Wang Leehom (王力宏)’s “Descendants of the Dragon 2060” (龙的传人 2060) world tour finally arrived in the heart of Kuala Lumpur last weekend and concert-goers were transported to the future – where there was only love, hope and good music.
As this was intended to be a concept concert, Leehom played the role of a visitor from outer space, sent to Earth as beacon to show the way. Needless to say, fans (who have not seen him in years) were excited to see what he had in store.
The Chinese-American singer-songwriter’s 21st stop of his world tour kicked off with a video showing him in cryogenic freeze mode. After being sent to Malaysia, Leehom made his grand entrance via a giant spaceship. Clad in an all-black sparkly bodysuit, he launched into “Heroes of Earth” (盖世英雄).
We may be on the minority on this but the sections where he was attacked by the “Selfish” tribe didn’t quite hit the mark. The sci-fi bit was rather cheesy at times, and boy, Leehom had no problem hamming it up. The “I whack you so you pretend to fall down and act injured” act felt like a parent putting on a play-act to amuse their kid.
But as someone suggests, this may be the result of Leehom’s current role as a father. Perhaps he’s taken inspiration from the bedtime stories he reads to his three children – Jiali, four, Jiana, two, and Jiayao, who was born last August. Besides it makes sense that this is the kind of message (not be selfish) one would want to pass on to their young ones.
As a result, we felt a disconnect, like something was gelling. It was only when Leehom (The Space Man) took a back seat and Leehom (The Family Man) came forth, the concert started to feel more personal. The entertainer shared that “Dearest” (亲爱的) was written for his daughters and the video was dedicated to his newborn son.
Although his newer, lesser-known songs from his impressive repertoire were decent, the loudest cheers and singalong were reserved for his older (but definitely gold) nostalgic songs. They include “One And Only” (唯一), “Heartbeat” (心跳), as well as “All The Things You Never Knew” (你不知道的事). It was in those moments when Stadium Merdeka was transformed to a massive karaoke joint.
There were plenty of cute moments too. Like when fans were screaming for Leehom to take of his shirt (multiple times). Despite his refusal, HOManiacs still got to admire his muscle arms which he showed off in a variety of tanktops. We couldn’t stop laughing when the kiss cam came on and everyone got to see selected couples awkwardly smooch.
The best part came during the encore section, in fact it felt more like a fan service segment. The 42-year-old singer got down from the stage to interact with fans in the VVIP section. He seemed for relax, even expressing how “free” it was to just sing candidly (fans were tossing request after request) and banter with the crowd.
Namewee wasn’t present to duet but he did perform “Stranger In The North” (漂向北方), joking that the Malaysian star could’ve continued with his rap verses. For those that don’t know, Leehom actually performed Lady Gaga’s Oscar-winning song “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born” when he was in Singapore. We didn’t get to hear “Shallow”, but when someone requested for an English song, the pop star serenaded us with Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect”.
Wang Leehom performing a cover of Ed Sheeran's Perfect. pic.twitter.com/L0O6YS2hQS
— Hype Malaysia (@HypeMY) March 17, 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DidtK8xA2cs
Throughout the night, Leehom showed off his musicality in more ways than one. Not only did he played three types of guitar (including the electric and acoustic instrument), he also picked up his violin and performed with his piano. As if we needed a reminder of what a multi-talented artist he is.
Leehom ended the night on a high note. But then there was this lady standing outside the concert venue with her bizarre sign. We shrug it off and continued humming his tunes as we head back home.
