Jay Chou at F1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix: The Concert!

And so, after the airport meeting, [ http://jaychoudiaoness.blogspot.sg/2012/09/jay-at-f1-singtel-singapore-grand-prix_20.html] which sent me over the moon with Jay's smile and nod at me (I want to believe!),  the next BIG event was THE CONCERT!!!

21 September dawned, bright and hot, with me once again having taken the day off, as I was pretty certain I would have been too hyped-up to concentrate at work anyway.

Came the evening and F and I made our way to the Padang where we met up with friends and fellow Jay fanclub members before we headed to the Fanzone which we were entitled to.

Jay's concert was scheduled for 2315 hours but we decided to go in early to get a place nearer the stage, and it was just as well, 'cos when we got there, there were already fans who had snagged the choice spots right at the front of the stage and at the side of the runway.

The practice runs were telecast live on the big screens in front so after we had found a nice spot at the side of the runway, we sat down to wait patiently accompanied by a huge 1.5L bottle of Carlsberg...lol!
It was interesting to see what other fans had brought, including lightboards with 杰伦 (Jay's Chinese name) on them. Couldn't resist borrowing to take a photo. :)

Anyway, F was my official photographer, avid shutterbug that he is and proud owner of very good lenses (Nikon) which he is always keen to put to use...so I left the photo-taking in his extremely capable hands. :))

After the practice rounds ended, an aura of palpable expectation built up as the fans awaited Jay's performance. At various times, screams were heard from the front, even if as much as a stagehand appeared! False alarms they were but the crowd soon got to their feet and surged forward about a good twenty minutes before the start time of 2315. I noticed Yang Junrong (Jay's manager and one-third of JVR) running down the side of the runway to the sound console and knew that it was almost time for Jay to appear.

(NB: I shall be inserting links to a youtube playlist which contains all the songs from the concert, which were nicely recorded by raynerwong...all credit to him! And one by VJSkratch...thank you to him too!)


And appear he did!
With a flourish of images on the screen, I knew immediately that my prediction of him starting with Exclamation Mark (jing tan hao 驚嘆號)was spot-on! The unmistakeable heavy rock intro came on, his dancers soon after and then....THE MAN HIMSELF coming up from the floor of the stage in the midst of it all, to rapturous cheers from the fans!
This song is notable for the"WA KAO!" chorus which the crowd enthusiastically responded with!

After which he launched into The Era (kua shi dai 跨時代) where he was elevated even more on a special platform:

Love In BC (ai zai xi yuan qian 愛在西元前) was next, where the intro was changed to a simple accoustic guitar ditty and the song was arranged differently from the studio version...with a richer and more up-to-date sound and feel....I loved it!

Then came Where Is The Promised Happiness (shuo hao de xing fu ne 說好的幸福呢), a definite fan favourite (actually, practically all his songs are!).

He ramped up the tempo after that with Enchanting Melody (mi hun qu  迷魂曲) which saw him donning the special LED jacket which we first saw in his Gaoxiong concert...so DIAO!!
He came on with sunglasses, looking SUPER DIAO, which he threw into the crowd oh-so-coolly, to shrieks of excitement!

I knew Super Sports Goddess (chao pao nu shen 超跑女神) had to be on the playlist and I was not wrong! This song has a marvellously catchy tune and breezy feel which always makes me smile! The "Oh Oh" chorus is also really fun to join in! Of course, there were the requisite sexy girls writhing around him (as in the MV) but there was never any direct contact as he sang and danced....totally cute and cool! And of course, who could miss the fiery red Ferrari on stage??

Following that was Cannot Speak (kai bu liao kou 開不了口) where he conducted his gigantic karaoke session like he did during The Era concert...I loved this one! His voice sounded really good and the singalong was heartfelt and so 感动 (moving). He had such a nice smile at 1:49! And watch out for him blowing a kiss to the fans at 3:38....so sweet!!! But sadly, that was not where yours truly was standing. *pout*

It was time after that for Jay to tickle the ivories with the familiar intro of Tornado (long juan feng 龍捲風). Singalong time again! This one is timeless (it's from his very first album) and forever a favourite. :)

 

I told you he would beatbox and he did....in the intro to Qing Hua Ci 青花瓷 (Blue and White Porcelain), of all songs! But it was really cool and he played piano for this song....I always find it difficult to sing this one but the melody of this award-winning song is beautiful! And he added his own lovely improvisations on the piano, as usual. 

After which was another fast number, Sunshine Homeboy (yang guang zhai nan  陽光宅男) first on the piano and then he got onto his feet to prance around...this is a lively song, after all! The fans were also jumping!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMmLShOuoVQ&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ6CrUsmtl4ES4F7VKsq6cAs&index=10&feature=plpp_video

Qian Li Zhi Wai 千里之外 (A Thousand Miles Away) was next and he changed into a beautiful black and gold Chinese-style jacket for this and the subsequent songs. I love this jacket SO MUCH....very smart!!

 

He came on with Nunchucks (shuang jie gun  雙截棍) after that, which is a must at all his concerts, awesome for the "Hng Hng Ha Hee" chorus and audience participation! And of course ends with his flinging of the nunchucks into the crowd amidst loads of pyrotechnics and flash!

He came on for an encore with a song from a Jet Li movie viz Fearless ( Huo Yuan Jia, 霍元甲)yet another popular Chinese-style rock song with a chorus made for audience interaction..."HUO HUO HUO HUO HUO HUO HUO HUO!", anyone?? And yet another fling-out toy for his fans...yup, a golden fan, literally! But he did say at the end that he would see us again next year (or his World Tour most likely!!!). ;)

That was apparently definitely the final song 'cos even though the crowd waited and chanted his name, he did not reappear and the stage came on with this:

And an announcement that the concert was well and truly over...to the disappointment of the fans.

But then again, the schedule had specified that Jay would only be performing for about 75 minutes...of course, we were all hoping for more....it did not feel right to end so quickly!

All in, it was a fantabulous experience for me to see him so up close! And gosh, he must have been sweltering in the heat, with all those jackets. I'd of course been hoping he'd wear less and show more of his arms and pecs but Jay was too modest as usual. ;)

He was in fine form, bantering with and engaging the fans, who screamed incessantly and sang along lustily with every song. He made full use of the runway to be closer to his fans, sang his heart out and as you can see from the photos and watch on the videos, the spectacular visual effects really complemented Jay's music beautifully...I would not have expected anything less from His Royal DIAOness!  All the hands of the fans were up, holding cameras and phones to record everything for posterity. :)

And need I mention how much I liked his artfully mussed-up hair?? Very handsome!! Kudos also for his costumes which were just the right touch of stylish without any signs of feathers, frills or fur....lol!

I was on such a high after that when I went home that I could not sleep and instead spent the time uploading my video to youtube, posting some photos on Facebook and looking with glee as the Notifications icon kept blinking with loads of Likes and Comments, despite the unearthly hour!

Here's to more of Jay next year for the premiere of Rooftop and his solo concerts!

But before that, there's something else to look forward to first....Album #12 due on 12 December 2012!!!!

Can't wait!!!

NB: More pics from Sunsun Jay's  Facebook album here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.527782750572272.137518.100000216553089&type=1

And here are some pics from Jay Chou Singapore and Malaysia of Jay rehearsing the afternoon he arrived in Sg: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.511798122182698.133229.126329800729534&type=1