Music review: Much love from fans to AI and vice versa in ‘American Idol Live in Manila’

Araneta Coliseum was buzzing with excitement last Friday night for the American Idol Live in Manila concert, so much so that the audience cheered at the slightest moments, especially during the quick silences in between commercial ads flashed on the LCD screens. If these “false alarms” (that got me every time) told me anything, it was that the crowd in that one-night-only show was ready to have a good time. As for me, a long-time Idol fan with renewed interest for the show after a two-season hiatus (I stopped watching when Adam Lambert lost to Kris Allen in 2009), I came with high expectations. After all, judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, and Steven Tyler dubbed this group the best they’ve seen, a point proven by how the show went. (An aside: I was most interested to hear Jessica Sanchez, the 16-year-old the country has rooted for because she’s half-Filipino. No, this is not to anger Charice’s manager even more.  I was just wondering if Sanchez really sings that way live. Jackson, who called her “other-worldly,” has raised suspicion among stupefied viewers and fellow contestants that the California native might be a government-funded alien.) We had to wait half an hour more for the lights to die down. Someone yelled an all-too-eager “Ayan na!” and Idol host Ryan Seacrest appeared on LCD with his signature introduction: “And this is the American Idol Live Tour!” Energy From thereon, the audience encouraged the Idol finalists with cheers and claps for every high note that was pulled off, every “Mahal ko kayo!” and even the slightest wave to their direction. Petite blonde Hollie Cavanagh still got love from the audience even when she was eclipsed by fellow finalist Skylar Laine in their version of “Undo It” by Idol winner-turned-country star Carrie Underwood. We laughed at Heejun Han, the quirky Korean-American from New York, who made up for not being the best male vocalist by readily shaking his tushy at interludes, and became fond of third placer Joshua Ledet, who moved like a Sexbomb Dancer and said “Mabuhay!” every chance he could. Moments But when his solos came, Ledet—or “Mantasia” (in reference to 2003 Idol winner Fantasia Barrino, who was never afraid to own the stage with her squeaky vocals) --- proved why he got the most standing ovations from the Idol judges this year. Sporting a white suit, his face gleaning with sweat, the Louisiana native delivered such a passionate rendition of James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” that even I, who didn’t like him on Idol, was stomping my heels, ready to accept that, yes, Joshua Ledet “took me to church.” Other remarkable solos were those of Laine, the spitfire who took over the stage like a seasoned country singer; Colton Dixon, the group’s heartthrob whose version of Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” held such sincerity; Elise Testone, who reminded me of Alanis Morisette; and pink-haired Erika Van Pelt. The girl who ‘wowed the world’ But of course, for the birit-loving, rally-behind-your-own Pinoys at Araneta, the 16-year-old Filipino-Mexican—declared by Idol judges as “one of the best singers in America, ever!”—was the one to cheer loudest for. Welcomed onstage by an audience wild with affection, the Idol runner-up started with Beyonce’s “Best Thing I Never Had” and had us in awe, like spectators to unbelievable magic tricks. Throughout her three-song set, we marveled at her soulfulness, the growls, rifts, and notes that she reached effortlessly despite a slight show of tiredness and coughing at the first part of the show. Sanchez was amazing on her solo set, and we all chanted “More!” after she sang Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary” (with Ledet and boyfriend DeAndre Brackensick on backup singing and dancing). I wished she also did Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You”, the Dreamgirls’ ”And I Am Telling You”, or the fairly unknown “Stuttering” by Jazmine Sullivan, the song that truly showed her soul on the show but—ironically—almost sent her home. (As for the suspicions I raised earlier, I was too busy to theorize. Jackson was right, though: she sounded real and gifted. But Idol mentor Jimmy Iovine was also correct with his impression of Sanchez, how she slips out of her connection to the song and her audience—a fact that we all can forgive, for now, because she leaves us breathless with her vocals alone.) The reluctant winner The show’s sequence built a momentum for Phillips, who was received just as wildly as Sanchez when he finally emerged onstage at the near-end of the show. The fifth installment of the White Guy with Guitar (WGWG) winning streak was slated to have a mini-concert of his own. Except that this Idol winner—praised on the show for “staying true to himself” —came onstage in a plain grey V-neck shirt (lukot inclusive and visible) and jeans, his guitar hanging on his body. True to his charm, Phillips made his set a fun jamming session, addressing the audience casually (“I like those lights! I like them a lot!” he said, referring to the glow-in-the-dark sticks that the people were waving). He treated us to a showcase of his signature sound with songs like Stevie Wonder’s “Superstitious” (his audition piece on Idol) and Damien Rice’s “Volcano” (with “the lovely” Sanchez doing backup). Final jam “Sing with me if you know the song. If you don’t… still sing along,” Phillips told us at the end of his set, before his fingers strummed fast for the intro of his single “Home”. As a crowd that saw the show through this year, we obliged. By the end of the song, the whole gang joined Phillips, united with their white outfits, glancing at the crowd and waving some before turning to each other for a quick hug or a silly dance. Like us, they must be amazed at how far they’ve come, an 18-hour plane ride across more than 8,000 miles, in the final stop of their tour, a country of music lovers who were generous with cheers and still had energy for more. Ledet told us “Mabuhay!” once more and Sanchez returned all the love with “Maraming salamat, Philippines! We love you!” At the end, we—performers and audience—all sang “My universe will never be the same. I’m glad you came, I’m glad you came.” It rang true in the coliseum as the lights died down for the last time. — KG, GMA News