Fans Rejoice! One Ok Rock To Perform In Manila!

Some would call it prayers answered, some would say it was a dream come true but whether the gods of Rock made some divine intervention or not, one thing is for sure -Japanese Rock band One Ok Rock performing in Manila next year was something that did not happen overnight. It has taken years of requests and petitions, surveys conducted and lots of talk online among fans before it finally has become official. 

The Philipine One Ok Rock Facebook group which currently has 3,831 members from all over the Philippines is the most active Filipino One Ok Rock group. They (along with Amuse Philippines) have long been petitioning for the 4-piece Japanese Rock group to perform in Manila. You might have seen them in Anime conventions having a signature campaign for the very purpose of having Manila as a stop in any upcoming One Ok Rock tour. 

Some of it's members (based in Cebu) went to a One Ok Rock concert in Bangkok, you can see the Philippine flag in the group's Music Video Decision. Perhaps it was a sign that their prayers would soon be answered. 

In May 2014 we even covered a One Ok Rock Tribute Night event http://pchengphotography.blogspot.com/2014/05/one-ok-rock-tribute-night-encore.html

On this Tribute Night, local bands cover One Ok Rock songs, it was also a celebration of the Philippine One Ok Rock Group's 3rd anniversary, they were the organizers and hosts of the event. 

At the end of the blog post I write-

"Well if Japanese band Tricot had a successful show here (blog post here) dreaming and hoping for One Ok Rock to have a show as well is not to far fetched right?" 

-and now it's actually happening. 

On March 30, 2013 a piece on J-Rock (Japanese Rock) fans was published on the Manila Standard. The piece features the first One Ok Rock Tribute night (what we covered was actually the second) and dives into the growing number of J-Rock fans and their voices which has been growing louder and louder to have these bands perform in Manila. 

The article also features 90's Japanese Rock band Larc-en-Ciel. 

When news that One Ok Rock would be performing for the first time in Manila it appeared so many times on my news feed. This was an event which has long been in the making and one that which fans have long been waiting for. 

I can't help but get goosebumps when I think that a Japanese Rock band will be performing in Manila, in a venue with a seating capacity of 20,000. It just goes to show that you should never underestimate the power of fans and that dreams, no matter how far fetched can actually happen. I feel proud that a fan base that has worked so hard would see the fruits of their labor of love. 

ONE OK ROCK is a 4-piece Japanese Rock band composed of Toru Yamashita, Tomoya Kanki, Takahiro Moriuchi and Ryota Kohama. The group was formed in 2005, they sang all three songs which were used for the live action adaptation of Rurouni Kenshin. The Rurouni Kenshin movies have gone to become the highest grossing Japanese movies in the Philippines. 

The band has released 7 albums, and have won awards to their name. They have performed in International Music festivals sharing the stage with acts like Green Day, Franz Ferdinand and Rihanna. They have already toured Asia, the US, Europe and South America. 

One Ok Rock will be performing for the first time in Manila on January 19, 2016 at the Mall Of Asia Arena and is made possible through Amuse Asia and PULP Live World Inc.