Photos by: AJ Claudio
It has been a numbing 5 years without David Archuleta’s voice ringing in our ears, blasting on the radio or seeing him on TV, but the dreary 5 years without his music only allowed us to delight in his comeback even more. And the eagerness to see his roaring comeback – one that cannot be helped by David’s Filipino fans – was displayed last Friday night during the singer’s concert in Kia Theatre. The feeling of familiarity remained as the performer sang with his Filipino fans who knew every word of his songs.
The show was opened by Tippy Dos Santos— MYX VJ, performer, and host— who sang to the audience’s tuning. She prepared songs for each of the audience’s state of heart – for those who are heartbroken, happily-in-love and those who are just plain happy. The show was off to a great start as Tippy carried the opening well with her powerful vocals and cheesy spiels, setting the atmosphere right before David backtracked to some of his hits like ‘Something ‘Bout Love’, ‘Numb’ and ‘Elevator’.
The singer slowed down the pace a bit, serenading the audience with what he admits is the greatest love song ever ‘Forevermore’. He sang more from his all-OPM tracklist album, ’Rainbow’ and ‘You Are My song’, which he sang together with Tippy, asking her to come back the stage to serenade the crowd. In return, it was all yiiiees and awwws from the audience as the two sparked chemistry while singing the renowned love song.
(READ: 10 Amazing Non-Filipino Performers Who Have Performed Filipino Songs)
It was during ‘Nandito Ako’ that the whole theatre came together. The singer needed no help singing the Filipino song! He sounded so fluent singing an Ogie Alcasid piece. Throughout his concert, he also spoke to the crowd in Filipino saying “Kamusta kayo?” and “Mahal ko kayo”— just shows how much he loves his Filipino fans! It was also during this time when the singer started crying— and well, when most of the crowd joined him in crying, too. He later admits to crying because he felt overwhelmed by the support his Filipino fans render even after being in the industry for almost 10 years.
David Archuleta closed the show with his all-time hit ‘Crush’—I’d say walang kupas because no 5-year break ever diminished his voice; he still sings to the heart. And we can expect more from his comeback as he announced his album release that very same day.
His album entitled Postcards in the Sky hit streaming apps and market the same day as his concert here in Manila. I guess I know what I’ll be spending on this Christmas!
