN, CHISA, HINATA, JURIA, COCONA, MAYA, and HARVEY, ignited the spirits of the fans, also known as ALPHAZ, who trooped to Smart Araneta Coliseum last Aug. 2 to witness XG’s first world tour, “The?first HOWL,” landing in Manila, as presented by Ovation Productions and AEG Presents Asia.
While the crowd awaited the return of the girls after mounting a fiery performance of GRL GVNG and Tippy Toes, a video of how the Japanese girl group was conceived and how they pulled through their rigorous training was shown on stage.
Their story started in 2017, under the tutelage of Simon Junho Park (JAKOPS), CEO and executive producer of XGALX. ?JURIN and HARVEY joined the project in August 2017 at a dance school while CHISA was discovered in Osaka who participated in a training camp.
In October of that same year, COCONA and JURIA signed up with the group and MAYA, who attended a training camp for elementary school students, subsequently followed. HINATA became a member a year later, who caught the attention of the team, during a talent search visit in Nagoya.
The all-female lineup is composed of JURIN, CHISA, HINATA, JURIA, COCONA, MAYA, and HARVEY. In their stylish outfits, the girls keep the party going with their sassy, synchronized dance moves and inject their intergalactic concept into the songs X?GENE, WOKE UP, and TGIF.
XG, now based in South Korea, aimed to be global stars who can bring courage, hope, dreams and inspiration to people.
Going back to the gig, Simon himself expressed his support for his mentees when he appeared on stage and displayed his DJ skills. One of the ditties that he played was Lola Amour’s Raining in Manila, an apt song for the situation outside the venue where heavy rains poured and strong winds were experienced.
Inside the venue, each member of XG had their moment to showcase their vocal range as they carried out solo covers, from Jay-Z’s Dirt Off Your Shoulder to David Guetta and Afrojack’s Trampoline. HARVEY, JURIN, MAYA and COCONA, who recently shaved her head, infused their own rap, hip-hop and R&B style into the songs.
XG takes a ‘groufie’ with the crowd.
On the other hand, JURIA belted out a cover of Adele’s Hello, blue-haired HINATA with Taylor Swift’s Red, and orange-haired CHISA with Beyonce’s If I Were A Boy. The three then chorused to Flo’s Losing You as closing act to this segment.
They had an outfit change afterwards. Now clad in black trench coats, they rendered LEFT RIGHT, WINTER WITHOUT YOU, and a cover of JUST STAND UP!, a charity single by various artists, which reminded this writer of the early 2000’s R&B hits.
There was also a part where the girls had a chit-chat with the fans, some of them were dolled up just like them. They expressed themselves in Tagalog, uttering phrases, such as “Magandang gabi,” “ALPHAZ maganda” and “Salamat po.” HARVEY shared that she wanted to go to Manila Ocean Park while HINATA mentioned that she would love to try sisig and Jollibee and adobo for MAYA.
“The energy you guys every time is incredible. Mahal na mahal kita!” HARVEY told the enthusiastic audience.
PROVIDED BY XGALX VIA OVATION PRODUCTIONS AND KRIS ROCHA
“We really want to come to Manila so being here today means so much to us. We love you guys. Mahal ko kayo!” declared MAYA. She then asked the concertgoers if she could learn some things from them.
The fans gladly taught them BINI’s “Eyy ka muna, eyy!” trend. XG members were quick to learn and did the “eyy” from time to time, throughout the show.
JURIN also noticed the “cool” merch that the Pinoy fans were wearing and the lightsticks they were holding that lit up in different colors every time they perform.
In their stylish outfits, the pack kept the party going with their sassy, synchronized dance moves and injected their “intergalactic” concept in X-GENE, WOKE UP, and TGIF.
They channeled their inner female alphas in MASCARA and PUPPET SHOW, as well.
During a short break, the ALPHAZ playfully wailed along with the image of wolves shown on the video footage.
The XG members returned to the stage, donning white shirts with the group’s official logo and denim pants, to continue the fun with their three encore songs, NEW DANCE, SOMETHING AIN’T RIGHT, and another round of LEFT RIGHT.
JURIA announced that they will be dropping their second mini-album as they embark on a nonstop tour this year.
“ALPHAZ, we’re so grateful for each and every one of you,” COCONA thanked the audiences.
“A big, big thank you. Salamat po and mahal ko kayo. Eyy!” added MAYA.
Before leaving the stage, XG requested the eventgoers to do the “Hesonoo.” “When I say Hesonoo, we want you guys to say ‘oh’ and lift your hands up high and shake, shake, and shake,” JURIN instructed and the fans happily complied.
MAYA continued, “You know we can’t go home without doing ‘the song.’ ‘The song’ right, ALPHAZ?” She then invited the crowd to stand up and bop to the tune of the fan favorite SOMETHING AIN’T RIGHT.
Toward the end, they took a photo with the audience, waved goodbye, blew kisses and exited the stage. And the ALPHAZ growled once again.
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