So, imagine my reaction when I learned about their live concert tour extending here in Manila. I died. Sure, I got to attend the David Cook-David Archuleta concert back in 2008, Kris Allen concert in 2009, and even Allison Iraheta mini-tour that same year, but we're talking about 11 American Idols in one stage, and they're the people I've been obsessing about the last few months. Missing out the concert wasn't even an option!
And yes, the concert didn't disappoint. It was ALL I expected and more. EVERYONE impressed me and they were just a joy to watch. Without a doubt, the strongest Top 11 on American Idol EVER! Yes, even better than Season 7 and Season 8.
They performed this on American Idol twice and I didn't expect them to open the concert with the same song sans the boys. But I have to say, the girls looked and sounded really good. It's not something that got me all crazy and whatnot, but it's still a pretty solid performance to start the concert. I love how Naima 'rapped' the mid section of the song.
Yes, I'm a Pia Toscano fan, but this song choice - or maybe the order of the performances? - somehow ruined the momentum of the upbeat opening. If I had it my way, I would love to see the guys sing something. But on the context of Pia's performance alone, she killed it! She moved around more than I thought she would and she hits all the notes flawlessly - just how I expected her to perform.
Goosebumps this early? How was even remotely possible? Haha. I love this Rihanna song and found Stefano and Pia's performance to be top notch. I expected nothing less from Pia, but Stefano impressed me! This is ABSOLUTELY NOT the same Stefano I saw on American Idol. This Stefano really brought it - matching Pia note for note and even overshadowing her at times. Who knew?
Paul McDonald wasn't really my favorite of the bunch, but he was pretty entertaining. When he went out and started singing, he really tried to get the whole stadium be as lively as possible. Of course, the audience responded positively and people were already cheering and dancing. Yes, I appreciated the effort and I somehow like Paul now.
Thia performed a Selena Gomez' song? Really? On paper, this shouldn't have worked, but it shockingly did. It's not as "out there" as some of the performances, but it's pleasant. It suited her age and the changes she did with the phrasing was quite impressive. An Adele song would've been pretty stunning for her tone, but that would be a little slow and somber for a happy concert like this no?
Flashy!! I feared that Filipinos wouldn't get this performance just because the song was obviously obscure, but it did get some nice applause after. Haha. I loved the 'choreography' and the graphics in the background was very interesting. Of course, the girls minus Lauren sounded good.
The crowd went wild when Stefano went out with a keyboard at the upper level of the stage. Again, I thought Stefano was impressive! Where was this Stefano during American Idol? He was lively, he connected to the song really well and his vocals were outstanding.
When the band started playing the first few chords of this Usher song, people started to get up and dance - like literally! His singing was exponentially much better than I remembered it from the show, he was working the stage AND the crowd. I realized then that the crowd LOVES Stefano. He was received surprisingly well by the audience.. And then the lifting of the shirt happened, and the whole stadium went berserk!! And then he took off his shirt, and every girl - and those pretending to be one - lost it!! Haha.
Finally, the boys (minus Scotty) went out and some people were actually singing with them. I didn't know the song was THAT popular here. Of course, they all sounded good - even Paul's voice got to carry this song well. I noticed that when James and Casey went out for the first time, people started screaming like there's no tomorrow. It's was hilarious actually.
Naima time! Coming into the concert, I figured that Naima will be the least popular of the bunch. She was polarizing on the show and I wasn't really sure how Filipinos would react to her. I got the feeling the crowd didn’t quite know what to expect from her. So after Animal, people started to sit down again, but Naima asked everyone not to. And boy, did she deliver! I mean, Jennifer Lopez' version was fine, but Naima performed it like it was actually hers. She did a one-hand cartwheel where she landed on a split, for crying out loud!! She should be out of breath by then, but she started singing again and still sounded mighty fine. Definitely some standing ovation here!
I like this song and it was nice to see her music video behind her. The problem I had though was the fact that I was watching to see if she and the video are in sync. Haha. She sounded good and she did much better here compared to her "New York" song, for some reason. She was still a bit self-conscious, but I expect her to continue growing as a performer (see, Underwood, Carrie). Plus, she actually got more applause than I might have expected.
I felt the love from the audience when he came out and Casey didn't disappoint one bit. I LOVED the jazzy arrangement of the first few verses of the song and the dramatic lighting really complimented his voice. And when the full band came in, people again went crazy!!
Ok. I mentioned before that Moanin' would probably be one of the best performances on that American Idol stage, and I was really glad to see this live. I admit, their version wasn't as magical as when they performed it before, but it was still pretty amazing. Casey and Haley have really good chemistry on stage and their voices were incredibly good together.
The crowd was really into this performance. He joked about his outfit as he was actually wearing a leather jacket when it's hot and that it was getting "harder to breath". Of course, this prompted laughter and cheers from everyone. He rocked this performance out. I didn't quite get it during American Idol, but it had it's own charm.
This was one of the most enjoyable number on the concert! And since Forget You was undeniably a popular song, a lot of people were actually singing along with them. I appreciated the fact that everyone had a verse to sing and the graphics were pretty fun to look at. I wasn't so sure about the red outfits, but whatever.
INTERMISSION
I didn't expect the reception Lauren got when she came out. I felt like the audience were relatively more quiet compared to the others. I wasn't sure if it was because she started singing just before everybody even got back to their seats from the intermission. That said, Lauren sounded really good with this Carrie Underwood ditty that complemented her raspy tone. I enjoyed this as I was actually listening to the song on the way to the concert stadium.
Not really a fan of this sappy song, but she did a terrific job! The music video as her backdrop was just as distracting as Pia Toscano's though. So, that didn't help, I guess.
Oooh. I LOVE THIS SONG and her version was just as good - or even better - than the original. By then, the crowd warmed up to her and got a much better reaction from the crowd. I guess this was because this song was one of the better known country songs out there right now.
Now, Steven Tylers video package was hysterical. But when the band started playing the beginning chords of this song, there was a whole lot of spontaneous standing and cheering! Not particularly a rock fan - or even a Durbin fan - but this performance from James felt like a REAL CONCERT! It was loud, but the crowd was loud-er! Amazing.
Again, goosebumps at the end of this song. Uprising was probably one of my favorite performances from James Durbin and for some reason, he somehow performed this way better here than on the show itself, which I didn't think was remotely possible. The notes he hit were unbelievable and one can't deny his ability to entertain. Very nice.
.. and then I was suddenly brought to the church!! If you've visited the site during Season 10, you would know that I'm not a big Jacob Lusk fan. I actually hated him on the show. Now, while I didn't care much about this song choice, I found him very entertaining. People were basically sitting down after James, but he tried his hardest to connect with the audience.
This, however, was a much better song for Jacob. His vocals were powerful and the way he worked that stage was pretty fun to watch.
Haley was next and the screaming fans died - not literally, of course. Haha. We all know how good she performed this song on the show, and Haley just matched that on the concert. She was sexy, sultry and her jazz background really worked well with the song. Oh, and she looked gorgeous on that dress. Loved her!
Of course, she should do the song that made an impression to everyone! Her performance of this song catapulted her from being a fodder to a legitimate dark horse during the show. Here, she performed this with great passion and her vocals were soaring. I did like the riffs she did towards the end and she sold this song like it was written for her. By the end of this, I had no doubts Filipinos were so into her.
American Idol Winner countdown started flashing on the screen and I was surprised at how involved the audience were with every announcement of every winner from ALL 10 seasons. All got loud reactions from the crowd, but it was when David Cook and David Archuleta that got the audience into a frenzy. Haha. Of course, when Scotty was shown on the screen, I just couldn't hear myself.
Ok. So, the person beside me - a 50 year old man - was quiet for the entire concert. At first, I thought that his wife just dragged her into it. But, guess what? He and his wife attended the concert just to see Scotty McCreery live! How crazy was that? To be honest, I doubted Scotty's popularity in the Philippines mainly because the country genre isn't as big - even non existent - here compared to the United States. To my shock, Scotty, undoubtedly, got the biggest reception of all the Idols in that concert. And when he started singing this song, people were bouncing around as if they'd just won the lottery! Crazy!
I wasn't so crazy about this song when he performed it on American Idol, but I swear the girls were swooning everytime he sings the line 'Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not'? Haha. I won’t go into Scotty’s singing except to say he does really well with this. He was a complete charmer. Just saying.
Not a fan of the song, but Scotty made the impossible and made it work! I don’t know. If it was Stefano or even Casey singing this, it will come across as cheesy - for Scotty, it came across as sincere.I think it was his connection with the song and the audience. I'm still not a fan, but to hear him sing this live made me appreciate it a little better.
When Lauren went on the stage for this duet and started singing, I felt like she entered on the wrong key. It sounded a little off, but they both recovered from it and performed it like seasoned artists. Umm, yeah. That's all I have to say. Haha.
When Scotty performed this on American Idol, I became a fan! He got to show a much brighter side of his personality and the whole number was just FUN! It was no different in the concert. He was lively, incredibly infectious and his vocals were solid. I was loving it! Seriously.
This made me - and I'm not afraid to say it - emotional! Yes, this was their last performance EVER as a group and I was just glad to see the concert live. Everyone on stage looked like they were having fun and they were just happy to be part of something as big as this. The medley was a little awkward at time with all the transitions and whatnot, but I didn't really care. Of course, the crowd was totally into it!
No doubt, this concert will be one of those memories I'll never forget. Dare I say, even better than David Cook and Kris Allen's concert a couple of years back. It was fun, no dull moment, and this concert actually made me appreciate a couple Idols that I didn't like. Stefano Langone stepped up his performances and blew me away, Paul McDonald was entertaining, and I don't hate Jacob Lusk that much anymore. Everyone did really well and they all made me happy, which was the point of this concert right?
In a couple of months, a new set of American Idol hopefuls will takeover this blog. But for now, it's all about them. Until next season!!
9 comments:
Oh good, less Jacob. Har har.
Looks like fun! Congrats. :)
Okay, dahil wala akong alam sa AI, magcocomment lang ako sa "DAMinions" - YOU ALREADY! (end of comment)
Hi Dam! :))
Dani: I'm not sure how to take your comment! HAHA. I've been busy the couple of days and I think it'll stay this way for a long time so it's either I close the blog or ask for help from people. :P
I was surprised that Scotty had the loudest screams from the audience, too.
There were two grown men in front of us that was screaming like crazy for Haley though. It was annoying, really. I couldn't hear Haley sing because they kept on shouting.
It was kind of awkward every time Jacob would come out, though. In our section, there was this awkward silence, which I find hysterical.
Anyway, I enjoyed the concert a lot, which was surprising.
i wish i can download the performances in mp3 format D:
Fox should televise a concert. Either live (which would be pretty cool) or recorded and shown just before the new season of Idol begins (I think this would help get people ready for the new season).
Hi Dam. I've been visiting your site for a couple of months now, and I love your entries about Idol, Glee and all that. I am a big fan of Idol, and so I just can't miss the concert here in Manila. I actually watched it twice, and I was extremely entertained. It was worth the wait, worth the time and worth the money (I'm still a student so it was hard to "finance" my "Idol need"). I was looking forward to Haley, and she didn't disappoint. I also went to their mall show in Glorietta with a friend, and I was "starstruck-ed" by all of them. They were very cool and accommodating, and I had a chance to get me a picture with Thia (though the security was very tough, my friend got a picture with each one of them!). Do you agree that Scotty, Haley and Stefano had the most fans screaming for them? I loved the tour, and I really wanna see more of them. Do you have videos/mp3? Share them, please. Souvenir. HAHA
Sorry long post. I got carried away with the talking. HAHA
I thought I was over the Idol frustration already because I wasn't able to got to the concert but, Dam, you brought it back! Dang! LOL. How I wish (so bad) that this one will be in DVD, though a bit far from reality :(
I WAS THERE... AND I AM ONE OF THE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE SCREAMING AND CHEERING FOR EACH AND EVERYONE OF THEM.. ESPECIALLY THIA AND LAUREN.. IM SO SO OVERWHELMED SEEING THE WHOLE ARANETA JAMPACKED.. I THOUGHT THERE WILL BE A LITTLE AUDIENCE TO BE PRESENT BUT DAMN.. OVERFLOWING CROWD WOWED ME.. I WAS ABLE TO CAPTURE THIS SPECIAL EVENT FROM START TO FINISH AND UPLOADED IT IN MY YOUTUBE ACCOUNT.. FEEL FREE TO VISIT AND WATCH IT THRU YOUTUBE...
SEARCH MY CHANNEL: bensquirtle
31 videos all in all.. ilove american idol so much!!!
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