Catriona Gray seared herself in the minds of pageant fans when she set the bar high at the 2018 Miss Universe competition in Thailand, taking home the Philippines’ last crown. This includes the famous “lava walk” – her runway walk in a fiery red Mak Tumang gown during the finals’ evening gown segment, which has since been emulated worldwide, while strutting alongside Ne-Yo as he sang Miss Independent.
The beauty queen had the chance to relive the moment — to the joy of pageant-crazed Filipinos — when the American R&B singer flew to Manila for his concert at the Araneta Coliseum on Monday.
In a now-viral video, Catriona is seen onstage alongside other lucky concert attendees hand-picked to meet the singer.
@physiokimmy @Catriona Gray walk at @NE-YO ‘s concert here in PH. They 1st share the stage at @Miss Universe 2018 in Thailand when Catriona won as MU.🔥💕 ps.this is my original video taken during the concert @Wilbros Live ♬ original sound – PT KIMMY ⭐️
Ne-Yo asks the beauty queen to introduce herself, to which an excited Catriona shares, “My name is Catriona. I actually walked with you in Thailand!” She mentions to Ne-Yo off-mic that their interaction happened at Miss Universe, to which he exclaims, “I remember you!”
The two share a hug before Ne-Yo invites her to dance, and Catriona begins strutting across the stage and reliving her famous lava walk.
She also fangirled about the moment after the concert.
“Huhu got to share the stage with @NeYoCompound twice (whaaat) huhu my fangirl heart is so happy,” she wrote on Twitter. She has called herself a big fan of Ne-Yo’s in previous interviews.
Fans loved the interaction, and praised Catriona for her humility.
“The way Catriona was like, ‘I walked with you in Thailand’ instead of, ‘I won Miss Universe in 2018’ is so adorable to me. LIKE MA’AM YOU ARE THE CATRIONA GRAY,” content creator Ayn Bernos wrote.
