The Taiwanese pop star conjured a musical fairyland for the Malaysian leg of her world tour concert.
BARELY a week after she kicked off her concert tour in Taiwan, Hebe Tien, better known as just Hebe, packed in the crowds at the Bukit Jalil Putra Indoor Stadium during her first ever solo concert in Malaysia on Dec 13.
The Malaysian gig was the Taiwanese pop star’s first overseas stop for her world tour and saw her wowing fans here with some 30 songs in the three-hour-long show.
Hebe is of course, one third of popular Taiwanese girl group S.H.E., and I initially wondered whether the huge stage would look empty without her bandmates.
But, I was pleasantly surprised, as without the boisterous Ella and bubbly Selina, we got to see Hebe’s quirkier side.
Opening her show with her hit song Insignificance, Hebe emerged on stage as an ice goddess reclining atop a snowy mountain, which morphed into a fiery volcano when she then rocked the house with a rousing rendition of Love, while her cape ballooned into a heart shape behind her.
What a breathtaking opening act indeed!
“I always feel very confident here. Coming to Malaysia feels like I’m going home, one reason is I come here so often with my two S.H.E. ‘sisters’. Another is because every time I come here, Malaysian friends love to feed me so much that it feels like returning home to Hsinchu, where my mother will dish up all my favourite foods. It really feels a lot like home,” said the 31-year-old Taiwanese singer amid loud cheers of approval from adoring supporters in orange and black, the familiar colours of two major S.H.E. fanclubs here.
Demonstrating their full support for their beloved idol, fans who were waving green glowsticks right from the start of the show, quickly switched to their handphones to create thousands of glittering stars in the audience as Hebe sang Utopia. Visibly touched, she cooed: “This is the world’s most beautiful sea of stars. I’m so moved, I’m almost in tears.”
Hebe explained that she preferred to let her vocals do the talking as she did not have a way with words.
Moving away from the energetic dance choreography and the candy-coloured gowns that were typical of S.H.E. concerts, Hebe’s alternative pop rock tendencies took centrestage.
Fans happily sang along as she belted out crowd-pleasing numbers like Hai Shi Yao Xing Fu (Still Want Happiness) and Ji Mo Ji Mo Jiu Hao (Leave Me Alone).
Somewhat bizarrely for a pop concert, a trio of white-garbed wraiths who were supposed to be Hebe-lookalikes darted around her as the petite lass lounged amongst some white satin sheets while singing Mo Gui Zhong De Tian Shi (Devil’s Angel).
Her quirkiest outfit of the night comprised crystalline headgear of spiky horns crowning her flowing mermaid tresses. She sat on a shell-shaped throne wearing a coral-hued gown and welcomed her audience to Li Dao (Small Island), where she ruled as a mythical fairy queen.
For her encore, Hebe reemerged in a red and yellow ensemble, and continued to charm her fans with songs like Ai Zhe Ai Zhe Jiu Yong Yuan (Forever Love).
With fans continually clamouring for more even after three hours of singing, Hebe playfully groused, “I’ve sung so many songs that my lungs feel like they are about to burst, yet you all still want more!”
She then aptly closed the show with a singalong to her 2010 hit song To Hebe, and with that, we bid goodbye to the Malaysian chapter of Hebe’s whimsical musical fairyland.
If Hebe Tien Live In Malaysia 2014 Concert was organized by Galaxy Group and presented by Tune Talk.
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