Jeff Chang serenaded fans with love ballads at his Happiness Choice World Tour 2010.
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| CN PHOTO: Poh Yang Zheng |
It was a night of reminiscence for fans of Taiwanese crooner Jeff Chang as they gathered at The Max Pavilion for his Happiness Choice World Tour 2010 concert on Aug. 14.
Keeping the glitz and glamour to a minimum, the stage was set for a more personable, intimate evening, with just five LED panels and two bands on both sides of the stage. Simple as it may have seemed, it highlighted Chang’s personality and style. The crowd warmed up to his opening number as video clips of people from all walks of life listening and singing his songs played on the individual panels. Then, a photo-snapping frenzy was triggered off as the prince of love ballads took to the stage through the parting of a panel.
Love, of course, was the central theme in his concert. Charting the progress one experiences in a relationship, the same phases were used to mark the various segments of his performance for the evening. Between each transition, Chang made deliberate effort to keep his fans up-to-date with his endeavors and shared his career milestones with them.
The song lineup for the night was a blast from the past—even without looking at the lyrics screened on the projectors, the avid fans sang along effortlessly with Chang. The whole atmosphere felt like that of a big family reunion rather than a meeting between a pop star and his fans. The concert hit a climax as different sections of the hall sang the chorus of “Guo Huo” (“Over the Fire”), with only the drums keeping time and pacing the rhythm. Couples were seen gazing at each other as they sang. Even his newer fans had no difficulty singing along with the song lyrics.
Chang then increased the tempo with two fast numbers, atypical of the usual soothing ballads his fans were accustomed to. The songs, “Gei Wo Yi Xie Ying Yue” (“Give Me Some Music”) and “Xin Gan Bao Bei” (“Precious Darling”) were dance hits from his debut album in 1989. With that, the volume of cheers from his fans only got louder.
As Chang drew to the end of his concert, he announced the release of his latest album, due in a few weeks. He also took the opportunity to show appreciation for the band which played that evening. Besides the usual keyboard, guitars and wind instruments, one could also find string instruments such as the cello and violin in the band. This definitely gave another facet to the music Chang delivered to his fans.
Although the crowd was comparatively more mature than the usual, they definitely did not lose out in terms of energy, as was evident from their tireless cheers throughout the night. Even as Chang sang the last song for the evening and departed from the stage, demands for an encore chorused among the fans.
For those who stayed right till the end, they were treated to an old video clip of Chang in his first television appearance, when he was at the beginning of his career. Roars of laughter erupted throughout the hall as the crowds saw how well Chang had grown into his looks. The star also expressed his gratitude and amazement towards his fans, many of whom had been supporting him from the days of their youth, and are now mostly mothers.
His concert was brought to a resounding end with one of his best-known songs “Ai Ru Chao Shui” (“Love Like The Floodwaters”). Chang may not be one of the Four Heavenly Kings, but he clearly proved his worth with his mastery of heartfelt ballads.
Jeff Chang’s latest album is slated for release in September this year.
