Big Time Rush Ends 15-Year-Long Wait With First Manila Show – Review

Boy bands are back. At least, that’s what Big Time Rush’s first show in the New Frontier Theater, Cubao last October 18 proved.

In an exclusive interview with Billboard Philippines in preparation for the Manila leg of their Asia tour, Big Time Rush members Kendall Schmidt and Logan Henderson shared their excitement as this milestone marked the group’s first-ever performances in Asia as a unit. The Nickelodeon-formed group may have debuted all the way back in 2010, but excitement amongst long-time fans never faded.

In the same interview, Kendall vowed, “It’s going to get loud.” And, surely, it did.

Even prior to the show’s start, members of the audience were chanting, “Big Time Rush,” in anticipation for the show. Serving as a gathering space for reunions between old and new friend groups, the concert grounds held a unique kind of thrill — the kind that was 15 years in the making. The crowd was clearly fully prepped, wearing headbands with the boy band’s heads stemming off the accessories and carrying signages with different heartfelt messages. Someone even came dressed up as Gustavo from the hit TV series.

When the lights dimmed and each member of Big Time Rush emerged into the spotlight, a mix of nostalgia and suspense filled the venue. Making their first-ever appearance in Manila as a unit, Kendall, Logan, James, and Carlos seemed just as excited as the audience was. The concert started off with a banger — “Big Night,” the boy band’s certified hit from their 2011 album, BTR. With the crowd chanting along to the chorus, the song served as a preview for the memorable night to come. Bouncing off this beat, they played crowd-rouser “Windows Down.” The energy was so high that even Logan and James began to play-fight during the performance of this song, teasing the audience with their playful vibe before wow-ing the crowd with backflips.

Carrying off the high tension, both the group and fans were dancing along to the third song of their set, “Elevate.” In a short spiel after the song, Logan acknowledged a sign from the crowd saying that they’d been waiting for fifteen years for the night, and declared that the group had been doing just the same. In dedication for ending the long wait, the band performed “Song for You” next, pulling out the classic boy band moves and performing in a choreographed line.

Presenting their new music to the Philippine audience for the first time, Big Time Rush commanded the audience with a hit off their 2023 album Another Life, “Waves,” and their 2021 single “Call It Like I See It.” Following the rhythm of those new releases, they took the audience on a modern synth-pop ride with “Weekends,” which got everyone grooving and jiving. Afterwards, band took its second spiel break, where James declared, “I know it took us way too long to get here but if you’ll have us back soon, it’ll not take another 15 years for us to come back.” Later, he asked the crowd how many of them grew up watching the TV show, earning a roar from the audience — proving the legacy the boy band left in the lives of longtime listeners and fans.

Introducing loyal fans to the new era and face of Big Time Rush, the band performed their newest single, “Only One,” which retained the group’s youthful cheer and signature boy-band sound all the while proving a milestone in the group’s growth in production with the upgraded quality. Following this, the group performed “Nothing Even Matters” that fans knew so well that they did the choreography in tandem with the group, even singing the respective harmonies to the song. Bouncing off this sequence of Big Time Rush classics, the band performed the fan favorite “No Idea.”

Slowing things down, the band brought out the acoustic guitars, warming the crowd’s hearts with the members sweet and vibrant vocals. In an acoustic rendition of “Stuck,” the audience sang along, filling the venue with the heartfelt lyrics. For their next acoustic song, the band was originally set to play “I Know You Know,” but a sign within the audience requested that they played “Cover Girl” — and as the result of a crowd vote, they complied with the latter track. Ending their string of downbeat songs, they called four girls from the audience to the stage as each member serenaded them to their well-loved “Worldwide,” a song about love no matter the distance. This stage ultimately served as a testament about how strong the connections music can make, even from one part of the world from the other.

The temperature started to rise once more as the group introduced “City Is Ours,” hyping up the crowd once again as they chanted “Let it out!” along to the chorus. Sending through this energy, the band continued to play “Music Sounds Better,” encouraging the audience to engage in a fair bit of “light dancing,” as they said. With “Love Me Love Me,” they got members of the crowd off their feet, jumping and chanting along to the beat. Providing a space for the audience and band to take a breather, James spoke briefly where he acknowledged the sheer number of men — or in his words, “fellas” — in the crowd, noting that having this many men watch their live performance was a first.

Following this, the group performed “Any Kind of Guy,” taking the crowd on the ultimate nostalgia trip as the original music video from the TV series played on the LED, a sweet and simple reminder of how far the group had come. In their performance of “Paralyzed,” members of the group got off the stage to make their way into the crowd and interact with fans; Carlos even got as far as the second half of the standing section! As they closed their set, the group set the stage on fire with “If I Ruled the World” and “Til I Forget About You,” after which each member of the band said their goodbyes to the audience. Or so we thought. As the crowd clamored for more, for an encore, the band came back onstage to set hearts ablaze with their unmistakeable hits.

Surely, it wouldn’t be a Big Time Rush show without hearing their certified classic, “Big Time Rush.” Paying tribute to their roots in their TV series, everyone knew the song by heart, almost by instinct. Lastly, the show was sent off with colorful confetti adorning the stage as the group performed their most-streamed song to date, “Boyfriend.”

Big Time Rush’s first-ever concert in Manila was a statement to how powerfully music can reconnect the past with the new. Although members of the audience were at a significantly different point in life to where they were when first introduced to the TV series, it was like for a moment, we got to live vicariously for the younger versions of ourselves that wanted nothing more than to see Big Time Rush live. Combining the nostalgic favorites of the group’s discography and their latest drops, the setlist curated the ultimate night that showed different sides and growing aspects of the group. And as the group continues to make new music and revive the boy band hype into the present, we can anticipate their return to Manila once again.

Listen to Big Time Rush’s newest single, “Only One” here: