Taiwanese crooner Jeff Chang brings his Free Time tour to Singapore.
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNUSUAL PRODUCTIONS.
It was a first for this writer to watch Jeff Chang perform live, despite having been a long-time fan of the seasoned Taiwanese singer. It was a memorable evening, to say the least.
Performing in Singapore for the seventh time at the Indoor Stadium on March 9, Chang was on tour to promote his latest album, Free Time, with Singapore being the second stop of the tour. The theme? Taking time to appreciate and reflect on life.
Chang’s 22-year music career took off when he won a singing competition in Taiwan as a college student. Since 1989, he has released a string of highly successful albums across Taiwan, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia and mainland China, and even made forays onto the big screen from 2002 to 2007.
Accompanied by a 10-piece band with six dancers, Chang kicked off with a soothing ballad, “Ai Bu Liu” (“Love Stopped”), dressed in a black tuxedo. Light sticks swayed in the dark as the hall burst into applause toward the end of the opening number. While most of the audience was older than the typical teenybopper crowd, some younger ones were seen clad in their signature purple fan club T-shirts.
True to his image as the undisputed “Prince of Ballads” in the Mando-pop world, Chang, who turns 46 this year, brought his fans on a journey of classic love numbers including “Kuan Rong” (“Forgiving”), “Ai Ru Chao Shui” (“Love Is Like The Tide”), “Guo Huo” (“Cross The Fire”) and “Bu Yao Dui Ta Shuo” (“Don’t Tell Him”).
His fans were indeed left hungry for more as he belted out the Cantonese songs “Dao Chu Lui Qing” (“Leaving Love Everywhere”) and “Xun Feng Che” (“Free Ride”).
The two-and-a-half-hour long showcase was punctuated by four costume changes, which ranged from dapper tuxedos to flamboyant red coat-tailed suits. His permed hair, however, was neither dapper nor flamboyant but for his loyal fans, his showmanship and voice sealed the evening.
