How Stray Kids turned Philippine Arena into a rave party

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Arena crowd went into full revel mode as K-pop stars Stray Kids electrified the stage during their “dominATE World Tour” concert in Bulacan.

Last Nov. 23, fans from the Philippines and across the globe — also known as STAYs — packed the massive indoor arena to witness Stray Kids dominate their biggest concert stage yet in the country with their pounding music and high-energy performances.

Presented by Live Nation Philippines, the show boasted of a setlist featuring more than 30 songs and lasting three hours. Tracks came from three of their five Billboard 200’s chart-topping albums, namely ATE, Oddinary and Rock Star.

Red lights illuminated the arena as the crowd sang and swayed their lightsticks to the rhythm of Stray Kids and chanted the eight-piece band’s “anthem,” before erupting to cheers as the group appeared on an elevated stage and opened the show strong with Mountains.

Accompanied by a live band, Stray Kids continued to set the stage on fire with their opening performances, knocking their fans’ hearts with Thunderous, JJam, District 9 and Back Door where the group moved around the stage along with door props.

As Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin and I.N greeted the crowd in Filipino, the boys had the audience laughing as they reminisced about a funny moment from their first visit to the venue in December last year for the Asia Artist Awards (AAA).

Bang Chan particularly recalled the time when Han and Seungmin were heading to the toilet but had to rush back to the stage upon hearing that 3RACHA had won the Best Creator award.

3RACHA, Stray Kids’ sub-unit composed of Changbin, Bang Chan and Han, handles most of the group’s songwriting, composing and producing duties.

“(Seungmin) said, ‘I’m going to the toilet, who’s going with me?’ So I said, ‘Okay, let’s go,” Han narrated.

“Oh, that was me! Oh my God!” Han proceeded to reenact their funny experience while Seungmin pointed to their exact spot when 3RACHA was announced a winner at the AAA.

Stray Kids further drove the crowd wild with their solo performances that featured unreleased tracks, shining the spotlight on their individual charisma and