maro^gal entertainment space: Show Mi Again Concert review from the Star paper

after 2 days Raya holiday.. today went back to work for a day.. moody reading the Star paper this morning in the office and something alighted me suddenly... it was Sammi Cheng's picture on the paper... hahaa... it was a review on the Show Mi Again, Live in Genting 2007's concert last weekend.

it was a nicely written review that i wanted to share it here... i really able to recall and imagine the whole concert while reading... is just like happen yesterday..

Can’t let go
By LIM CHIA YING

Throughout her two-and-a-half hour concer t, singer Sammi Cheng went through five costume changes.

Sammi Cheng’s fans could hardly let her leave after her rousing performance.

THE band members hopped on stage and took their places as the lights dimmed.

Screams and cheers quickly enveloped the stadium, and the audience began clapping in anticipation.

Then a spotlight came on, focusing on a figure slowly emerging on stage, amidst deafening shouts. “Sammi! Sammi!” the fans yelled.

Clad in a hat and a black and silver baby doll dress over black skinny pants, Hong Kong superstar Sammi Cheng Sau Man got the crowd pumped up as she opened with Wai Tik Lei Si Pat Hor Chui Tai (You are Irreplaceable).

It was a sizzling way to start her Show Mi Again 2008 concert at the Arena of Stars in Genting Highlands where she performed last Friday and Saturday.

The tempo then quickened as Cheng followed up with a dance version of the opening number and the addition of dancers, before addressing the fans in her humorous style.

“The stairs here are so high, and my boots are equally high, so please hold on a minute,” she told the fans as she made her way down the flight of steps, before telling them, “I’ll make it up with an extra song for you all.”

“I hope everyone here tonight will enjoy my concert to the fullest. Last year at this same venue, my concert was called ‘Show Mi’, and this time, it’s called ‘Show Mi Again.’

“If I come back next year, then it’ll probably be called ‘Show Mi Again and Again’,” she said to much laughter and applause from the audience.

Cheng then launched into the slow number Fong Pat Dai (Can’t Let Go) as fans sang along and waved glow sticks throughout.

As she went for a costume change, some paintings were projected onto the stage screen. They were pieces that Cheng had worked on for over a year when she did not make movies or albums.

Reappearing in a leopard-print long-sleeved full dress and hat, she belted out songs like Kam Cheng Sin Siong (Love on a Thread), and popular Mandarin theme song Lang Hua Yi Tuo Tuo from the movie Summer Holiday in which she acted alongside Richie Ren.

Despite being away from the music scene for two or three years, Cheng’s popularity had certainly not waned judging by the full turnout at the arena.

She still has the charisma and showsmanship that her fans love and her voice quality was perfect and in control, sounding just like her studio-recorded albums.

Her concert costumes, though, have changed over the years from flamboyant and sexy to the more sophisticated.

Cheng continued her show with a few slow numbers, mainly the theme songs from her films like Needing You and Everlasting Regret, which was her last movie before she went on hiatus.

“People told me I had put so much effort and time into that movie but in the end, there were criticisms and it was not well-received.

“So I got to thinking about things and I feel I can finally face these criticisms. This is why I insisted on singing its theme song today because it’s meaningful for me,” said Cheng.

Listening to her, one gets the sense that the singer is completely genuine and doesn’t put on an act for the stage.

One of her numbers was the theme song from her new movie, which she made this year with Eason Chen.

Guest singer Wilfred Lau Hou Long then sang two duets with Cheng before belting out two of his own solo numbers.

By her fifth costume change of the night €“ a white printed blouse and pants €“ Cheng finally kicked off her much-awaited medley of power-packed upbeat dance songs that had propelled her into stardom in the early 1990s and earned her title of Cantopop queen.

It certainly went down well with the fans. By then, many were already on their feet and had crowded near the stage to dance to numbers like Fei Nam Fei Nui, Mei Fe Se Wu, Ding Dong, and Chotto Matte, as Cheng showed off her well-choreographed moves.

The excitement went up a notch as fireworks were let off. All that screaming had made her voice huskier by now, but Cheng continued to give it her all in electrifying disco trance numbers.

When the lights dimmed and Cheng left the stage, the fans had clearly not had enough, and continued screaming “Sammi” and “encore”.

She did not disappoint. This time, wearing a blouse printed with her self-portrait, jeans and black jacket, she mesmerised fans with more hits like Pat Toh Pat Him and cover versions of Faye Wong’s Yok Teng (Appointment), and Stefanie Sun’s Tien Hei Hei (Black Skies).

One of the night’s highlights was when two fans came up on stage to sing brief duets with her. The first was a guy who called himself “Onn Chai” (playfully referring to her ex-boyfriend Andy Hui’s Chinese name), before Cheng cheekily countered with “Kwok Chun Onn” (Hong Kong actor Roger Kwok).

Following him was a girl, who had travelled from Singapore and kept hugging and taking photos with Cheng like a zealous fan.

Cheng ended the night with Chan Mat Kuan Tai (Close Relationship) and Zhong San Mei Lai (Beautiful For Life), which she said was her favourite song. By the time the song ended, confetti was spewing out on stage as she waved good night.

For two-and-a-half hours, a revitalised Cheng gave a truly unforgettable concert for her fans, including myself, who now look forward to her next show in Malaysia.

Source: The Star Paper

additional updates :

Sammi actually left genting highland early morning 4am after the concert on saturday. Surprisingly, she actually left Malaysia on Tuesday. HAhaa then where had she been all these days?? hmmmm may be visited around Malaysia... and may be i actually met her on the road in the car somewhere sometime just i dint realise.... lolz... (dreaming 0.O )

some fanz actually followed and found her at KLIA...