Irish singer Niall Horan returned to the Philippines with his “The Show” concert at the Mall of Asia Arena on May 13, 2024. Photo from Niall Horan's Instagram account.
MANILA — Irish singer Niall Horan returned to the Philippines with his concert “The Show” at the Mall of Asia Arena with a promise to "make it up" to his Filipino fans.
"It's been nearly six years since we were together and it's so good to be back and see you all beautiful people. It is so good to be back in the Philippines, it's so good to be back in Manila. Thank you so much for filling this place up for me. We were here 6 years ago nearly ... and I missed you, guys ... we're gonna have a lot of fun tonight," Horan said.
"I thank you so much for doing (this,) this is my job. And I get the chance to travel the world and play in countries that I never thought I would even visit, countries that felt so far away and they are, and even further away from where I'm from, and thank you for allowing me to do that. I know it's been six years since I've been here but we're gonna make up for it tonight," he added.
Horan started with tracks from his sophomore album "Heartbreak Weather" like "Nice To Meet Ya," and "Small Talk" and "On The Loose" from his debut album "Flicker".
He went on with tracks from "The Show" like "On A Night Like Tonight," "The Show," "If You Leave Me/Everybody Wants To Rule The World" and continued with "Heartbreak Weather" tracks such as "Cross Your Mind" and "Black And White".
For his acoustic set, Horan serenaded the crowd with "Flicker," "This Town," and "You Could Start A Cult" then proceeded with "Heaven" and "Everywhere".
Directioners screamed when Horan played “Night Changes” from One Direction’s album “Four,” the group's last album with Zayn Malik.
Horan recalled his first time in the Philippines with One Direction and thanked his fans for their loyalty for more than 14 years.
"I remember coming for the first time so well, playing a stadium show for the first time. I just wanna thank you all for being so loyal over the last 14 years, you may very well be the nicest people in the world, always so welcoming, and always so nice," he said.
The Irish singer also played "Flicker" tracks "Paper Houses," "Mirrors," "Meltdown" from "The Show" and "Still" from his sophomore album.
Horan thanked his Filipino fans for their loud energy, marking the crowd as one of his favorites from his tour.
"Thank you for one of my favorite nights of the tour, no doubt. This has been incredible, you are an amazing audience. Thank you so much for coming out to see us tonight, hope you had a great time," the singer said.
"I think we should not make it 6 years again, okay? We have to make a deal. Not 6 years, 7, I'm kidding," he added in jest.
He also expressed his appreciation to his fans for spending their time and effort with his noting how expensive it is to go to concerts nowadays.
"I also wanna thank you, every single one of you for spending your money to come and watch me because in this day and age, it's not easy to just come to a concert," he said.
"I know it's not easy to do so but you chose to spend your time and your money on me and thank you so much and I hope you had fun tonight."
To give his fans a treat, Horan played "Save My Life" and "Slow Hands," his debut single to mark his solo career after his life with One Direction.