(03/05/2004)
Concert At Genting
This year marks Aaron Kwok's 10th year in showbiz and he is celebrating the decade with a world tour, kicking off in Malaysia and ending in America later on in the year. The still youthful-looking Hong Kong superstar showed off to his fans and THAM AI MEI some fancy footwork at his concert at Genting Highland's Arena of Star on Monday.
I could have sworn that I could still see flashing bubls just before I hit the ebd, five hours after Aaron Kwok's concert ended at Genting Highland's Arena of Star last Monday. It was only natural, since the whole concert was truly an overdose of blinking lights, flashy costumes and loads of choreographed dancing.
As one of the four "Heavenly Kings" of the Hong Kong Canto-pop scene, Aaron Kwok was out to prove that he is still the reigning dance king. Judging from the full-house audience (i'm one of them for sure) and their tireless screaming and waving of some "pang-pangs" (longish balloons given to all in the hall which were used to create more noise than is humanly possible - look at my picture below), Aaron was truly welcomed here.
It was 8.25 pm when suddenly, the fans and I screamed even louder in anticipation of the appearance of the superstar as graceful male dancers marched onto the stage. Aaron strolled in, triggering frenzied yells from the fans. True to his signature style, the opening sequence was the fast-paced Zhui Mai (Intoxicated). This was followed by another frenetic song called Yue Oi Yue Hou (The More Love The Better). Here, the back-up dancers clad in boxing outfits, didnot hide the fact that Aaron was just mumbling. Nonetheless, the song ended with a literal bang as fireworks lighted up the stage and the audience lapped up the singer's performance.
Aaron was good at establishing a rappot with the audience from start with the usual greetings "How are my Malaysian fans?" and the promised that he will live up to his concert theme of Fiery Genting Concert. Aaron even taught the audience how to use the pang pangs in a uniformed manner, prompting and urging them to try it in perfect synchronisation.
To let himself and the audience catch their breath after all that adrenaline-pumping dance numbers, Aaron proceded with his slow songs Chuo Oi De Fu Yun (Signs of Love Gone Wrong) and Feng Li Mat Ma (Secret Code). While he seemed to be getting more confortable with the audience at this point, he also appeared to have forgotten some of the lyrics to the latter song. No big deal though, as the fans were just too happy to see this Hong Kong demi-god serenading them.
Of course, it was soon time for a costume change and Aaron emerged in a body-hugging striped top and something that looked like a pleated skirt. This, of course, prompted another chat with his fans.
"Is my outfit okay?" asked Aaron flirtatiously, scanning the sea of female faces in the crowd. He playfully fished for compliments by continuing "Have I gone fatter lately?" which triggered a resounding "no" from his fans. Looking at his perfectly buffed body and youthful face, it was clear that Aaron, like many of his peers, has mastered the art of looking good.
What followed was a wide repertoire of his songs such as Kwong Ye Zi Seng (Mad City), Cheong Ze Go (Sing This Song), Tai Ngoi Lei (I Love You So) and Ngoi Ha Hui (Continue Loving), as well as many more fast-paced dance choreography and costume changes. Particularly memorable was the fast paced La Ding Zhouk Kuk (Aladdin's Theme), whereby Aaron emerged on stage amidst a thumping beat and four female dancers. For a moment, I thought he was going to do rendition of some Ricky Martin number. While the song was upbeat and entertaining, the lyric were a tad muffled. Another number worth remembering is the thumping Jue Dui Mei Lai (Absolutely Beautiful), not for Aaron's MC Hammer-like pants but for the pure energy and enthusiasm that he put into the performance.
At one point, the superstar cajoled his fans by asking: "Which of you out there is still single? Would you want to marry me?" If you think that Aaron's fans are just made up of females, you would be suprised to see a lot of young male faces. Some of them were swaying to the infectious pop songs, while some overzealous ones were almost maniacal in their bid to get Aaron's attention.
Clad in black and white F1 driver suit and accompanied by "Umbrela girls", he once again executed some superb dance moves as he rendered Mo Kei (No Regrets). Maybe his love for fast cars put a real zing to his performance, as he belted out the song effortlessly and the perfect choreography was rather awe-inspiring.
Soon came the obligatory creaditing of his back-up band, his dancer, his manager and record company.
"Oh yes, I would like to thank my hair-stylist too."Aaron cheekily added.
The concert ended on a high note with everyone dancing to the tune of Para Para Sakura (something of a Canto-pop verson of the Macarena) - all on their feet as they executed the moves in tandem with aaron and his dancers.
The mood was one of elated joy and feel-good silliness as fans and singer alike sang and danced their hearts out amidst confetti raining down from the ceiling. As clich & eacute as it may be, it was a rousing end to a shaky but generally energetic performance by Aaron.
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