September 18, 2010. It was actually the perfect day to have an outdoor concert at the MOA Concert Grounds. The wind was balmy and strong, the crowd was enough but not too full, and the logistics and arrangement of the stage and the video walls, perfect! There was a half moon in the sky and almost no stars but that did not deter the hiphop stars on the stage from doing their sets the best they could.
Imagine having four global hiphop stars on one stage for one night! Weren't we lucky!!
Sean Kingston opened the show with his hit 'Me Love' and proceeded to do several of his hits one after another. The kid doesn't really have a powerful voice but still, since his songs were all bouncy anyway, it kept the crowd on its feet. My personal favorite was 'Eenie Meenie' because I completely forgot that he was also in this song. I actually did not even recognize it when he sang the first few lines of the song. Another favorite moment of mine was when he sang his new single, 'Letting Go (Dutty Love)'. This was Sean's second time in Manila, and this time, on a real concert stage and thousands in the audience.
Kelly Rowland came next and she looked spectacular in a blue dress that billowed with the wind! And unsurprisingly, Miss Kelly's pipes were very very strong! Her rendition of 'Dilemma' got the audience to sing along with her. She also did a set of Destiny's Child songs which was bit harang since she only did snippets of it. I liked her opening song though, 'Commander' and it has in a way, cemented her reputation now as a dance diva! The audience though, loved her 'Emotions'-'How Deep Is Your Love' medley where she asked a guy in orange to go upstage so she could sing those songs to him. Kelly was not shy at all and was touchy feely and it was great too that she sang those songs with her crystal clear voice. Goosebumps moment! Her finale number was my personal favorite 'When Love Takes Over' and I guess it showed who were gay or who were dance club habitues as we were the only ones really dancing to the song. I guess it did not receive much airplay on Philippine radio. I love it too that she sang a portion of 'Clocks' towards the end - I am, like Miss Kelly - a big Coldplay fan! Alas, we were but a few only that night.
Unfortunately, I did not find any uploaded Kelly Rowland video from that night! How horrible! So anyway, I got the closest to it, her live version of 'Commander', which was her opening song here in Manila, and in Adelaide, Australia as well, months ago. Her Manila version though had no dancers and she was in an arresting light blue dress, not in an army-inspired get-up.
