There’s no denying that Filipino Arohas have been dying to see Cha Eunwoo once again and finally, after almost two years since his last fan meet in the Philippines, he made his way to our hearts once again during the 2022 Just one 10 minute Starry Caravan in Manila!
Cha Eunwoo welcomed his fans with the song “First Love” from ASTRO’s 3rd full album - Drive to the Starry Road. According to him, this song fits perfectly for the night because it was about pure love and how it’s like a breath of fresh air during the first time which was how he wanted his Filipino Arohas to feel! He also shared his life experience when he lived in the Philippines for six months at the age of 11. He remembered how he studied English here and how those memories came back when saw jeepneys and Jollibee on his way to the venue.
After the heart-fluttering song, he proceeded with the first segment “FACT Check!”, a staple in every fan meet. Artists would be provided different statements about themselves and they would either confirm or deny it. This gave us a chance to look into how Cha Eunwoo thinks and we were surely entertained as he showed his fun and wacky expressions while he struggled to think of the answer to some of these! One thing that made the audience remember this segment was the fact that Cha Eunwoo would like to be greeted as a good boy or good guy by his fans!
The segment that followed was “5 Minutes Straight” where Eunwoo shared TMI from all of his roles from the idol MJ in Hit the Top to the cool yet heart-warming lead Lee Su-ho in True Beauty. Fans were also rewarded as he reenacted some famous scenes in his drama. He started with how his character comforted the lead in Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung to the two most watched scenes in True Beauty: the cute drunk scene and the iconic ottoke song that fans got the chance tune in and do it together with Eunwoo. The segment ended when the idol asked his fans’ continued support in his career as an actor especially with his upcoming role in the drama “Island”. He portrayed the exorcist, Priest John/Yohan, an entirely different character from any of his previous roles!
He ended the first half of the event with his ballad “Don’t Cry, My Love,” an OST he sang for Under the Oak Tree.
For a quick break, a cooking class video of Cha Eunwoo was played, which showcased his talents and charisma as an actor.
He started the second half with his song from The Villainess is a Marionette OST “Focus on Me”.
“Making a self-portrait” was the last segment after his song. Cha Eunwoo recreated his photo from the 2019 ASTRO Summer Photobook - Ordinary Holiday as this was the photo that fans voted for the self portrait. He entertained the audience through an impromptu Q&A while he made the clay sculpture. The questions ranged from his skincare routines, whether he prefered his short hair or if he had plans to do a long hairstlye and was jokingly asked if he wanted to pull off a “no hair look” in which he funnily replied “no hair? I think they will hate me” and lastly rewarded the audience with a flying kiss when asked about his favorite body part since fans shouted “his lips!” to answer the question. Once he was finished, he displayed the sculpture and made a side by side comparison to himself which was no competition at all since the real deal was close to perfection! And for being the good guy that he was, he made sure the crowd went crazy as he strikingly posed for the camera.
After the segment, he reluctantly said that the night has reached to a conclusion. He deeply thanked his fans but asked not to be saddened by this as he still had a suprise towards the end for his encore stage. Before he left, he played the piano while he sang to Shawn Mendes’ “When You’re Gone”.
The stage all faded to black as the lights turned off and then a video played that carried a message in one of his shoots for the Starry Caravan fanmeet and by the end of it he started to serenade the audience with Aloha. We fell for him all over again as he gave away roses to some lucky fans and went to them for upclose and personal greeting. The night officially ended with a group photo with the whole Smart Araneta Coliseum and a goodbye message from Cha Eunwoo. Fans with SVIP tickets were asked to stay for the Hi-Hello part of the program as a benefit from the package they bought.
Was the two-year-long wait worth it? Was it everything Arohas dreamt of? It felt like fans were really outside a “caravan under a starry sky”. And with all the “pakilig” he did from his serenades to the fanservice “pabraso” look for the encore stage, it was truly a night to remember under a purple ocean. Can’t wait for the next time Cha Eunwoo visits the Philippines again.
