A1 Celebrates Silver Anniversary with Nostalgic Manila Show

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Celebrating their lustrous career, boy band A1 embarked on another Philippine concert to mark their 25th anniversary in the music scene.

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The group performed on October 14 and 15 at the New Frontier Theater.

Nostalgia fest

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Returning to the Quezon City-located venue, A1 drew scores of fans for their anticipated show.

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The concert’s second night began with the noise-filled concert hall getting louder when Mark Read greeted the crowd. “This is the last night! It is so good to be back again for all of you, people on our second night here in Manila. And wow, 25 years — Can you believe it?,” he exclaimed.

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British-Norwegian boy group started all the way back in 1998. Read, Paul Marazzi, Christian Ingebrigtsen, and Ben Adams came together and became the band that fans all over the world have loved for a quarter of a century now.

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Taking the audience back on the memory lane, their set featured a solid lineup of songs that induced utter nostalgia.

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Among the tracks they performed was “Be the First to Believe.” Their debut single took them to great heights, helping them achieve worldwide success and recognition through the late 1990s and early 2000s. This song was also a part of their 1999 album “Here We Come” along with other tracks “Summer of Our Lives,” “Everytime,” “Ready Or Not,” “Like A Rose,” “Forever In Love,” “Heaven By Your Side,” and “Walking in the Rain” that were also performed last Sunday.

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In between the concert opener “Same Old Brand New” and “Take On Me”, the night’s encore song, several more hits were delivered. A1 performed “No More,” “One More Try,” and “Living the Dream,” all under “The A List” album.

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Musical treats

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After a few performances, Ingebrigtsen shared endearing words to the fans. “As songwriters, we always wanted to play our new song. As fans of music ourselves, we always wanted to hear the audience sing them. But every song, before it becomes a hit, it has to be played and performed,” he expressed, aptly introducing their newest single “Call Me When You Land.”

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The song is a throwback to their earlier ballads. And as the gents performed the track, the audience gladly sang along.

Popular tracks from their 2002 “Make It Good” album, such as “Make It Good,” “Caught in the Middle,” “Learn To Fly,” and “One Last Song” also made it into their setlist.

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Halfway through the show, they gave their fans yet another treat: They performed their own renditions of other hit songs from boy band groups. These include Backstreet Boys’ “Quit Playing Games With My Heart” and “I Want It That Way,” One Direction’s “Story of My Life,” and NSYNC’s “This I Promise You.”

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A1 last held a concert tour for their 20th anniversary in 2018. In that year, they performed live shows in Davao, Cebu, and Manila.

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Great to be back in the Philippines! Davao, Cebu and Manila in the next few days for our 25th anniversary shows. #a1 #Philippines #

— Paul Marazzi (@mazzratazz) October 11, 2023

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For their 25th year celebration, they went to perform at the SMX Convention Center in Davao on October 12, The Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino on October 13. Capping off their Philippine tour was their two-night concert in Araneta City’s New Frontier Theater.

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A1 TWENTY FIVE concert is presented to you by Concert Republic.

Written by: Joram Flores
Editing by: Emmy Borromeo
Photography: Kenneth Valladolid

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