THE Starry Starry Night with Julio Iglesias concert at the Plenary Hall, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, started 15 minutes late.
But when the 66-year-old balladeer came on stage singing Nathalie before turning on his charm with a “Hello Malaysia!”, the crowd warmly welcomed him with loud applause.
Iglesias was happy to be back in Kuala Lumpur. “I love Malaysia and everyone in my entourage is so impressed with what you have achieved since we were here the last time,” he said.
“Thank you very much for coming. I first came to Malaysia when I was 12. Now I’m 47 ....” The crowd roared with laughter.
“I love Kuala Lumpur. It was in Malaysia that I first kissed my wife ... and that got me five kids and cost me millions, so thank you very much, Kuala Lumpur.” Again, the audience roared with delight.
Iglesias went on to deliver a repertoire that featured some of the greatest hits of his career – a mixture of Spanish, Italian and English songs.
A consummate entertainer, he knew how to engage the audience and mesmerise them with his romantic songs. He was vibrant and charismatic, humorous and engaging. He got the audience to sing along with him on Always on My Mind and Mammy Blue.
He is both a gentleman and gracious mentor, too. At one point in the beautiful duet, All of You, with backup singer Wendy Moten, he nudged her forward while he took a few steps back to allow her to bask in the limelight as she sang her part. It’s this little gesture that showed his humility and humanity.
When he sang hits such as Begin the Beguine or Me Va, Me Va, he’s in a world of his own – with his eyes closed and his right hand drawing figures in the air, then stopped at his stomach and caressed it, pouring his emotions and soul into his singing and transporting his listeners to another realm. That’s the power and magic of Iglesias.
When he sang his English hits (Crazy, To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before, Can’t Help Falling in Love), the crowd was in love.
Each time he sang a number from his Tango album, he was accompanied on stage by a talented pair of tango dancers, Soledad Fernandez and Herman Gelosi. They were superb.
“I love Asia ... my first wife, I have 25 wives (the crowd roared with laughter) ... no, no, I have just two,” he joked.
“My first was Filipino so I understand the culture of Southeast Asian people very much. I know in Malaysia, you have a perfectionist ideal ... very unique and very clean.
“But tonight, let’s be a little dirty. Let’s imagine when you go back home, with your wife, partner, lover ... let’s dance the tango.
“But don’t get too excited because with tango, you will get pregnant immediately ... and in vertical position!” The audience roared again.
A brief account of his recent trip to Haiti left the audience and himself, raw. But he recovered enough to deliver the beautiful Fragile, a song he recorded with Sting.
Time seemed to stand still when Iglesias sang his farewell song and someone in the audience shouted their love to him. He smiled, raised his hands clasped as if in prayer and left the stage after 90 minutes of singing, only to reappear soon after for an encore.
In fact, he came back twice. The audience seemed not to get enough of this romantic balladeer. The magic is still intact despite the advancing years. – Isaac Zulen
(Source:http://www.thesundaily.com/article.cfm?id=45257)
But when the 66-year-old balladeer came on stage singing Nathalie before turning on his charm with a “Hello Malaysia!”, the crowd warmly welcomed him with loud applause.
Iglesias was happy to be back in Kuala Lumpur. “I love Malaysia and everyone in my entourage is so impressed with what you have achieved since we were here the last time,” he said.
“Thank you very much for coming. I first came to Malaysia when I was 12. Now I’m 47 ....” The crowd roared with laughter.
“I love Kuala Lumpur. It was in Malaysia that I first kissed my wife ... and that got me five kids and cost me millions, so thank you very much, Kuala Lumpur.” Again, the audience roared with delight.
Iglesias went on to deliver a repertoire that featured some of the greatest hits of his career – a mixture of Spanish, Italian and English songs.
A consummate entertainer, he knew how to engage the audience and mesmerise them with his romantic songs. He was vibrant and charismatic, humorous and engaging. He got the audience to sing along with him on Always on My Mind and Mammy Blue.
He is both a gentleman and gracious mentor, too. At one point in the beautiful duet, All of You, with backup singer Wendy Moten, he nudged her forward while he took a few steps back to allow her to bask in the limelight as she sang her part. It’s this little gesture that showed his humility and humanity.
When he sang hits such as Begin the Beguine or Me Va, Me Va, he’s in a world of his own – with his eyes closed and his right hand drawing figures in the air, then stopped at his stomach and caressed it, pouring his emotions and soul into his singing and transporting his listeners to another realm. That’s the power and magic of Iglesias.
When he sang his English hits (Crazy, To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before, Can’t Help Falling in Love), the crowd was in love.
Each time he sang a number from his Tango album, he was accompanied on stage by a talented pair of tango dancers, Soledad Fernandez and Herman Gelosi. They were superb.
“I love Asia ... my first wife, I have 25 wives (the crowd roared with laughter) ... no, no, I have just two,” he joked.
“My first was Filipino so I understand the culture of Southeast Asian people very much. I know in Malaysia, you have a perfectionist ideal ... very unique and very clean.
“But tonight, let’s be a little dirty. Let’s imagine when you go back home, with your wife, partner, lover ... let’s dance the tango.
“But don’t get too excited because with tango, you will get pregnant immediately ... and in vertical position!” The audience roared again.
A brief account of his recent trip to Haiti left the audience and himself, raw. But he recovered enough to deliver the beautiful Fragile, a song he recorded with Sting.
Time seemed to stand still when Iglesias sang his farewell song and someone in the audience shouted their love to him. He smiled, raised his hands clasped as if in prayer and left the stage after 90 minutes of singing, only to reappear soon after for an encore.
In fact, he came back twice. The audience seemed not to get enough of this romantic balladeer. The magic is still intact despite the advancing years. – Isaac Zulen
(Source:http://www.thesundaily.com/article.cfm?id=45257)
No comments:
Post a Comment