Lany returns the love of Pinoy fans

­MANILA, Philippines — American indie-pop trio LANY wants to be the biggest band in the world. Yes, they said it. And no, they are not afraid to tell you that and other big dreams during interviews.

“We’ve got a long way to go,” frontman Paul Klein told The STAR in an exclusive chat, together with bandmates Les Priest (keyboards, guitar) and Jake Goss (drums), when they were in town last week for the Manila stop of their 100-date Malibu Nights world tour. “We want to be the biggest band in the world. We wanna be big as it is possibly is.”

To their Filipino fans though, they are already.

Proof? They sold out not one but three consecutive shows on July 23, 24 and 25 at the 15,000-seater Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena. Sources from the show promoters (MMI Live, Karpos Multimedia and Live Nation) said that it’s the first time ever that this happened to a foreign act in Philippine music history. This is besides the fact that LANY was the Most Streamed Artist in 2018, according to the music-streaming site Spotify, outperforming K-pop and other international artists.

A cursory look at its Spotify profile shows that four of the Top 5 cities listening to LANY are in the Philippines. These are Quezon City (651,183 monthly listeners), Makati City (208,947), San Juan (182,055) and Manila (175,484). Jakarta, Indonesia took the third spot with 191,875 monthly listeners. Why do Filipino fans — to borrow lyrics from their hit song ILYSB — love LANY so bad? The band has been to the country four times, with the first visit back in 2017 for a music festival they didn’t even headline. But it appears that the Pinoy love just kept growing since then.

“It’s a mystery to us! I love it! We don’t know (why) but it’s magical,” said Les.

“We don’t know. Can you tell us? We’d love to know,” Paul asked The STAR back when the question was posed to him.

So, this writer sought out answers from some hardcore fans who attended one (if not more) of the concerts at MOA Arena.

“I love their songs because they make me dance when I’m happy and make me cry when I’m sad. It’s like they made songs that cater to whatever people feel. I can relate to their songs when I’m in a moment of stress or pressure at work. I tend to reflect because of the tone and the message of the song that no matter what happens, no matter how hard the past was, you can still move forward,” said Justin Ong, 22.

“All of the concert, from start till the end, was my favorite part, because they really gave their all and were so appreciative of the fans,” Justin added.

According to Shaina Chan, 21, “The feels of their songs are just so heartfelt that even if you’re not hurting inside, you feel their pain. When I hear their songs I can remember all the things that happened to me in the past. Their songs Thru These Tears and Thick and Thin, when they are played, I remember someone. Well, you cannot change the past, but hearing LANY songs, you feel so much better.” 

Shaina continued, “I love the whole concert. I had a VIP ticket and our spot was right in front of Paul. We were so close to him that I could see his face, it was so smooth, I can’t forget that moment! When he blew me a kiss, OMG, that was so memorable, the best time of my life! If LANY comes back next year, I will surely watch it again and of course, in the VIP (section).”

“Paul’s voice is so chill, super relaxing for me. I love listening to LANY, (especially) when I feel like making a music video, ‘emo-ing’ while raining hahaha! Actually, I don’t have a personal experience that can make me connect to their songs, but the lyrics are sobrang tagos. It really hits me because every line of their song says it all, like what happens in real life, the ‘relationshits.’ Maybe when I get heartbroken, the LANY playlist will be on repeat, for sure,” said Frances Nuñez, 22.

“My favorite part was when everytime Paul would do his cute dance and of course, (when they played) Malibu Nights, Hericane and 13! I’m single AF but they always make me cry,” Frances added.

LANY definitely returned the love during the Manila shows. The STAR was present at the second night and here are some of the highlights: The band started with Thick and Thin and ended with I Love You So Bad (ILYSB), playing a total of 13 songs. The songs came with carefully thought-out background visuals that included previous music videos and nostalgic pictures. Paul made the Pinoy audience sing many times, told them probably 100 times, “Manila, you are amazing!” and of course, delivered the clincher on behalf of the group, “Manila, we’re coming back for the rest of our lives. Mahal ko kayo sobra!”

This week, LANY is in Bangkok, Thailand for two nights, to be followed by another two shows in Japan, then South Korea, Singapore, etc., before wrapping up the global tour in August.

Paul said, “We end in Hawaii. We will have a couple of days off to enjoy the island but we are definitely going straight back to work and make album three. It’s going to be a really beautiful and important moment for us, as a band, something super symbolic, because it’s No. 3 and there’s three of us in a band. I’m really excited about it.”