On December 13, 2024, DANCE UNIVERSE NEVER KILLED or D.U.N.K. officially announced FELIP joining their festival dates on January 12 and 13 the following year in Yokohama Japan, as a RAP Collaboration Artist. The news made waves as it marked FELIP’s first appearance at a large-scale international festival, and that he would be conquering this milestone on his 28th birthday.
D.U.N.K., produced by BMSG CEO Mitsuhiro Hidaka, more popularly known as SKY-HI, in partnership with Nippon Television Network Corporation, showcases dance and music collaborations between talented artists in Japan and around the world. Prior to the big-scale festivals, D.U.N.K. was a TV show that ran with 2 seasons from February to November 2023. The TV show had a similar concept of showcasing collaborations between artists from different agencies. Read more about D.U.N.K. here.
FELIP Brings the Bisaya Sauce to D.U.N.K. Festival 2025 Day 1
For the first time ever, the collaboration track “ID” was heard and performed live for the D.U.N.K. Festival audience on January 12, 2025. The crowd roared throughout the performance as each collaborating artist stepped in, adding their own flavor and depth to the fierce track. FELIP brought the heat with his fiery English-Bisaya lines. Talk about representation! Some of his lines read “I’m a beast, di’ ko ma tame”, and “Imong idol kay di’ mi the same”. Read more of FELIP’s lines here.
After their solid performance, collaborating artists for “ID” reconnected backstage (11:01). At one point, SKY-HI leaned onto FELIP to say, “He (Juri Tanaka of SixTones, whose verse came after FELIP’s) was so nervous because you were killing it”.
“Woah!”, FELIP responded. “Arigato gozaimasu. Thank you so much for appreciating. It’s my first time here and it’s also not just our fans too. It’s a new crowd for me and so I was really nervous. I thought that I’m already used to performing in front of many people. But right now with 70 thousand people, I really felt nervous. It was nerve-wracking. I just thought to myself – I’m gonna do my best today!” FELIP continued.
At the ‘Special Talk Session’ for all the festival performers, FELIP had a moment to talk about his experience. A fellow Filipino artist in Japan, REIKO was called to help translate for FELIP.
“The show is so massive.”, FELIP said with a lot of emotion. “If not the biggest, it’s probably one of the biggest stages I performed on throughout my career. I’ve been in the industry for 6 years, and this is really one of the biggest ones. I’m very honored to be here, and of course it’s thanks to you (SKY-HI) that I’m able to perform here, along with these great artists. I’m really very thankful to all of you guys. Even the staff here, everyone working here [prooduction staff], I just wanna thank all of you for working so hard. All the artists behind me, and at my side, thank you, thank you all so much for having me here today. Thank you, thank you so much. Arigato gozaimasu.”, FELIP continued, ending his moment with a 90 degree vow. Everyone applauded FELIP’s speech. SKY-HI then hugged and thanked him too. At the end, REIKO joked that no translation was needed, which made everyone laugh.
Day 1 updates featuring FELIP from D.U.N.K official X account:
ROCKSTA’s EPIC 28th Birthday
FELIP’s 28th birthday turned into an epic celebration with a remarkable milestone. His team shared backstage moments where he was seen wearing a sash that read, “Today’s main character,” paired with cute novelty glasses. Ms. Bea (his manager) also shared a short reel with FELIP making a short wish before happily blowing out the candles on his birthday cake.
Despite being abroad, his fans didn’t let the distance come in the way of celebrating the rocksta’s special day. Numerous fan projects led by FELIP and KEN Fanbases rolled out simultaneously to celebrate his 28th.
There were fan gatherings hosted by SISIW UAE, SIWPERIORS, CASINAG SH, and Team Superiors. There’s a birthday wall curated by FELIP FAN HUB, a special book, photo booth and fan kit created by Garuda – FELIP Suson Indonesia, a medical mission project in FELIP’s hometown facilitated by Fstan Fanbases, a charity project and blood donation drive coordinated by MANUKAN HK, a gift project curated by KENTIN KINDLE, and a fan project to gift FELIP with musical gears coordinated by Casa Sinag. To see more of the celebration, search for related social media posts with the tag #FELIP28thStreak.
The following day, FELIP took a moment to express his gratitude to everyone who celebrated his birthday and for the opportunity to perform on such a huge stage.
Connecting with More Artists on D.U.N.K. Festival 2025 Day 2
Day 2 gave FELIP plenty of opportunities to connect with fellow artists. He shared photos posing with Nicholas and Maki of &TEAM, REIKO, and Kaito from King & Prince. FELIP also happily showed off some of the birthday gifts he received from SKY-HI and REIKO, making the celebration even more special.
FELIP did a Tik Tok DC of BE FIRST’ “Sailing” with their member Junon
REIKO also grabbed the chance to do the famous “Gento” Tik Tok DC with SB19’s main dancer himself.
During the ‘Special Talk Session’ for Day 2 performers, FELIP was given another moment to share his experience.
“How was the stage?”, SKY-HI asked. “It was great.” , FELIP answered. ”Definitely, D.U.N.K. is one of the moments I will never forget in my life. Being able to see different artists, amazing artists you know. There’s really nothing more I can say. These guys are really great – each one of them. And I just want to thank everyone. Thank you mina-san. Good job,” FELIP continued on, prompting cheers from his fellow artists.
After jokingly asking him if he still remembers all the names of the artists he shared the stage with, SKY-HI then switched the tone to sincerely thank FELIP for joining D.U.N.K. 2025.
Day 2 updates featuring FELIP from D.U.N.K official X account:
Media Celebrates FELIP’s International Milestone
FELIP made news in the local media as the first PPOP Artist to be invited to Japan’s D.U.N.K. Festival. His performance was featured in DWIZ 882 News’ Eye Spotted TV segment, and in GMA’s Unang Balita from the network’s morning TV show Unang Hirit.
His word-class performance was also documented in article features from GMA Integrated News, and The Daily Tribune Next Gen.
What The Fuzz, a YouTube Podcast channel, made a special feature for FELIP’s epic milestone. The hosts commented, “FELIP is not just representing himself. FELIP is known for bringing it on stage, and this is the global stage now, it’s huge. As the first Filipino artist to be invited in D.U.N.K. he’s blazing a trail for others to follow. It’s about putting Filipino talent on the map.”
Looking forward to More Music Festivals
FELIP’s first invitation to a large-scale international festival was met with overwhelming warmth, from his fellow artists, the festival organizers, the foreign audience, and the media both local and international. Here’s to more international music festivals in the near future for FELIP.