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October 23, 2006
2006/10/21: Heroes of Earth 2006 Concert in Singapore
21 October 2006 – A day which many have waited with much anticipation. Leehom's Heroes of Earth 2006 Concert in Singapore has finally arrived. By 7pm, Singapore Indoor Stadium was already crowded with fans and their families as well as friends. Fans from around the world could be seen mingling outside the stadium. Many had flocked to the merchandise booth where various concert merchandise were being sold. The entrance was opened at around 7.30pm. Eager concert-goers queued and were very well behaved. Everyone looked really excited.
Upon entering the indoor stadium, I could feel the cold air emitted from the powerful air-conditioning. It was then when I felt the energy rushing through my body. My adrenaline was gushing. Together with my gang, we went to search for our seats. Initially, we thought we're getting bad seats as the numbers are Row 11, Seats 14, 15 and 16. To our delight, they were right in the middle! Hooray! The moment I reached my seat, I saw a package. It was a pair of yet to be inflated red colored clapsticks with Leehom's name and 盖世英雄emblazoned and a SISTIC flyer. Up on stage, the words 盖世英雄, which was shadowed against a gigantic piece of white cloth, could be seen.
At 8.30pm, the lights dimmed and the spotlights on stage lit up. The words 盖世英雄 disappeared and behind the cloth were shadows of four warriors in period Chinese costumes. When the cloth was released from the top, the fireworks went off as well. The crowd went wild! Leehom and two performers were seen standing on a suspended platform. Unlike the Taipei Concert where Leehom jumped off the platform, this time he danced down from a slope which connected the platform and the stage. The moves were difficult. The music to盖世英雄 (Heroes of Earth) came after Leehom had ‘fought' off the ‘villains'.
This was followed by 放开你的心 (Open Your Heart) and 爱你等于爱自己 (Loving You Equals to Loving Me). Those three songs were combined into a medley. Leehom got us on our feet jumping, waving and singing along. During the short interval before proceeding to the next song, he said aloud, “当我说盖世，你说英雄!” (When I say ‘Gai Shi, you'll say ‘Ying Xiong'!) This chant was used through out the evening and it excited the audience every time Leehom says, “当我说盖世……” or “盖世……” The crowd seemed to have moved into the automatic mode.
Leehom has a really good showmanship and is a professional when it comes to interacting with his audience. Occasionally, he'll crack jokes. They may be silly but it made everyone laugh. Throughout the night, he interacted with the audience partly in Mandarin and but mainly in English. The audience could not stop cheering when Leehom introduced members of his band, the majority of whom are from Singapore.
The next song was 公转自传 (Revolution). It definitely brought back sweet memories from that period and made me realize how Leehom had revolutionized Mandarin music. 爱的就是你 (You Are My Love) and Kiss Goodbye then followed. Kiss Goodbye was said to be the most popular mobile ringtone in Taiwan. I beg to differ as it is also a hit in places where Leehom's presence is felt like Malaysia, Singapore and China.
Before the emotions generated by Kiss Goodbye could subside, Leehom broke into 永远的第一天 (Forever's First Day). If you had read the Accidental Biography, you would understand how much this song means to Leehom. Even though it's an old song, all the fans present seemed to remember each and every word very well. Perhaps some of them could relate to Forever's First Day. Just as the song ended, Leehom ran under the stage for a quick rest and wardrobe change.
DJ E-Turn appeared at the top tier of the elevated stage. He also chanted, “当我说盖世，你说英雄!” As the lights on DJ E-Turn dimmed, Leehom appeared in his hip-hop attire.
In the hip-hop segment, he performed Ya Birthday, 我就喜欢(I'm Lovin' It) and 女朋友 (Girlfriend). Almost everyone stood up from their seats to wave their glow sticks and danced along the tunes. The highlight for this segment was Girlfriend when female dancer Dao Dan rapped with Leehom and she made some fans jealous by faking a kiss with Leehom mid-way through that song and ripping off his shirt. He then brought everyone down memory lane to his very first song, 情敌贝多芬 (Love Rival Beethoven). Nevertheless, the spirits were high.
After that, it was the band's turn to entertain the crowd while Leehom had another costume change. A video with 大成小爱 as the background music was played on the big screens and that made the crowd roar in excitement. The video showed footages of Leehom from his first visit to Singapore until the most recent visit – more than a decade of videos.
Slowly in the dark, five high stools were arranged on the stage with a microphone stand in the middle. The guitarists took position and made some adjustments. Leehom then appeared on stage quietly. The spotlights slowly lit up on him and he started strumming 第一个清晨 (First Morning), followed by 大成小爱 (Big City Small Love). Just before he started singing 不要害怕 (Don't be Afraid), he asked the audience to sing along the chorus with him. The crowd sang in unison. He then finished the acoustic set with the faster tempo W-H-Y. He looked dashing in blue shirt, jeans and a guitar.
Subsequently, Leehom moved to the piano and teased the crowd with a short classical number. I believe that's the warm up tune. On the piano, he played and sang 一手简单的歌 (A Simple Song), 流泪手心 (Crying Palms) and Love, Love, Love. It was a smooth transition from the piano to the drums. Leehom started by beating the floor tom and walking at the same time. Once he was seated as the drum kit was slowly assembled and he kept on playing. A brilliant drum solo.
When Leehom disappeared again, the crowd cooled down a bit. Without much delay, Alan Kuo's music blared from the speakers and out he came. The guest artiste sang Wake Up and 零 (Zero), which are his signature songs. He really rocked the stadium!
From Alan Kuo's rock music to one of Leehom's most popular ballads, Forever Love. He sang this tune almost effortlessly. When he lifted the violin, fans screamed. Everyone knows that the violin is his pet instrument, one which he has played since he started formal music lessons. Leehom's beautiful rendition of Love Theme from Cinema Paradiso swept many off their feet. It was lovely and romantic. Leehom truly serenaded the audience with his violin solo. Amidst the claps and praises, he began playing the tune of Julia on his violin. The crowd rose to their feet almost instantly as if additional adrenaline was injected into them.
DJ E-Turn took over the stage and the B-Boys as well as Chinese Opera performers joined him while Leehom took another costume change. The B-Boys and the Chinese Opera performers trilled the audience with their impressive combination of street dancing and acrobatic stunts. When Leehom appeared, he was wearing his Chinked-out attire. He was red from head to toe. For the Chinked-out segment, Leehom performed 在梅边 (Beside the Plum Blossom), 花田错 (Mistake in the Flower Field) and 心中的日月 (Shangri-la).
Prior to the next song, Leehom made a short thank you speech to the sponsors, his big boss, SonyBMG, his violin teacher, friends and fans. He told us at the end of his speech that he wants to take us to a faraway place through his song 在那遥远的地方 (In the Faraway Place). Leehom displayed his prowess at the erhu, an ancient Chinese string instrument. It is amazing that he taught himself to play this instrument as it is not easy. Perhaps the experience and skill learnt from playing the violin helped.
The following song was 龙的传人 (Descendants of the Dragon). As the song reached the chorus, Alan Kuo appeared and started dancing with Leehom and the B-boys. The coordination and synchronization was very good. Both even did a duet in the rap section with Alan rapping in Mandarin and Leehom in English. The performance was a blast. Everyone was on a high.
Leehom made a lot of interaction with the audience in 不可能错过你 (Impossible to Miss You). He made us all sing in our softest voice and slowly raise it but we broke his rule at the second level when in the height of excitement we became too loud. Thus, we were made to sing that part all over again. Even so, we all thoroughly enjoyed it. When Leehom started singing 唯一 (The One and Only), those who had watched the Taipei Concert DVD knew that this song is the finale. Since Singapore is the last stop of the Heroes of Earth 2006 Concert Tour, everyone gave their all and sang 唯一with Leehom. Voices echoed throughout the stadium.
The concert had given many first time Leehom concert-goers a deep impression. The high quality performance and endless crowd interaction thoroughly thrilled them. This concert even brought together fans from all over Asia Pacific.
What impressed me most was how superb the concert was, despite Leehom's crazy hectic working schedule, Leehom had managed to put up a great performance; never mind that his vocals sounded stretched and that he had forgotten his lyrics at times - he made it a night for us to remember.
And we couldn't stop smiling as we left the stadium that night.
Written by Belinda Teh (Ourhome Australia & New Zealand)
Posted by staff at October 23, 2006 01:19 AM
Comments
Thanks for these sharing information, I've been told many times for this concert, really amazing and crazy.
Here I would like to say that both Leehom and all of you are so nice and tired, hope you can rest yourself and enjoy everything very well.
Best regards
Nic from Ourhome China
Posted by: Nic at November 12, 2006 02:14 PM