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On Sunday, over two thousand screaming and screeching chikitings gathered at the first floor of SM Mall of Asia SMX Convention Center for the first Click Play Social Media Festival.

You’d think it was a modestly attended affair, given the ample floor space where fathers, mothers and titas hung out while waiting for their young ‘uns.

But, we know a party’s always a success when: (1) there’s a fallen comrade, (2) the night ends in confetti and (3) your ears ring until the morning after. 

Maze Runner actor Ki Hong Lee garnered quite the reaction from the crowd and as soon as he left, the two cute girls of Neon Island took the stage. Almost immediately, they called out to authorities and organizers because there was a fan who collapsed by the stage. To be fair, the organizers acted quickly, sending in the medics with wheel chairs and first-aid kits.

Karpos wasn’t kidding when they said Click Play was going to be attended by some of the biggest social media stars in the planet. Apart from the promised headliners — Vine superstars Sam and Colby, Ki Hong Lee, Philippine returnee David Choi, Cimorelli sisters and Niga Higa — Philippines was well-represented with some of the most innovative local brands built in and/or found on social media. We mean: food blog Pepper.ph, clothing brand Neon Island, and travel duo Where To Next.

It was all very educational, if you ask us, not to mention empowering. The festival advocated for a positive online community (no to bullying!). It also aimed to inspire attendees not just to create but to collaborate. 

Below we list some of the highlights of the show.

1. When Vine stars Sam and Colby ate balut

Sam and Colby are two dudes from Los Angeles who are making a name for themselves on Vine, an app like Instagram, except it’s videos. The two opened the show with some ho-hum dance antics and then pulled the energy up a notch when they were asked to eat several Pinoy dishes. The brown-haired Colby thought the balut tasted like hardboiled egg, while the blondie Sam, turned his back on the audience. He said Colby enjoyed it more than him. We’re tempted to call him a wuss, but we’ll stop right there.

2. When Sam and Colby play the Charade accents game

They two were tasked to play a two-part charades game, with the second leg, reserved for accents. For the last accent, Sam had to guess the Filipino accent that Colby did. It wasn’t so much the accent as it was the kick people got. The crowd was obviously flattered.

3. When Cimorelli played the makeup game

The Cimorelli sisters were split into three teams of two, handpicked three girls from the audience whom they will have to put makeup on. The catch: the sister who will do the makeup is blindfolded, coached only by the sister who could see. What a riot. Nobody even remember who won — everybody just had a good time and a good laugh! The audience members, seeing themselves clumsily madeup, and the sisters, seeing the result of their teamwork.

4. When Ki Hong Lee took to the stage 

Jeezus did the crowd erupt! The Maze Runner actor was first interviewed, where he displayed a cute amusement toward the crowd. He mentioned how he’s no longer as active on Facebook, promoted his snapchat, and even took a snapchat selfie with the crowd.

5. When Ryan Higa performed 

Hands down, Ryan Higa aka NigaHiga owned the evening. What seemed like modest attendance in the beginning proved to be a force to reckon with by the time this YouTube legend came out the stage. “This is possibly the loudest crowd I’ve ever performed for. Seriously, I can’t hear myself,” he would say after every single thing he’d do would be met with tremendous screaming.

He took several selfies and several videos. NigaHiga played games with the crowd and performed one of his famed Skitzo videos live with his equally wacky crew. The Japanese American was so adept and comfortable on stage that could’ve been the only performer and it would’ve made everybody’s night. And just because everybody had a good time during his set, we’re posting more photos of NigaHiga below! Can’t wait for next year!

Photos: Cecilia Forbes