MANILA, Philippines — It is no surprise now why Irish pop-rock band The Script love coming back to the Philippines — because it reminds the members of home.
The group is set to return to the country in March 2027 as part of its "Man in the Arena" world tour beginning later this year.
Lead vocalist Danny O'Donoghue was in Manila last May 25 to promote the tour, as well as the newly-released song from which the tour gets its name.
Speaking to members of the media during a press conference in Pasig, O'Donoghue recalled the first time The Script visited the Philippines back in 2011.
The concert then was at the Araneta Coliseum, which was dream come true for the singer who is a boxing fan as they "reenacted" the "Thrilla in Manila" between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier by donning sumo suits.
O'Donoghue admitted feeling blessed that for around two decades the band's songs continue to resonate with Filipinos.
Most songs he wrote are from a place of heartache like "Breakeven" and "The Man Who Can't Be Moved." Others explore different emotions like "Hall of Fame," where "one feel so good they want to punch the moon."
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"I feel like we only know that now, in our mid-40s, after a 20-year career that these songs are sticking around," O'Donoghue said as he pointed out the Philippines is the source of TikTok trend origins for the band's music.
The Script and Filipinos become "interlinked" because of the algorithms that form social media, the singer added.
"It's a big honor, and a big responsibility, too, because these songs have stayed around for so long, every one of them I judge against my new songs," O'Donoghue continued. "It can be a blessing and a curse at the same time but to even one thing [for] people to remember is incredible."
He even joked being happy to have a couple of songs enjoyed across generations from grannies to children.
'Biggest fanbase'
O'Donoghue reiterated how well The Script gets along with Filipinos, crediting how huge the band's Philippine fanbase is online.
The singer said he always received messages telling the group they'd be watching an upcoming show, asking them to hold concerts outside Manila, suggesting beaches to visit, and even sending recipes.
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"The connection is when you're here, onstage, too, see just how much our songs mean over here," he went on.
The vocalist even commended the Philippines that despite being a small-to-medium-sized country in terms of land mass, it is The Script's biggest fanbase in the world.
"Although we're bigger in America, [the Philippines] per capita has the most [of our] fans for a country other than Ireland, which is just insane," O'Donoghue continued. "We're thousands and thousands of miles away, how can we be so similar?"
He listed down some of the similarities between the Irish and Filipinos: both enjoy drinking, love karaoke, show their feelings, go arm-in-arm to shows, and have open lives and hearts.
"That kind of what The Script are, we're an open book. If you don't like it, jog on, because we're going to be here singing heartache songs all night," said the singer. "It's very Irish of [Filipinos] to do that, you lay all your problems, troubles, hopes, and optimism into song, we're very lucky."
O'Donoghue teased that among the songs in the band's upcoming album, "The User's Guide To Being Human," is the spiritual sequel to "The Man Who Can't Be Moved."
He also quipped that if the album doesn't do well, he might have to get a divorce just so he could experience heartbreak again and write a new batch of songs.