- Stefanie Sun – “The Answer Is”
When I heard Stefanie Sun was finally holding a concert in Singapore again (after a 2 year hiatus from work in general), my dear friend Ying and I decided to grab tickets in case our favourite pixie-like Singaporean Chinese singer went off on yet another hiatus. (And you can never tell with people nowadays, what could possibly happen. Look at MJ!)
“The Answer Is” (答案是) was held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on the 11th of July 2009, and was supposed to commence at 8 pm but probably started at about 8.30pm instead, thanks to all the latecomers milling in at around 8.15 pm. (This is why I strongly urge readers to always turn up early for your concerts so that it can start and end on time!)
The concert was done in classic Stefanie Sun style; its premise was very pensive, almost melancholic; sporadic thoughts and questions were flung at the audience in the form of projections against several white circular seashell-like screens.
- Before the concert started – The Stage
- As The Concert Started – The Stage
The minute Stefanie stepped on stage, the crowd went wild – the atmosphere was electric. Fortunately I’d managed to convince Ying to get there early so we were one of the first ones that managed to get in to our sections and we even had time to buy some drinks and to scout out the various Stefanie souvenirs that were on sale. We each bought a poster and I further convinced Ying to get us lightsticks – and boy, were we glad we had them! Stefanie kicked off the concert with this fancy golden warrior-like costume and a blonde wig, and the song she picked, 神奇 (Shen Qi – which directly translates into miraculous, an entirely apt title for it) was blood-pumping and got us waving our lightsticks frantically in tune with the heavy beats.
- During The Concert – Stefanie in 神奇
- Stefanie Sun’s First Costume
I especially loved the way the stage changed with the different lighting effects and washes / projections. My camera’s not good at far-range shots unfortunately, so I was unable to get a fantastic close-up of her gear, but for comparison’s sake, here’s a picture of that golden-warrior-armour costume that I took off another site, with credits attached to the picture:
- Close Up of Stefanie Sun (Not My Image)
She then proceeded to do a fancy change into this European-influenced Doll-like Costume, replete with a flouncy skirt and a hat that seems to perch(?) on her hair:
- Stefanie’s European-Influenced Costume (Not My Image)
[edit: My post was truncated in the middle due to a feeling of being on the verge of a heart attack. My sisters swear it’s the haze getting to us, thus creating breathing problems. Must agree! I have never missed Australia so deeply as now…]
The costume changes didn’t end with that – she then donned this silver blue metallic-link costume, and continued to blow us away with favourites like “完美的一天” which I enthusiastically headbanged to, despite the fact that that song in particular never quite made it to my list of favourite Stefanie songs. The couple sitting in the aisle across from me ended up bursting loudly into song; I could tell they really wanted lightsticks but hadn’t had the foresight to get them before the concert, and probably didn’t manage to secure any when they walked in.
A really unfocused picture of her blue costume
Close Up (Not My Image - Taken from news.omy.sg Site) For Comparison's Sake
The best thing I like about Stefanie Sun is how humble she is, and how well she gets along with the audience. Her extremely down to earth attitude, the fact that she appreciates all the hard work and effort that people have put in to help her get where she’s going, and also how she doesn’t forget these people easily. That night, she thanked one of her music teachers, Mr Peter Chen, for believing in her, and for always pushing her to climb higher.
Stefanie with Peter (Not My Image - Taken off news.omy.sg site)
In the midst of the concert, she also took several water breaks, whereby a dancer would scurry onstage with a drink bottle and pass it to her trying to be surreptitious, but Stefanie usually breaks that illusion by actually speaking to her dancers and treating them like they exist (a rather nice thing, I think). She introduced them as being from Hong Kong, and even spoke in fluent (as far as I could tell) Cantonese to them, while cracking jokes about how unwilling they were to talk to the 10,000 Stefanie Sun fans in the indoor stadium (can’t blame them, I wouldn’t exactly want to open my mouth in those circumstances either). Best of all, she thanked them. It’s a small thing, true, but a gesture that I often think is highly underrated. Most celebrities seem to take for granted all the little privileges that are granted to them, and speaking from the experience of having done backstage work like this, it’s really moving when they appreciate all the effort you put in for them.
A special guest appearance in the mid of the concert took fans (somewhat) by storm – I think most people couldn’t quite decide whether they hated him or tolerated him only on Stefanie’s behalf. The guest star was Nathan Hartono, a 17 year old AC boy who spoke English with an accent that, unfortunately, raised my hackles. Cons: The poor English speaking boy sang an English jazz/blues song to a Chinese fan base (like, hello?). Also he sang one of my favourite Stefanie songs, “爱情证书” in a way that did the song no favours – it lacked the subtlety and nuances of Stefanie’s delicate emotions. Pros: The boy has a good voice that, if cultivated along with his emotional experience, I foresee will captivate audiences for years to come. He just has to sing to an English fanbase. I straddle the in-between so I enjoyed his performance (somewhat, until he sang the Chinese song whereby my disappointment came out in full force). He has a long way to go, but hey, we all need to start somewhere, right?
Far shot of Nathan (My camera doesn't do zooms well)
Close up of Nathan (Not My Image - Taken off news.omy.sg site) For Comparison's Sake
After the guest appearance, Stefanie shocked us all with her superb piano-playing skills (I say superb only because I do not play the instrument myself and so don’t quite know how much better it could get) while she descends in this bright orange costume, seated in this…twirly thing that defies description. Oh and her orange costume reminds me of coils.
The Orange Thing That Defies Description. Yes, far shot. I need a better camera.
Close Up (Not My Image) because I KNOW you are just as amazed as I am she managed to pull this off!
And then because the Queen just won’t quit being so awesome, she has to turn up in yet another splendid costume, and blow us all away. I also especially loved how she talks to the audience, even asking us, as she takes a breather, “Can I ask you to say ‘Sun Yan Zi, we love you?'” in Mandarin, which we roaringly obliged. Fans from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan presented her with gifts throughout the night, like cards, teddy bears, and even balloon twists! It got so much that Stefanie actually pleaded with us, “I’m running out of luggage space!”. Her birthday’s apparently this month (I’m a terrible fan, I don’t remember these things) so we also ended up singing her Happy Birthday. Trust me, with the whole stadium wishing her happy birthday, I don’t see how it could possibly NOT be.
Yet Another Costume Change!!
Stefanie Sun thanking her band - TELL ME YOU ARE NOT AMAZED THE BACKDROP HID THEM!
LOL when Stefanie whipped off her clothes to reveal YET a different costume beneath, I swear fans were going crazy
Despite the title of her concert, Stefanie ended with no definite answer to all the questions that she posed, yet choosing to continue on her way the way she believes her own answer lies (and considering her sucess so far, I say, go girl). Her precise pitching and clear control, her emotions that underscored each plaintive note, her endless energy and the way we made her do an encore – twice – was priceless. The expression on her face when we wouldn’t let up and kept on yelling her name was outrageously funny. She had this Er, excuse me, are you going to let me go home tonight people??? look on her face after she finished her first encore and when she had to come out again for a second round! The best (or worst depending on whether you’re Stefanie) thing was she did 2 songs for her encore and still we didn’t let her off. And still, her soulful rendition of “天黑黑” at the end almost brought me to tears.
At the end of her 2nd encore, when she disappeared from sight.
Can I just say, again, how very much I love this petite girl and her not-so-petite vocals and the way her songs just melt your heart? I leave you with two of her promotional pictures for the tour to contemplate…
Not My Image
Not My Image
Can’t wait for her next concert!
Signing off,
The Big One
summerust 