Sing50 Concert

Stefanie Sun

Stefanie Sun LIVE! What’s not to like?

Yes, admittedly, that is my main (and a major one at that) motive for wanting to go for the Sing50 concert. What else but to see Singapore’s biggest celebrity export sing live?

Also to catch my friend who is part of the 1000-strong choir group. No, this is not an afterthought.

There’s… JJ Lin… and Lang Lang as well (this is an afterthought).

I was very fortunate in that my choir friend passed me the tickets to the concert. Initially I wanted to buy the tickets, but realised that most of them were snapped up and the leftover ones were really far away from the action. I gave up the idea of attending when ta-dah! I’ve been blessed with the tickets!

Unfortunately, because they were complimentary tickets, our seats were quite far as well. We were on the rafters directly opposite the stage, right at the other end of the stadium. Everyone on stage resembles ants. My choir friend is virtually invisible (did not see her at all). Also, because we were so far back that the acoustics were quite bad. Or maybe the acoustics were generally quite bad in the humongous stadium. What we hear sounded like echoes, loud, but hollow and unclear.

Our view. Look at the stage! So tiny!

But the sheer number of performers more than made up for the poor sound quality. I enjoyed myself. It was refreshing to hear local performers performing in a variety of languages and styles. Hearing songs from yesteryear that I would never have listened to otherwise was fascinating.

Tracy Huang

If I have to choose a favourite act, not Stefanie Sun unfortunately, it will be Tracy Huang. When she came out singing “Feelings” she was warmly welcomed with claps and cheers. Then she segued into “哭砂”, one of her more popular songs which even I recognised, and everyone sang along while waving their cellphone flashlights. It was a heartwarming sight. Also, at 63 years old, she looks absolutely fabulous! I would say she received the most claps after her performance.

If I have to choose a second act, again not Stefanie Sun, but Rani Singam with Jeremy Monteiro on the piano singing Singai Naadu. Her performance blew me away. I had tears in my eyes. She sang it so beautifully and you can tell she put her heart into it. If you haven’t heard the song before, head on here: Singai Naadu (by the original composer who wrote the lyrics and sang it. Read the English translation, it is touching).

Lang Lang

Look at the red Steinway grand piano.

Another memorable moment is the chilli red Steinway grand that Lang Lang performed on. OMG. It is beautiful. It is shiny. It is bright. It is emblazoned onto my mind and I love and hate it! Love it because it is a damn fine grand piano and hate it because I am unworthy to play on such a baby with my limited piano-playing skills. But seeing it is good enough. If I remember correctly, the red Steinway grand piano will be on display at the National Gallery when it opens (on 24 November 2015).

The night ended with a light show, simulated to look like exploding fireworks, on the stadium's ceiling.

I am one lucky girl!