Best Concert Ever

Flying high up on the wings of love...

Basketball, boxing, beauty pageant and singing are the four biggest things in the Philippines. If you go around the country even in the most impoverished areas there are busy basketball courts (standard and makeshift) which would be transformed into a viewing area whenever Manny Pacquiao has a fight or a Filipina beauty queen is competing in the Miss Universe pageant. On the sidelines of these courts there are usually people singing in a karaoke machine or singing along with their favorite local singers on TV or on the radio while they belt their songs. 

Makeshift Basketball Court

Credit: John Avellana

Manny Pacquiao vs Mayweather
Credits: Fox News

Miss Universe 2015
Credits: GMA News

Personally I grew up listening to one artist since she became a household name to many Filipino homes. She is Regine Velasquez, also known as, the Asia's Songbird after winning the 1989 Asia Pacific Singing contest. Everywhere you go when I was younger, you would always hear her songs on the radio and even see her on the television. She is afterall one of the best singers the Philippines has ever produced. 

I never have been able to watch a concert until I was 21 years old. It was November 2012, songbird's 25th Anniversary concert, her comeback after being away for some time because of a delicate pregnancy. My mom is a big fan of hers and one day a friend offered to give me a free ticket to see the show in the Mall of Asia Arena!

 The Mall of Asia arena is one of the bigger venues with a maximum capacity of 20,000 people which is within the SM Mall of Asia complex - the 7th largest mall in the world!
Credits: SM Lifestyle Entertainment

I can still remember how excited everyone was within the venue, afterall everybody knows what she is capable of with her powerful vocals. The whole arena was filled with people! After everyone was seated, a familiar remix of an international song and her own song was heard throughout the concert hall and video of her being shown on big screen! She then came out to the stage singing and dancing with remix of Shine and Where Have You Been! Thunderous claps from people who were  also screaming and shouting her name can be heard in the concert ground! There was one problem though...

On her first note, it can be noticed that there was something wrong with her voice. Excitement turned into an emotional moment after she admitted that she was badly sick. She tried throughout the night to finish the concert but, there was nothing coming out of vocal pipes. 

It was a very sad moment, but nobody booed nor left the scene. The people helped her throughout the night of her show, singing along with her all her timeless hits. You could see the love and support everybody was giving her. 

It was her penultimate number until she announed that there will be a repeat of the show! This time free for everyone who watched her show and promised that she will show it must be done!

Fastforward to January 2013, there came "SILVER REWIND", the same show and she is back with vengeance! It was an emotional rollercoaster full of posivity! Different artists came to do a special number with her. It was a spectacle! An eargasmic moment, just like what millenials say upon hearing something pleasant to the ears! It wasn't a surprise though, afterall the songbird of Asia and not just any other ordinary singer! 

Regine on aerial silk while performing On The Wings of Love
Credits: PEP Entertainment

It was a great experience! Something that I will keep in my memories for a long time!