International pop star Justin Bieber didn't only make one less lonely girl, but definitely made tens of thousands of fans happy and ecstatic as he performed live in Manila for his "My World Tour" concert at the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) grounds on Tuesday, May 10.With this much anticipated event, hordes of Filipino 'Beliebers' caught the fever as the blockbuster gig stalled traffic around MOA straight to Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue in Makati City. Fans even camped out at the venue the day before the concert just to see Justin perform. And the teen sensation definitely didn't let his eager fans down as he gave an amazing performance, giving his all in his singing, dancing, and playing some instruments, notably the drums and guitar, despite being sick.
15 songs
Justin performed a total of 15 songs such as "Baby," "Never Let You Go," "Somebody to Love," "U Smile," and "One Less Lonely Girl," from his albums ""My World," My World 2.0" and "Never Say Never: The Remixes."
"America's Best Dance Crew" Season 5 winner Poreotics opened the show with their eye-popping and robotic dance routines to the tunes of Katy Perry's "Firework," Eve's "Let Me Blow Your Mind," and Taylor Swift's "Love Story." Poreotics also appeared in Justin's music video "Somebody to Love." Justin Valles, one of the three Filipinos from the group, also taught members of the audience some of their signature dance routines, "dougie" and "catdaddy."
Justin enters
After the Poreotics number, fans became excited and with screams filling the venue as a 15-minute countdown was shown on screen with Justin's official DJ telling the crowd to jump and dance along to welcome Justin before he gets on stage. Then came Justin, dressed in white jacket, white pants and dark shades, and opened the main show with his song, "Love Me." His fans from the VIP section all the way to the general admission screamed their lungs out the moment Justin went up on stage.
Justin followed it up with his song "Bigger," danced and moved around the stage with his upbeat songs "Somebody to Love," "One Time," "Eenie Meenie," and "Never Say Never." The screams were really deafening and the crowd sang along. Justin connected well with the audience and worked the crowd whether singing a slow or upbeat song. "I have the best fans in the world and I wanna make them smile," Justin said before singing "U Smile."
Justin also had a couple of wardrobe changes, an ensemble of white outfit from top to bottom, jacket and pants; black leather jacket, black shirt and pants; and also his favorite purple shirt. Every time his face is shown upclose on screen, fans would cheer more. Actually, whatever little thing Justin makes on stage, he would earn loud applause and screams, may it be him kneeling down while singing, removing his shades, going around the stage and even when making pauses at the middle of a song. Before each song, Justin would normally talk about the song to introduce it. "Never give up on your dreams," Justin said to his fans before singing "Never Say Never," a song which he collaborated with Jaden Smith.
Acoustic set
While everyone was jumping and dancing along to his songs, Justin later on took things slow as he performed an acoustic set playing his guitar, which showcased his vocal talent and guitar expertise. He impressed the fans with his slow tempo, acoustic versions of "Never Let You Go," "Favorite Girl," and Edwin McCain's "I'll Be," making all the girls swoon with his sweet voice and awesome strums.
One of the most anticipated parts of the concert was Justin's performance of "One Less Lonely Girl (OLLG)" where a girl gets up on stage and be serenaded by Justin. One lucky Filipino girl wearing purple went on stage and received a bouquet of flowers and a cap from Justin himself. "That Should Be Me" was probably ringing on every girl's mind during the performance as Justin sings "OLLG" for her. His "OLLG" performance went abuzz with fans trying to know the identity of the lucky girl. Various girls' names have come up on Facebook and Twitter about the "OLLG." Concert organizers did not divulge the girl's name.
His Filipino back-up singers, the Legaci, who were also a YouTube sensation just like him, also performed a sample of songs during the intermission. "We are proud to say that we are Filipinos," the group said.
'So hot in here'
It has been rainy the past few days in Manila but the weather cooperated with the Beliebers as it did not rain in the actual concert on Tuesday. In fact, it was quite hot and the high energy of people around made it even hotter. "It's so hot in here. It must be the beautiful girls in the audience," Justin said which made every girl scream. There were also celebrities who watched the concert Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes, Elmo and Saab Magalona, Isabel Granada, and Tim Yap.
Despite being sick, Justin didn't disappoint as he exuded endless energy all throughout the show. In his performance of "Baby," Justin even outpaced his young audience, urging his fans to step up and dance along and "go crazy" since it's the final song in his set. "It's either you guys go crazy or I'll go," Justin said, to which the fans said no. Justin definitely ended the concert on a high note with his last performance of "Baby," leaving fans screaming for more. "Thank you Manila. God bless you all," Justin said.
