Yeong Kar YanIt was generally a good show though many at the event, like Razia,19, initially felt that “the line-up is terrible” and could have done better with more popular acts to attract the crowds.
Comparing last night’s line-up to SINGfest 2008’s, Eng Suanne, 19 said “I’d have killed just to watch Jason Mraz or OneRepublic, 2 of my favourites.”
When asked if she was enjoying the show, Arulraj Netra Maria, 17, said “Erm… I suppose so. Well I don’t wanna wait so long for Kanye West but ya… we enjoyed the performances.”
She had come along with her best friend, Rachel Tay, 17, who declared “I only know Lupe Fiasco, but not the rest… This is the worst day of SINGfest, that’s why they gave us free tickets,” she said referring to tickets won from The Straits Times.
They had wanted to come for the opening night, which featured artists like Katy Perry, Tokio Hotel and Wonder Girls and inevitably drew long queues of people.
Day 2 saw a significantly smaller crowd and people were still strolling into the venue even after 6pm.
The general grouse was that most of the acts last night were not well-known, making it harder for the audience, mostly made up of teens and young adults, to relate to the artists.
It didn’t help that the event started not only an hour late, resulting in local band, Sixx, being removed from the lineup, but also halfheartedly, as Jully Black, R&B singer-songwriter, took the stage. Sure, the Canadian was one big ball of energy and was fantastic at crowd interaction, but response from the audience was barely lukewarm for the first 2 hours of the night.
From where UrbanWire stood, we counted only 8 lines of people standing round the stage. The rest of the crowd (practically 3 out of the 4 people present) were sitting on picnic mats around the field – something both artists didn’t miss.
“Looks like you’re working too hard sitting at the back!” said Black, waving more people to come forward and groove to the beat.
At least, catcalls were made as she strutted around the stage in her black bra, mini fringed black vest, black pants and red hot killer heels.
After a while she got people to sing “Hey-eh, Hey-eh eh eh eh eh” along to “Sweat Off Your Brow,” from her 2005 album, This is Me – a great song for a crowd uninitiated to the tunes of Jully Black. She has a powerful voice that carries and we loved some of the other songs as well such as “Running” and “Seven Day Fool.”
Diane Birch, however, fell through the cracks. The talented singer was out of place as her country-blues songs just weren’t the right fit for SINGfest, especially when most of the crowd had come for the rap and hip-hop. “Valentino,” a catchy number had some potential and was way better a choice compared to her songs of heartbreak from her debut album, Bible Belt.
Prayers for her songs to end could constantly be heard though the audience as they politely clapped when her segment ended.
The charismatic Lupe Fiasco helped lift the spirits of the crowds and saved everyone from what was otherwise a lacklustre night.
This “Superstar” knows how to tease the crowd and get people to scream like there’s no tomorrow. He treated the audience to songs off his new album, Lasers, as well as classics like “Daydreaming” and “Kick, Push.”
Lupe Fiasco lapped up all the love and attention – jumping off the stage several times to stand on the metal kit boxes in front of him, making the crowd go hysterical as he was almost within touching range for front row fans. Then there were times when he just sat or leaned against the speakers, inviting the audience to whip out their cameras in a picture-taking frenzy.
Mid-performance, Lupe Fiasco unexpectedly stripped his “Japanese Cartoon” t-shirt, of the post-punk band that he is a frontman of, and threw it into the crowd… before proceeding to continue the performance half-naked in his LV belt and army pants.
Khabir Afiq, 19, who caught the shirt, rejected several offers for it that night and many reached out to borrow the shirt, touching it before taking photos for memory’s sake.
Beaming and still in a state of disbelief, Khabir said “I have no idea what to say – It has always been what I want and it was like we were rapping to each other. It’s just crazy.”
The night wouldn’t have been complete if Lupe didn’t sing “Superstar” and like a proud teacher, he closed his eyes and raised his arms conducting us through the chorus. Clearly, everyone knew the words by heart.
Kool & the Gang managed to get the crowd going as well. Despite the synchronised dance moves, the ‘70s legends didn’t strike us as cheesy. Instead, the band pumped out sincerity with their every move. The joy and passion at which they played moved the audiences and the ‘Kool’ gang pleased the crowd with songs like “Ladies’ Night,” and “Get Down on It.”
Even those who didn’t know the band recognised “Cherish,” and of course who can forget, “Celebration,” a song that also saw Jully Black join them onstage and got the audience clapping along.
“Imma let you finish, but…”
Nah, kidding. While I may not be a huge fan of Kanye West and his many controversies, he was no doubt the most anticipated act and highlight of SINGfest last night.
The crowd went insane when Kanye came out in a striking orange blazer and pants paired with a black tee and his signature shades. This is especially after 45 minutes worth of sound check…
But all was quickly forgiven when our “American Boy” delivered 17 songs and almost 1.5 hours of performance time, way more than the average 1 hour show time from the other acts, much to the crowd’s delight.
He belted out song after song and even the most critical audience would be won over by hot favourites like “Run This Town,” “Love Lockdown,” “Gold Digger,” “Heartless” and “Stronger.”
Two from the audience even jumped onstage to dance only to be manhandled by a bulky guard and shoved off in mere seconds.
The atmosphere was positively sizzling and Kanye West jumped, sang and rapped mostly against a backdrop of red lights and dramatic clouds of white smoke. At the very end, fire burst out all around the stage and those in the crowd could feel the red heat.
Says Chinnarin Chin, 21, “When he sang non-stop from start to finish – that was cool.”
Overall, what was at first a lacklustre night was thankfully rescued by American acts, Kanye West and Lupe Fiasco and everyone left SINGfest happy and satisfied.
Photos courtesy of Aloysius Lim/SINGfest