Sammi Cheng a démarré ses concerts ! :canto:

Sammi Cheng's glitzy concert at Genting Highlands

Fresh from a series of concerts back home, Hong Kong Cantopop queen Sammi Cheng captivated fans with her glitzy concert at Genting Highlands last Friday, writes LI EE KEE.

SHE came, she sang, she left. That pretty much sums up Sammi Cheng’s concert at the Arena of Stars, Genting Highlands, last Friday night.

It was a glitzy performance nonetheless, with well-choreographed moves and pyro-technics. Cheng sang 21 songs (surprisingly, all in Cantonese), did the usual banter with fans, changed costumes six times and gave three lucky fans a lifetime of memories.


Sammi Cheng looked and sounded like an angel, especially when she performed an Andy Hui track, Wai Tik Nei Si Put Hor Sat Hui (You are Irreplaceable).

Fresh from her seven-night concert back home in Hong Kong last month, she knew the routine by heart. So well, in fact, that she breezed through each segment like a well-programmed robot. Cheng also staged a second show the following night.

Case in point was her “big entrance”. Most artistes strive to make a dramatic entry followed by a strong opening number or, in Cheng’s case, a medley. Nothing like a compelling opening to get the audience to sit up and take note.

Cheng had the right songs but she was not making any impact. Though she was singing and making her moves, her mind wasn’t focused. Maybe it was as she had jokingly said – her head was still spinning from the winding journey up to Genting.

But she recovered from her momentary lapse and gave a better performance with the up-tempo Sing Siu Chuen Shuet (A Star’s Legend) and jazzy Kon Yat Pui (Toast). The latter is especially significant to Cheng. It was the tune she sang at the newcomer singing competition in Hong Kong when she was a teenager trying to land her big break.

Fifteen minutes later, she had her first costume change, which was just as well. Perhaps she suddenly came to her senses and decided it was way too early to get into the Christmas mood. The antlers and shimmering pink-green outfit had to go.

The second part of the show came right on cue. It was a tight ship they were running. Cheng performed two movie theme songs, Bo Lei Hai (Glass Shoes) from Marry a Rich Man (2002) and Fan Lei Ngor San Pin (Return to Me) from My Left Eye Sees Ghosts (2002).

At this point the concert was in danger of veering into boring territory. Or perhaps it was just me. The 6,000-odd fans lapped up everything Cheng served up. They were an amazing bunch, screaming their lungs out and waving glow sticks enthusiastically.

Then, just as I was about to write the whole affair off, she performed my favourite track from Andy Hui, Wai Tik Nei Si Put Hor Sat Hui (You are Irreplaceable). She blew me away. It was mesmerising. Her voice took on an angelic quality that matched the song perfectly. So passionate was her delivery that one could not help but wonder if she was drawing from her past relationship with Hui.

Reappearing after her third costume change in an all-white ensemble, Cheng sang three cover versions – Sandy Lam’s Fui Sik (Grey), Faye Wong’s Dor Tak Ta (Thanks to You, which is a Chinese cover of Karen White’s hit Superwoman), and Teresa To’s (her vocal coach) Ka Yu (If).

That 15-minute segment turned out to be the highlight of Cheng’s concert for me.

She outdid herself and proved to non-fans that, despite her tendency to murmur her way through songs and having a penchant for hackneyed bubblegum pop, she is capable of much more. Her delivery and voice control was exceptional.

Cheng took the opportunity to do a bit of self-promotion that night. She revealed that her latest album is scheduled for release tomorrow. It will be an album of cover versions, including Fui Sik.

Later that night, she also aired a trailer from her upcoming romantic movie with Andy Lau, Yesterday Once More.

After that brilliant moment, the concert just spiralled downwards to standard Hong Kong pop idol fare.

Of course, there was the side-splitting impromptu karaoke session with three lucky fans. They scored points for their hilarious antics, especially when a male fan insisted Cheng let him kiss her. He was all puckered up and ready to smooch. She, of course, was not.

Cheng ended her Sammi vs Sammi concert, organised by Genting - City of Entertainment, with Chung San Mei Lai (Forever Beautiful).

All said, I found her performance average except for a few gems here and there. It was a concert strictly for her fans only.
(IMG:http://p21cheng.jpg)






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