YouTube stars Leroy Sanchez, Sam Tsui, Kurt Hugo Schneider, Tiffany Alvord, Gab Valenciano, Max Schneider (MAX), and Lynk (formerly known as At Sunset) took their talents on stage and totally OWNED the Smart Araneta Coliseum at Smart’s Own It! Concert. The show, hosted by YouTube sensation Bogart the Explorer and PBA’s Riza Diaz, was one Saturday night to remember and we’re here to tell you what went down.
Lynk
Lynk started off the event with a lively performance. The majority of the audience, who were big fans of the band formerly known as At Sunset, went bonkers when the Australian band entered the stage. This was Lynk’s second outing in the Philippines after opening for Boyce Avenue last February. They performed their hit songs “Every Little Thing” and “Kiss Me” to the delight of their fans inside the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Lynk also played a couple of cover songs from Drake (Hold On, We’re Going Home), Rhianna (Diamonds) , and Sean Mendes (Stitches) as well. Lynk said “Mahal ko kayo” to the audience before they left the stage.
MAX (a.k.a. Max Schneider)
Max Schneider (MAX) went on stage next and dazzled the audience with his song “Puppeteer”. MAX performed other songs from his latest album Hell’s Kitchen Angel such as “10 Victoria’s Secret Models”, “Holla”, Wrong”, and the hit single “Basement Party”. MAX did a great mash-up cover of “Apologize” by One Republic and “Sorry” by Justin Bieber.
I really enjoyed MAX’s time on stage not only due to his great vocal range, but also because of his amazing dance moves. MAX ended his time on stage with his two songs “Gibberish” (which garnered 15 million views on YouTube) and “Mug Shot”.
Gab Valenciano stepped on stage to perform a brief yet captivating dance number. Gab would be joined by the hosts (Bogart and Riza), Alodia, and Vern & Verniece Enciso on stage to talk about their experience in creating YouTube videos and being online influencers. All four influencers gave their respective mottos after being asked by Bogart and Riza. For me, it was Gab’s motto of “Create to Elevate” that stuck in my head the most.
Tiffany Alvord
Tiffany Alvord arrived on stage for her set and the fans went wild. This was Tiffany’s third visit to the country after making two previous appearances in the past. She greeted us “Magandang Gabi” before she started her set with her original song called “My Heart Is”. Tiffany drew a lot of “I Love You”s from the Smart Araneta Coliseum audience and she said “I love you” back. Tiffany made a ‘story’ out of her cover medley that started (and ended) with Paramore’s “Still into You” and featured songs like Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” and Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” and “Love Yourself”.
Kurt Hugo Schneider joined Tiffany on stage for “Pour a Little Heaven on Me”. Tiffany told the audience that 6 years ago, it was Kurt who approached her with an idea of them collaborating on YouTube. That was her first of many YouTube collaborations with one Mr. KHS. She ended her set with her original song “Baby, I Love You”, a song Tiffany sang to say “I Love You” to a special someone in her life.
Sam Tsui
The dynamic duo of Sam Tsui and Kurt Hugo Schneider put on a great set. Sam and Kurt started with “Wildfire” and “Trust” to rev up the crowd. Sam mentioned to the audience that this was their third visit to the country. Kurt put on his Summer Glasses before him and Sam did a breath-taking Summer Medley that featured OMI’s “Cheerleader”, Demi Lovato’s “Cool For the Summer”, Walk the Moon’s “Shut up and Dance”, and many more. Sam and Kurt also played an original song entitled “Perfect Storm”, which will be released soon on their respective YouTube channels. They put on a beautiful tribute for the late singer Christina Grimmie with their performance of “Just a Dream”.
Kurt Hugo Schneider
Kurt had the stage all to himself for one song and sang “Where you Are”. Sam Tsui came back on stage and the duo performed some of Sam’s original songs like “Next Best Thing”, “Bring Me the Night”, “Clumsy”, and “Secret”. Sam and Kurt used some cups to perform their famous cover of Anna Kendrick’s “Cups!” song from Pitch Perfect. They sped up their cup game and sang “Send My Love (To Your New Lover)” next. Sam and Kurt finished their set with “I Don’t Want an Ending” and “Wherever You Are” before they left the stage. The duo promised that they will return to the Philippines in the near future.
Leroy Sanchez came to a ruckus ovation from the audience. It was already midnight but the crowd was still pumped up as they finally got to see Leroy perform in the Philippines for the first time. The Spanish singer did a very groovy cover of “Uptown Funk”. Leroy delivered a wonderful rendition of Adelle’s “Hello” (note: Leroy’s YouTube cover of “Hello” currently has 34 million views). He later asked the crowd to sing along with him on his cover of Justin Bieber’s “The Feeling”. Leroy shared a bit about himself to the audience in between songs (ex. Leroy being born in Spain and him moving to Los Angeles a few years back). Leroy also said that singer Justin Timberlake is a total definition of a gentleman. He also asked the audience if they can speak Spanish, which drew a couple of the female fans shouting “Te Amo” at Leroy’s direction.
Leroy dazzled the audience with his beautiful voice as he sang some of his original songs like “Man of the year”, “Body Language”, “Fade”, “Just Like a Movie”, “Halfway”, and “Little Dancer”. He sang a medley featuring “Let Me Love You”, “We Found Love”, and “Love Yourself”. Leroy also sang a Spanish version of Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” to the fan’s delight. He ended his performance with Beyonce’s “Love on Top” before he left the stage. A couple of minutes later, Leroy came back on stage after the fans were chanting his name throughout the Smart Araneta Coliseum. He finished the night with his original songs “Kids From the Wild” and “By My Side”.
Overall, the YouTube favorite totally OWNED the stage with their fantastic performances that captivated the audience. Smart’s Own It kick off event was a success. It was a long night of fun and music. Personally, it was a thrill to watch these YouTube superstars perform live instead of the usual medium of watching them sing/dance on my computer screen. I can’t wait to see them perform live in the Philippines once more. We would like to thank Ovation Productions and Smart for inviting us to this event. If you missed out on seeing your favorite YouTube artists live on Smart’s Own It event, don’t worry. I heard there’s a couple of more famous YouTube acts coming their way to the Philippines in the next couple of months 🙂
