Rocky 1st Fan Con in Manila (The Best KPop Concert I’ve Been To)
Rocky’s 1st fan concert in Manila is one of the best kpop concerts I’ve been to.
And for good reason which I will get into soon.
But first let me preface by saying who would have thought I’d get to see one of my favorite artists more than thrice this year?!
I say favorite because Rocky was part of Astro and Astro is my ultimate kpop group so in my heart he will always be part of Astro’s history.
Even saying that I went to his solo concert is something 2023 Izzy wouldn’t have believed. When he’d left Astro in 2023, there was no announcement as to what was next so we didn’t know what the future held.
As far as I’d heard, he had left the entertainment industry completely, so to have him back as a solo artist and even coming back to perform with Astro on stage, is really just amazing.
I’ve completed so many things off my fangirl bucket list this year, which I never would have thought possible.
I’m going to get all emotional because really in 2023 when Moon Bin died, I almost quit fangirling completely.
But now, we’re back–and full force with so many events this year.
And for that I’m so grateful for.
I can remember the exact moment when they officially announced Rocky’s 1st fan con in Manila.
I was with my Aroha besties in Incheon at a fried chicken restaurant. We had just finished watching the 2nd show of Astro Stargraphy. So we had just seen Rocky on stage a few minutes before, and then the announcement happened.
Imagine how exciting this was ‘cause what do you mean we’d just seen him with Astro and now we’d get another chance to see him on stage but this time in the Philippines?!
And the fan benefits..
They were amazing.
That’s one of the reasons why Rocky’s 1st fancon in Manila is one of the best kpop concerts I’ve attended.
On the day of ticket selling, I remember being so nervous because the ticket you get is dependent on luck and your internet speed.
And in the past, especially with Seventeen ticketing, I’d have a hard time.
But with this concert, I got lucky. I entered the website without a queue number so I was able to get the front row, and the second seat from the aisle.
That’s a dream seat?!
I was in disbelief but having that ticket made me so excited for the day to come.
I got the Wish Package so that’s the highest tier where the fan benefits include lanyard, souvenir card, 2 photocards, poster, sound check, 1:10 group photo, and then the hi bye. Aside from that, you could also win a 1:1 group photo with Rocky, a signed polaroid and signed poster.
You could even record videos during sound check and hi-bye. These two things are usually not allowed by other Kpop entertainment groups.
Just from those things, it would have already been worth it.. But!
A few days before the concert, they announced a top-up benefit which is a guaranteed slot at fan sign.
It’s just another way of saying a meet and greet but you get a set amount of time to talk to him.
In the KPop world, fansigns are usually by lottery meaning you buy lots of albums to increase your chances of winning. You can talk to them anywhere between 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
So to have a top up fansign where you get a guaranteed slot was a chance I wasn’t passing up.
Of course I bought the top-up and one thing nice was that we were also allowed to record our moment with Rocky. His only request was to have the phones at chest level so that he could see our eyes and not talk to us through our phone screen.
I remember hesitating to buy a slot only because I was terrified. Every instance I’d applied for a fan sign in the past was anxiety inducing.
But I knew I would regret it if I didn’t, so I ended up getting a slot and my queue number was 14.
I wasn’t sure what I’d tell him cause we only had 30 seconds but the only thing I knew I wanted to tell him about my book.
I wrote a young adult novel called The Hush Society Presents. I wrote it back when I was in high school. I only published it during the pandemic in 2021. And it was actually Astro that inspired me to publish it.
Since we weren’t allowed to give any gifts I showed Rocky a photo card of my book while talking to him.
You can watch the full concert vlog on Youtube:
But if you want to just watch the fan sign video, here it is on Instagram:
I’m glad I also got to experience this with my friends.
Rocky was really a fan service king. He didn’t rush us.
There were some people where I’ve watched some fan sign videos and their video went over 30 seconds
After fansign, I was able to breathe.
But I cried right after the fan sign cause I couldn’t believe I’d crossed off another thing on my fangirl bucket list which was to join a fansign!
While it may not be with all Astro members, it was with Rocky.
After that, I had just enough time for a bathroom break and to hydrate with a bottle of water before going back inside the venue for soundcheck.
I really appreciated that Wish Us Luck allowed re-entry of the venue since the bathroom was outside.
And they made the process of re-entry so smooth. All we had to do was show the stamp on our arm and they let us in without having to show our ticket again.
Soundcheck was so fun. I felt a bit pressured since I was at the front row and Rocky could see me.
His humour was so on par with the Filipino humour too.
He said he had originally only included two songs for sound check which were “Yes or No” and “On My Mind”.
However, he asked us if we wanted one more, of course we said yes.
When asked which song, the loudest was “We Still Love You.”
So that was the third song. I felt emotional because “We Still Love You” is Rocky’s song for Moon Bin.
I guess Rocky also wanted to lighten the mood of the song so he told us to wave our arms up and down. Giving us choreography as homework.
But the funny part was when he told us we looked funny doing the choreography seated so we laughed and he told us to stand up.
He even taught us the proper stance – at this I laughed even more – as we did the choreography while he sang.
Even as he was exiting the stage after sound check Rocky teased us.
I love his humour.
We had about 50 minutes or so before the show would start, so of course I took another bathroom break and hydrated again.
If there’s one thing you should know about me and concerts is that I take hydration very seriously.
Once back inside the venue, I bumped into a lot of Aroha friends, took photos with them, and then headed back to my seat.
Since I was at the front row, it was always busy by the stage since everyone was taking photos by the stage.
I made a new friend – my seat mate – that day and discovered that she had also flown to Incheon to watch the Astro concert last June.
I got to hang out with a few of my Aroha besties too before the show which was always nice.
And then finally… finally the show was starting.
They played a VCR.
And then the stage was dark, but I saw Rocky’s silhouette as he walked on stage and stopped maybe two (maybe even less) feet away from me.
I was in shock. Like what do you mean he’s THIS CLOSE?!
I had goosebumps the moment the lights turned on he started performing “Find Me”
And up to now whenever I listen to that song in my playlist, I am transported back to that moment.
I can’t find the exact words to describe the moment. It was a mix of feeling grateful, excitement, shock and disbelief.
Of course I already knew how talented Rocky is. He’s Astro’s main dancer after all, but to see him up close and to witness that talent that close was just…wow.
He spins and jumps and makes dancing look so easy when in fact the choreography is complex.
His vocals were amazing! When he was part of Astro, he was one of the rappers, so his singing voice wasn’t showcased enough.
So one of the things I love now that he’s a solo artist is seeing his creative direction, more of his singing voice, and his artistry.
He’s in complete control of everything. And that’s also why the concert experience was beyond amazing.
He could make decisions on the spot and no one could stop him. For example, originally after the show everyone had a hi-bye session with him, but he decided to turn it into a hi-touch.
Hi-touch is when you can high five the artist or like he can complete your half heart. This is a rare thing for kpop now since they don’t really allow contact with the artist I guess for safety reasons too.
But Rocky!!! Rocky was like… no I want to make it even more special for fans. He would give them high fives, and sometimes even entwine his fingers with them!!!
Fan service king indeed.
During the fan con too, Rocky matched the Pinoy humor and energy. You’ll see what I’m talking about in the vlog.
Two hours flew by and there was not a single boring moment.
There are times when at a fan meet the energy goes down but with Rocky it was so entertaining. He’s really born to be a performer and entertainer.
I forgot how funny he is.
One of my favorite parts of the show was when he performed 2NE1’s I Am The Best. My gosh, the energy was…off the roof!
I wish more people would discover Rocky and see how amazing he is as an artist. I’m not even exaggerating.
He’s not my bias in Astro but I tell you when you see him in real life and his performances, he will become your bias.
One thing nice too about seeing Astro members at solo concerts is that the focus is on them and you appreciate their individual colours.
Yes, they are all talented but you get to really see it. They shine so much on stage.
When I watched them in concert last June of course my focus was all over the place cause 1) it was my first Astro concert and 2) I would tend to gravitate to Eunwoo who is my Astro bias and ultimate kpop bias. So you can miss certain moments that happen during the show. Whereas as a solo artist on stage your full attention is on him.
Even the organizer was amazing. They were so efficient, and easy to deal with. On top of that, they were nice when dealing with fans. Having an organizer like this also adds to the overall experience of the show that’s why I say this is one of the best kpop concerts.
It’s been a little over a month since Rocky’s 1st fan con in Manila, but my mind still keeps going back to that day.
And yes, I still need to properly document my first Astro concert experience and Sanha’s first fan con in Manila too!
So many good things to blog about!
Stay tuned! Xx
