[Concert Recap] INFINITE Takes "One Great Step" in Manila

INFINITE recently capped off the Asia leg of their “One Great Step” world tour with a bang  in Manila, Philippines last November 3 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

“One Great Step” in Manila is INFINTE’s second time to perform in the Philippines after the “Dream Kpop Fantasy Concert” last January. Standing once again before thousands of Filipino Inspirits, the boys belted out to some of their well-loved hits such as “BTD,” “Be Mine,” “Paradise,” and “Man in Love.”

The show kicked off with a video showing an alternative world where music is dead and the idea of “infinite” has become “finite.” The entire premise of “One Great Step” revolves around this story.

The boys began the show and later on went to introduce themselves in Filipino. They really do make an effort to speak in a mix of English and Filipino which really wowed the crowd. At one point, Sungyeol even said “Salamat, manong” to Hoya which translates to “Thank you, ahjusshi!”

In between performances, fans were treated to unreleased music videos such as the original version of “Destiny” and “Inconvenient Truth” from their mini album, “New Challenge.”

Apart from the group performances, there were special stages as well. Leader Sunggyu performed an orchestra version of his solo track, “60 Seconds” and Woohyun sang his self-composed song, “Beautiful.” INFINITE H showed off their dancing skills in a dance along with a performance of “Special Girl” while Sungyeol and Sungjong had a joint stage for “1/3.”

The concert wasn’t complete without the boys doing the Scorpion dance from “BTD.”

As with every OGS stop outside of Korea, the group performs one local song for the fans. For Manila, they sang “Bahay Kubo,” a traditional folk song that’s very popular among children in the Philippines.

INFINITE really excited the audience when they sang a Filipino folk song.

What makes this leg of the tour stand out is the special project organized for Dongwoo‘s birthday as he’ll be celebrating his birthday on November 22. Party hats and birthday banners were distributed and the banners were raised when the boys were saying their ending messages. The crowd was singing “Happy Birthday” to Dongwoo who was so touched that he cried. Dongwoo’s parents who were at the show also had their own party hats and banners too!

Dongwoo was so touched with the birthday greeting that he cried. 

Fans spotted holding the special birthday banner for Dongwoo (Photo credit: InfiniteUpdates @Twitter)

The boys performed to a live band which just amped up their performances. The crowd was worked up. I even spotted a long banner with the message “Salamat, Infinite” which translates to “Thank you, Infinite.”

Aside from the birthday banner for Dongwoo, there was also a special banner that read “Salamat, Infinite.”

(Photo credit: el_Kim_Queen @Twitter)

Towards the end of the show, the group went to both sides of the stadium and did a 90-degree bow before the fans to show their love and appreciation.

INFINITE continues their world tour in the US where they will have four stops before they move on to Europe.

Special thanks to the Araneta Group for inviting Soompi to cover the event! It was definitely a night to remember for Infinite and their fans.

(Photo credits to the Araneta Center unless stated otherwise.)