Filipinos are known to be romantics themselves, and behold, many fans were serenaded by British-Norwegian boy band A1 when they brought tunes into the country for their Valentine’s Tour 2025.
The band thoroughly toured around the country with various shows within and outside the Metro. They started with Bacolod last February 12, followed by Cagayan De Oro on February 13, and wrapped up their Visayas stop on Cebu last February 14, perfectly in time for Valentine’s day. To conclude their tour, they finally headed over to Manila with a two-night show at the New Frontier Theater last February 15 and 16.
A1’s Ben Adams, Paul Marazzi, Christian Ingebrigtsen, and Mark Read, sang their all-time favorite musical hits that washed over a sense of nostalgia for their Pinoy fans. At the same time, the band also made sure to impress the audiences with an impeccable stage design which was a fusion of retro and futuristic visuals. It truly felt like a time capsule that brought fans into enjoying the nostalgic appeal of the band all the while enjoying the modernized atmosphere of the concert.
True to the theme of love, there simply was no other way but to start the night with ‘Heaven By Your Side.’ Shortly after the number, the band expressed their joy to once again perform in the country, “As you know, we absolutely love the Philippines,” Read said. A testament to the band’s confession to the Filipino crowd was within their next song, ‘Forever in Love.’
Shortly after, an upbeat track whirled around the venue, and the band asked the audience to dance and sing-a-long to ‘Ready or Not.’ This was followed by one of A1’s melancholic songs ‘Walking in the Rain.’ But there was once again a quick shift in the atmosphere with the upbeat song ‘Same Old Brand New.’
Deviating from their music, the next piece was ‘Three Times a Lady,’ as a tribute to Lionel Richie. The next few songs were picked out from their sophomore album ‘The A List,’ with ‘Living the Dream’ and ‘No More.’ During the next segment, the band willed four lucky fans to join them on-stage as they sang ‘If You Were My Girl’ from their debut album ‘Here We Come.’
Halfway through the concert, A1 surprised fans with a medley of their songs, ‘When I’m Missing You,’ ‘The Things We Never Did,’ ‘I Still Believe,’ ‘Take the Tears,’ and ‘One in Love.’
The band then proceeded with a recent song they made back in 2023 ‘Call Me When You Land,’ which was written during the pandemic and was a heartfelt song about reaching out to loved ones during trying times.
‘Here comes the rain,’ ‘One More Try,’ ‘Learn To Fly,’ ‘Caught in the Middle,’ and ‘One Last Song’ were the array of love songs that followed suit which stayed true to the spirit of the season. But, of course, the band wouldn’t miss it for the world, when they performed ‘Like a Rose’ to perfectly cap off the night. The hit song was an all-time favorite among the local fans, something that is always included in every karaoke session even beyond the Valentine’s season.
The band made sure to further stretch their time on-stage when they surprised the audience with two encore songs ‘Everytime’ and a cover of ‘Take on Me’ by fellow Norwegian band A-ha.
A1 definitely made their stay worthwhile in the country with a series of successful concerts which was a reminder of how impactful and well-loved their music is even after all these years and the seasons that have passed.
This event was made possible by the Concert Republic.
