From time to time, covering events gave me a chance to actually meet, observe, and sometimes interview local and foreign artists. These encounters either lead to actually losing my interest in a group after the event or instantly becoming a fan on the spot. 

For an instance, the best example of me coming to an event and leaving as a fan is this newly debuted Kpop boy group TAN. TAN is a shortened version of TO ALL NATIONS and mostly read as T-A-N, pertaining to their goal of introducing their music to all nations and dominating the music scene worldwide. This seven-member group is a product of the survival show Wild Idol and they debuted under Think Entertainment. 

As this article is all about my personal encounter with the group, let me share the happenings with a little ‘feels’ on the side. 

The Media Conference

Before they showed up on stage, my friend and I looked them up online and pre-judged their visuals based on the poster they used. Jooan totally hit our curiosity since he is super photogenic but we are not totally raising our hopes up yet since it might end up as just ‘another’ event we had to cover.

The moment they appeared on stage, the atmosphere totally changed. They are all good-looking and polite. They introduced themselves one by one and that marks the start of the event. As soon as they opened the stage for questions, They enthusiastically answered them with a bit of a joke on the side. There was never a dull moment. 

First Impressions 

Our bbangtae, Taehoon – Taehoon first caught my attention because he looked like a prince when he went up on-stage. He’s the shy type so he would normally just smile and answer questions with just a few words. Since it is their first overseas promotions, it’s also obvious that he is still nervous. Nevertheless, his eye smile is a killer.

Our “prinsipe,” Jaejun – Jaejun is not a new face in the Kpop industry, he debuted in 2012 in C-Clown. After their disbandment, he participated in the survival program MIXNINE. Following that, he re-debuted in the group TREI which is also a disbanded group now. His recent activity before TAN is the duo JT&MARCUS in 2021. 

You can feel his long journey in the industry as he really showed a strong stage presence and he can easily crack jokes with the media. More than that, he put so much effort into learning Filipino words and phrases, and his goal is to become a “Prinsipe” (prince) in the Philippines which we find really funny because he kept mentioning it.

Our #1, the leader Changsun – Deserving of the position ‘leader.’ Changsun is definitely the bias wrecker that will totally take over your bias list. He’s a good talker and he gives off a bright and fun image which seems natural in his personality.

Our lead vocal, Jooan – The only artist who introduced himself with a high note (literally), Jooan already claimed the title ‘lead vocal’ on the team since that moment. Another memorable moment for us is that when my friend and I were whispering at our table if we got enough details for our postings already, Jooan pointed to our table and said we have questions. Thus, we have no choice but to step up and ask. 

Our fake maknae, Hyunhyeop – On the day of the media conference, a fan asked what song would he recommend to motivate someone and he shared that they should listen to the song “Sing With You.” Following that, he even sang a portion of his part. Since then, it took me days to get over the LSS. It was an acapella and I could still hear his voice in my mind even during my work meetings.

Our shy boy, Sunghyuk – Sunghyuk doesn’t seem to like the spotlight so much. Like Taehoon, he doesn’t talk a lot but when he does, he does it with only a few words. But then, it’s cute how he has a pretty baby face but a bulky build. 

Our funny giant maknae, Jiseong – Call me “JS” as he says but we never called him that way. We still like it Jiseong and we will forever remember him as the funny guy who can’t believe that he is actually funny. 

A game with TAN

Aside from the press conference, we had a chance to play a mini-game with TAN. We asked them to point to the person who best describes a certain keyword and they were so excited to do it. For a short while, we were able to know the personalities of each member based on how the other members’ descriptions. 

TAN First Step: To All Nations Fanmeeting

Aside from the media conference, my friends and I followed TAN’s journey in Manila from their fanmeeting to their mall tour in Robinsons Magnolia. That’s also the reason why we were able to compile Jaejun’s Filipino lines!

Read more: TAN signs with Universal Records Philippines, TAN returns to Manila for a series of mall shows, TAN PH Press Conference 2023