Cheyenne Suarez

J-Hope is back: BTS star’s return to PH thrills fans

A fan takes a photo with a wall featuring BTS member J-Hope at the Mall of Asia Music Hall, hours before the K-pop superstar takes the stage of the Mall of Asia Arena for his ‘Hope On The Stage’ concert, April 12, 2025. Jaehwa Bernardo, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Jaehwa Bernardo

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1744444876695Image (5).jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="A fan takes a photo with a wall featuring BTS member J-Hope at the Mall of Asia Music Hall, hours before the K-pop superstar takes the stage of the Mall of Asia Arena for his ‘Hope On The Stage’ concert, April 12, 2025. Jaehwa Bernardo, ABS-CBN News"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A fan takes a photo with a wall featuring BTS member J-Hope at the Mall of Asia Music Hall, hours before the K-pop superstar takes the stage of the Mall of Asia Arena for his ‘Hope On The Stage’ concert, April 12, 2025. <em>Jaehwa Bernardo, ABS-CBN News </em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Fans flocked to the Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday for BTS member J-Hope’s solo concert, the first time in nearly eight years that a member of the K-pop supergroup performed in the Philippines.</p><p>Saturday’s concert is the first of the two-day Manila stop of J-Hope’s “Hope On The Stage” concert tour, kicking off the Asia leg after the North American run.</p><p>Hours before the show, the venue’s vicinity buzzed with excitement, as concertgoers arrived early to take part in various fan activities.</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1910955220840202485&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2025-04-12T08%3A58%3A20.621238%3Af6c0cf13-2a7d-4c21-924e-47230a4d21cd%26action%3Dcorrect&amp;sessionId=7ad55130a043cd4018c3eaa10c6627813df6c522&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:647px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="1910955220840202485"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>At the “UARMYZONE” in the MOA Music Hall, for instance, fans—known as ARMY—took photos with J-Hope standees and a large wall featuring a photo of the artist, and browsed booths selling BTS merchandise.</p><p>Around the mall, fans handed out self-made merchandise to fellow ARMYs, including concert banners, bracelets, stickers and photocards.</p><p>Shanette Mae Fernandez, a 29-year old who has been a BTS fan since the group debuted in 2013, said it felt “touching” that J-Hope came back to the country.</p><p>“Sobrang nakaka-touch lang kasi bumalik siya dito. Super happy lang, sobrang overwhelmed,” Fernandez told ABS-CBN News.</p><p>(It feels touching that he came back here. I feel super happy and overwhelmed.)</p><p>Another fan, Patricia Bacusmo, said: “Hindi ako makapaniwala na makikita ko kahit isa lang sa kanila.”</p><p>(I can&#x27;t believe I&#x27;ll get to see even just one of them.)</p><p>“Sana pagbalik niya (J-Hope), dala na niya ‘yong other six members,” Bacusmo, 22, added</p><p>(I hope when J-Hope returns, he brings the other six members.)</p><p>Posters of the 31-year-old rapper and dancer, whose real name is Jung Ho-seok, also hung in lampposts around the sprawling mall complex.</p><p>In the days leading up to the concert, the iconic MOA Globe in front of the mall lit up with a special design for “Hope On The Stage,” as seen in photos shared on the mall’s official Facebook page.</p><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fsmmallofasia%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02Yp6rYhKFK9czVyQwADaZ8VYPn1tbMsRb97xPgv2dRdur1hJWXtCeD9pMfb7Bf2bwl&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500" width="500" height="754" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>J-Hope is the first BTS member to perform in the Philippines since the group’s two-day “Wings” tour in May 2017, also held at the same venue.</p><p>Since then, BTS has soared to global superstardom, becoming the first all-South Korean act to top key music charts in the United States and earn Grammy nominations.</p><p>As of now, only J-Hope and Jin are active among the group’s seven members, with the remaining five still completing their mandatory military service — a requirement for most able-bodied men in South Korea.</p>

<p>Hours before the show, the venue’s vicinity buzzed with excitement, as concertgoers arrived early to take part in various fan activities.</p>

Hours before the show, the venue’s vicinity buzzed with excitement, as concertgoers arrived early to take part in various fan activities.