You heard that right; I manifested the a1 concert in Davao. I’m confident enough to tell you that this wasn’t just a mundane thing; there’s magic in it.
It was announced in July that a1 is having a concert in my city, and I didn’t rush to buy tickets because I was hoping I could promote it as a blogger and that I would get tickets. Fast forward to three weeks before concert day, and my blogging organization still hadn’t received a concert invite; I knew the hopes were down. I even thought of buying a concert ticket, but yes, I forgot about it because my schedule has been hectic in the past few months.
Fast forward to concert day. I was sitting at my work desk editing my company’s website’s dummy copy when I received a message from my friend Near, asking for people who were available to see the concert. I got a bit excited, except that the concert organizers were looking to get bloggers with a huge following. I only had 2000 followers on The Pop Blog’s official Facebook page, about 300 on our TikTok, 1000+ on Instagram, and 3000+ here on the blog. It wasn’t ideal, so I went ahead and continued my work tasks.
I wrote about distractions on my personal blog, and while we’re supposed to turn off our social media notifications while working, I benefitted from not doing so. My friend Near (who’s part of the organizing team for the a1 concert) personally messaged me to attend the concert since they couldn’t find bloggers who were featuring pop culture and entertainment.
I was elated! This was something to be grateful for, like SB19’s WYAT concert in Davao, which I also manifested the day before. I checked out from my job at exactly 6 p.m., got dressed up, and rushed to the SMX Lanang. I got to the venue ahead of time.
What they said about manifestation was correct. You just have to chill and not get overexcited or desperate about the things you want. Honestly, a1 wasn’t in my top 10 must-see boy bands list, which might be why I manifested seeing them unexpectedly. Regardless, I believe it’s still magic, and I love the boy band so much!
My a1 Twenty-Five Concert Experience
I arrived at SM Lanang less than an hour before the show started. I met up with my friends from the Davao Bloggers Society and my sister (who bought tickets herself and came to the venue early), who was surprised that I was there in the flesh.
We went inside the SMX and waited about 20 minutes before a1 came out. Upon doing so, I felt my excitement. I couldn’t believe that I almost missed the opportunity to see them live again!
a1 came to Davao in 2019, and I missed the show, and it’s a great thing that they came back, bringing with them Paul, so they were complete when I saw them.
I couldn’t contain my emotions the moment a1 came out. They started with “Same Old Brand New You,” I was filled with emotions and screamed a lot. I was also very thankful that our seats were on the left side of the Gold section, where my bias, Christian, was situated, with his live guitar and strong, country-style voice.
a1 performed a mix of their hits from 1999-2002 albums “Here We Come,” “The A List,” and “Make it Good,” as well as some of their tracks when they came back together as a group in 2009: “Waiting for Daylight” and “Rediscovered.” They also sang their latest single, “Call me when you land,” which I really love! Their latest single is a celebratory track for their twenty-fifth anniversary since debut, which was also the reason for their world tour.
During the middle of their concert, Paul, Christian, Mark, and Ben gave us a delightful treat that was unexpected of an act. They said that seeing from the crowd and knowing their fanbase in Southeast Asia, most of us are older millennials who grew up listening and admiring boy bands. Hence, they jammed to a medley of the world’s top boy bands’ greatest hits, from Backstreet Boys’ “Quit Playing Games with my Heart,” Take That’s “Back for Good,” One Direction’s “Story of My Life” (although this was in the 2010s, many of the millennials who loved boy bands in the late 90s are also into One Direction, like myself), *NSYNC’s “This I Promise You,” and Backstreet Boys’ “I Want it that Way.”
That medley was one of my favorite parts of the concert, not because they performed some of the biggest boy bands’ hits but because aq1 was humble and caring enough to jam to these popular hits with the intention of further entertaining their fans at their concert. I was really touched by the gesture.
Since I was surprised that I was to attend a1’s Twenty-Five concert in Davao, I couldn’t listen to my favorite a1 songs before concert day. Their most popular tracks are “Like A Rose,” which was Ben’s solo, “Heaven by your Side,” “Everytime,” and “Walking in the Rain,” which are still being repeatedly played on local mainstream radio stations. It was “Ready or Not” that I was mostly looking forward to because I loved the music video and the song itself. However, I forgot about my other two favorites, “If You Were My Girl, and “One More Try,” to which I almost cried because they’re two of my most favorite songs from the group.
Even if the a1 members are already in their 40s, they caught up with trends. The a1 Twenty-Five Concert in Davao is a magnificent experience, with top-notch projected visuals that jived with the members’ incredible performance.
Ben, Christian, Mark, and Paul
Paul, Christian, Mark, and Ben were great performers. There was never a dull moment during the concert. While Paul Marazzi was the shy one, we were surprised by his witty remarks regarding some of their newer tracks from 2009 to the present, which most of us fans didn’t know. “Just pretend you know this song,” he said, to which the audience laughed.
Ben Adams, a1’s youngest member, performed his solo “Like a Rose” towards the end, and being the heartthrob that he is, he reached out to the main camera and sang to it so that everyone in the one-floor SMX Convention Center could take a better look at him. The giddy-riddled women enjoyed that moment, reminiscing about the days when Ben might have been their first love.
During one of the middle of a1 sets, Christian, Paul, and Ben said that amongst the four of them, Mark Read was the only one who was single, and he might find his one and only love in the audience, to which many girls screamed. Since a1’s inception, Mark had one, if not the strongest, vocals in the group. The four members each had their own style, but Mark’s vocals had stood out, even in the concert (in my opinion, it was he and Christian sang at the top of their lungs).
Christian Ingebrigsten is my ultimate a1 bias, and he delivered more than what I expected at the concert. My friends would always question me why he was my bias among the four when there were the beautiful other three (yes, even a newfound friend asked this, too), but what I can only say is, “The heart wants what it wants.” In my opinion, Christian is the same; I’m still really into him, especially after performing mostly with the guitar and his hoarse vocals, which would be a good combo for a new solo track (yes, each a1 member has their own solo releases).
My friend Near was able to meet a1 ‘coz she was assigned to assist them backstage. According to her, each member was pleasant and amicable. They did not demand for anything. They were in their waiting room, just chilling and joking a bit. They were just cool. Near also said that my favorite Christian was the quiet one, and would just eat the snacks in the room (OMG, he is so cute)!
Conclusion
To this day, I’m very thankful that I manifested the a1 Twenty-Five Concert in Davao. Let me take this opportunity to thank my friend, Near, for inviting me to the concert.❤️ Again, the takeaway for manifestations most of the time is to be just cool about it, and it will seamlessly come to you.
My a1 Twenty-Five concert experience is something that I’ll never forget. Christian, Ben, Paul, and Mark exceeded my expectations, both performance and personality-wise. They truly think of their fans to this day, and that’s always something we treasure.
The a1 Twenty-Five Concert in Davao was brought to us by Davao Concert Scene and Concert Republic.
a1 Twenty-Five Concert in Davao Set List:
1. Same Old Brand New You
2. Be the First to Believe
3. Summertime of our Lives
4. Everytime
5. Ready or Not
6. Forever in Love
7. No More
8. Call Me When You Land
9. Make it Good
10. If You Were My Girl
11. One More Try
12-16: Boy Band Song Cover Medley
12. Quit Playing Games (Backstreet Boys)
13. Back For Good (Take That)
14. Story of My Life (One Direction)
15. This I Promise You (*NSYNC)
16. I Want It That Way (Backstreet Boys)
17. Learn To Fly
18. Don’t Wanna Lose You Again
19. Heaven By Your Side
20. Living the Dream
21. Caught in the Middle
22. One Last Song
23. Walking in the Rain
24. Like a Rose
25. Take on Me
About the Writer
