Almost six years since SHINee last performed in the Philippines, ‘flaming charisma’ Choi Minho is back – and this time, as a solo artist! The Manila stop of his "2023 Best Choi's Minho Lucky Choi's" fan meeting was held last Saturday, January 28, at the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena, presented by Ovation Productions.

The charismatic performer opened his fan meeting with an intense and edgy performance of ‘Heartbreak’ from his 2021 single of the same name. Fluid moves and an amazing stage presence pumped up Filipino Shawols and Flames!

After hyping up the crowd with that performance, Minho greeted all his Filipino fans and comfortably took his seat alongside host Sam Oh. The fun begins here with the first segment called “Lucky Box”!

For the "Lucky Box" segment of the show, Minho had to accomplish missions with Shawols before opening a box containing a surprise. 

The first mission was to do the same pose as the chosen fan given the keyword 'Lucifer' - and they easily cleared it! Minho and the lucky Shawol held both index fingers up, one of the iconic moves in the SHINee track. With their success, Minho opened one box to reveal a barong tagalog, which he then wore while dancing the pandanggo sa ilaw. Filipino Shawols loved seeing him represent our culture!

The second mission required more Shawols to join and had them posing all together to form a heart. After successfully executing it, Minho opened the second box, which contained a crown - perfect for our Prince Minho.

Aside from being an idol, Minho has also established himself as a stellar K-drama and movie actor, so he had to show off his acting chops during the fan meeting!

During the “Lucky Moment” segment, the all-rounder gave his version of popular scenes from “Alchemy of Souls” and “Descendants of the Sun.” The definite crowd favorite was Minho channeling Captain Yoo Shi Jin – can you imagine him in a scene with fellow SHINee member Onew as Dr. Lee Chi Hoon?

The first segment was truly fun and heartfelt at the same time, as lucky fans had the chance to interact with Minho and join him in accomplishing his missions. We’re sure these Shawols felt over the moon with that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! 

Closing his first segment was another performance that Minho prepared for his fans; a SHINee medley! ‘Atlantis,’ ‘Don’t Call Me,’ ‘Kiss Kiss,’ and ‘CODE’ comprised the SHINee melody, and fans could not help but feel ecstatic seeing ¼ of SHINee dance his heart out to their catchy songs! 

Before Minho’s final segment, he gave out one explosive performance of his new tracks, ‘Runaway,’ and ‘Chase’ from his first debut EP! It was a special performance since it was the first time Minho performed it in Manila!

The final segment of the fan meeting was a question & answer portion through keywords related to Minho, most of which were titles of songs on his first solo album

Asked where he would go if he were to “Runaway,” he cheekily replied: “Well, I think what’s most important is who you travel with… but I think if I were to run away somewhere, the Philippines would be the best place!”

He was also asked to create an itinerary for Filo Shawols, who will visit South Korea. He recommended heading to Kwangya (SM Entertainment), eating kimbap and samgyeopsal, and trying out the trendy four-cut selfie photo booths. 

In this segment, Minho also did the trending “Dati Dati” dance challenge by Sarah G. Another lucky fan had the chance to interact with Minho by teaching him the choreography! Minho, being the performer he is, added his groove and twist to the challenge, which fans truly enjoyed watching!

Ending his hour-long fan meeting, Minho serenaded Shawols with his first solo song, ‘I’m Home’. 

One of the most memorable moments from that night was some Shawols raising a big banner requesting SHINee to come to the Philippines during their next world tour. His response:  "Okay, I got it!"

We look forward to being part of another beautiful Pearl Aqua ocean. We will be waiting, Minho! See you, Onew, Key, and Taemin again soon!