G.E.M. (邓紫棋) made a glorious return to the TM National Stadium Bukit Jalil over the past weekend for the anticipated “I AM GLORIA WORLD TOUR 2.0”. While this 2.0 version was more or less a replica of her original concert, fans were stoked to see some new gems added to this upgrade.
When it came to the stage design, audiences noticed how the venue came with a new diamond-shaped extension, taking inspiration from the gemstone motif. This allowed the 34-year-old Hong Kong singer, whose real name is Gloria Tang, to get closer to fans when she made her grand entrance on colossal mechanical lion.
The 2.0 world tour added several new tunes to the concert setlist. There was 2022’s emotional “Ice Age” (冰河時代) set against a snowy visual landscape. Fans were then treated to 2015’s “Therefore” (於是), which featured a backdrop of geometric shapes and a rotating cube. The powerhouse vocalist also showed off her versatility in style when she performed a drum solo before delving into the uptempo number, “The End of Night” (夜的盡頭).
However, what stayed with many long after the concert ended was during the segment where G.E.M. interacted with her fans and gave a shout out to her famous friends. Some of her celebrity friends in attendance were R&B crooner PinkSweat$, HK singer Cloud Wan (雲浩影) and our very own Shila Amzah (茜拉).
“Music has brought singers from different countries together. Besides my Hong Kong friends, there’s also someone special here. It’s Malaysia’s Shila! If I’m being honest, it makes me very emotional to see Shila here tonight,” G.E.M. said, while fighting back tears.
If you recall, both G.E.M. and Shila have a long history dating back to 2014 when they competed on Chinese reality-singing show, “I Am Singer” season 2. “At the time, because we were both female powerhouse vocalists, people would often pit us against one another,” G.E.M. recalled. After 13 weeks of competing, G.E.M. was awarded the runner-up while Shila came in third.
“After the show ended, we ended up becoming good friends. Even after all these years, music has bonded us closely. I’m so grateful that you’re here tonight Shila. Thank you,” G.E.M. expressed. A visibly emotional Shila was shown wiping away tears. The Malaysian singer mouthed the words “I love you” back while making a hand heart gesture.
Shila later took to Instagram to celebrate her bestie. “It made me so happy to be there and witness this special moment, especially seeing how much both of our lives have grown and changed over the years. What a journey it has been. 12 years of friendship, countless memories, and still counting,” the KL-born singer wrote.
It is truly heartwarming to witness two voices that once stood on opposite sides of a singing battlefield, now embracing each other as sisters, bound by melody and memory.
