Recap: FELIP's "7Sins" Album Concert

SB19’s FELIP (also known by his stage name “Ken”) launched his first full-length solo album in early July 2024 under the Warner Music label. Named 7sins, it features nine tracks themed around the complex emotions related to the seven deadly sins and touches on acceptance, forgiveness, and the relationship between the two. He book-ended this launch at the end of the month with an album concert at Space at One Ayala in Makati.

“7sins” (the concert) opened with an ominous voice-over that spoke of the existence of sin and the celebration of virtue. And with an impressive light show, a now-redheaded FELIP appeared onstage. The confidence was apparent, the command of his space evident. Dressed in black leather pants and a matching open jacket, sans shirt, he turned the energy up from the very beginning, getting the crowd amped with his low vocals and powerful dance moves. His opening performance of “foes” effortlessly transitioned in the next song “envy,” sung with the non-stop accompaniment of the crowd cheers. Now this is how you open your first solo concert.

After a heartfelt opening spiel, he slowed things down a notch with “greed,” sung as he sat atop the ledge of his stage set, lit by the glow of hundreds of mobile phone screens. And who could blame his fans for wanting to capture this live performance?

FELIP had released his setlist on Spotify ahead of the show. Despite having this information on hand, fans were still delighted to see guest artist Cyra Gwynth onstage. The Belgium-based singer joined Felip on their collaborative song "lust" before taking the stage solo to sing her own track "cut the bs (runnin’)."

But the special guest appearances didn’t end there. Directly on the heels of the multilingual “pride,” written in English, Tagalog, and Bisaya, FELIP brought in hip-hop artists PLAYERTWO to bring “gluttony” to life. The addition of an artistically disturbing “mud being” trying to break free from the elements that covered him only added to the theatrics of the song. Gluttons that we are for great musical collaborations and stages, we ate it all up, singing along they sang “You can never get away from this love/ Know that you will never know what’s enough.”

As with Cyra Gwynth’s appearance, PLAYERTWO was also given their own time on stage as FELIP retreated backstage, presumably for a costume change as we went into the third act of this nine-song album setlist. The guys slayed their song “Shower Music,” keeping the crowd bouncing to the beats.

Then FELIP was back, exuding a barely contained power that was befitting of the song “wrath.” Growling out the lyrics, covering all sections on the stage, you wouldn’t think that he was tired at all. Up next was “sloth,” which started with an acapella call and answer between the artist and the audience before seamlessly moving into a captivating rendition that clearly showcased that this man is not lazy when it comes to giving his fans their money’s worth.

To close the show was the song I’d personally been looking forward to the most. Dancers appeared once again on stage, covered in white, as the haunting harmonies of “ache” began to play. FELIP did himself proud, injecting emotion into every word of the song’s moving lyrics. He ended by simply walking off-stage while the music played on and confetti cannons went off.

As the confetti fell, and the piano version of his single “Kanako” played over the speakers, a sense of joy permeated Space at One Ayala. FELIP had taken us through his journey and here we were, celebrating in the light.

But he wasn’t quite done with us yet.

He returned for encore performances of his hits “Rocksta” and “Mictest,” tracks from his previous EP Com Plex. And then, only after that, was it truly a wrap.

Taking everything into account–the stunning set design, light direction, visual backdrop, and costuming–and adding the honed talent of this Zamboanga-born singer, musician, and lyricist, the 7sins album concert was a success that can only lead to even better things in FELIP’s career.

Text by KGG

Lead photos from @felipsuperior