Apologies for the late upload! I know you’ve been seeing a lot of concert photos on my personal page but I never had the chance to upload these here – well, until now. Let’s treat this as a throwback to the most amazing summer concert that we’ve been to in Manila this summer – the Coke Studio Summer Concert at the Mall of Asia Arena last April 25.
We’re calling it amazing because first, not a lot of events and brands can bounce back from a major downfall like the Coke Studio Christmas Concert – which was cancelled after the first two or three bands due to an unruly crowd. Second, for a concert to be staged twice without payment from the attendees require a lot of effort (and budget!). Third, imagine how tedious it can be to get an international artist like Apl.de.ap to perform here for a FREE CONCERT! Lastly, the Coke Studio team even invited some of the artists from the first season to perform with the new ones so we got the chance to watch them live. Hands down to the organizers of this event. They were able to come back stronger and better this year. It was indeed worth the wait.
For more or less 3 hours, the arena became home to our favorite artists like KZ Tandingan, IV of Spades, Shanti Dope, Abra, John and Gab of Urbandub, Apl.de.ap, Ben&Ben and Sam Concepcion. Although Season 2 artists Moira dela Torre, AJ Rafael, and December Avenue weren’t able to join, the concert was still well-received by the fans. For those who weren’t able to join (and for those who are just taking a stroll down memory lane with us), feel free to browse through these snapshots of every performance. Don’t forget to listen to the Spotify playlist that we’ve curated below while doing so!
Stage setup and lights in the arena are just so amazing. What seemed to be a simple screen at the center of the stage rose up to reveal the first performer of the night – KZ Tandingan!
KZ, looking as fresh as ever, hyped up the crowd by singing Yugyugan Na. With her powerful voice and dance moves, she’s definitely poised to be at the top of OPM artist rankings in the country today.
After every performance, hosts Ylona Garcia and Justin Quirino goes up on stage to interview the artists. Fans got to know more about their favorite artist’s summer plans and even homecoming memories in each interval. Safe to say that there was never a boring moment as soon as the concert started.
Coke Studio Season 1 artists Abra, and Gab and John of Urbandub joined the celebration by singing their own hits. Abra even sang a collab with Coke Studio Season 2 artist Shanti Dope!
Khalil Ramos made fans swoon with Kahit Sa Panaginip. Too bad that his collab partner, December Avenue, wasn’t able to make it!
When it comes to inspirational messages and songs, Juan Miguel Severo (also known as JMS) and Quest will be your best picks. At the concert, they showed how heartwarming it is to hear them sing DKR (Darating Ka Rin) live.
DJ Patty Tiu and KPOP star Kriesha Chu also made their fans jump for joy with Sunset Dream and their song R.U.N.
Badjao, Blaster, and Zild rocked it out with Shanti Dope, too!
Singer-dancer Sam Concepcion partied with fans and even sang Pinoy-favorite songs before jamming with Ben&Ben for their Coke Studio song entitled Balik-Balikan.
Before formally closing the concert, KZ Tandingan returned onstage with Fil-Am rapper Apl.de.ap to sing Homecomin’ – which was the product of their collaboration under Coke Studio, and Labo. Apl.de.ap also sang I Gotta Feeling – a 2009 song that millennials probably know by heart!
The night ended with an amazing rendition of Awit ng Kabataan, sang by all the Coke Studio artists. It’s just overwhelming to see so much Filipino talent on one stage at the same time. I do hope Coke Studio will come back with an even more amazing third season! Until then, we’ll have our current throwback playlist on loop.
Thank you, Coke Studio PH. See you in again in a few months or so!
Check out other photos that we’ve uploaded via Manila Millennial’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages. In case you want to grab any, feel free to do so but we hope you can tag us in the caption! For instant updates about the next season, visit:
Facebook:COCA-COLA Philippines
Instagram: @cocacolaph
Twitter: @CocaColaPH
#CokeStudioSummerConcert
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