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A date with crooner Lionel Richie
Award winning singer-songwriter Lionel Richie charms fans with hits like âHelloâ and âAll Night Longâ during his concert on Thursday at the Jakarta Convention Center in Senayan, Central Jakarta
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Award winning singer-songwriter Lionel Richie charms fans with hits like âHelloâ and âAll Night Longâ during his concert on Thursday at the Jakarta Convention Center in Senayan, Central Jakarta. (JP/Nurhayati) (JP/Nurhayati)
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span class="inline inline-none">Award winning singer-songwriter Lionel Richie charms fans with hits like 'Hello' and 'All Night Long' during his concert on Thursday at the Jakarta Convention Center in Senayan, Central Jakarta. (JP/Nurhayati)
The hustle and bustle of Jakarta on Thursday evening was soon replaced by excitement at the Jakarta Convention Center in Senayan, Central Jakarta.
And the reason? Award winning singer and songwriter Lionel Richie and his magical singing voice.
The 3,200-strong audience quickly fell under his spell in his 'All The Hits All Night Long' concert.
He warmly greeted Jakartans with the opening tune of 'Hello', followed by 'Just for You'.
'When we left California it was hot. In Jakarta, it is hotter,' he said.
At 64, Richie has still got it.
Right from the start, die-hard fans couldn't stay seated and approached the stage to dance to the music.
Excited by the response, he invited audience members nearest to the stage, who included A-list Jakartans and celebrities, to get up off their seats and clap to the upbeat 'Running with the Night'.
The simple gesture unexpectedly changed the event into a rock concert, as fans gushed to the front. Then there was no turning back.
Some fans went further, taking pictures of themselves in front of the stage with a performing Richie and his musicians in the background.
Richie posed for them and high-fived some, while the security guards endlessly ushered fans back to their seats.
'This is the first time I've been photographed for too many times in just one song. I was attacked by hundreds of phone cameras. You are out of control,' he said.
The scene was repeated over and over in the 2-hour long concert.
Richie belted out 24 songs from his solo albums and from funk/soul band the Commodores, when he was the pianist, saxophonist and at one point, the lead singer.
He boasted his musical and singing prowess in 'Easy' mashed up with 'My Love'.
The audience sang along with several songs, but went quiet in a few others.
'There are two groups in the audience. One: I know it all along and two: My mom and dad played the record all the time,' he said.
Richie played a musical monodrama about three different stages of love relationships: the painful breakup; the love triangle and the new love.
'You go home and take out your CD, your cassette, 8-track, or downloaded songs. And who are you gonna call on?'
'Lionel Richie!' the audience applauded.
Brought to Jakarta by Blackrock Entertainment, Richie arrived in the capital with his crew of 29 on Wednesday afternoon from Japan, and was welcomed by rush hour traffic, missing the planned press conference.
As it turned out, the interview was the last thing required, as the concert served to tell the life story of the artist. Each song had its own memories, which he shared with the audience.
'Three Times a Lady', he said, was inspired by his father who later, after the song found global success, asked for the royalties.
The Jakarta concert was the mega-star's third after his gig in 2006 of the same title and in 1996 when he promoted his album Louder than Words.
Ritchie has toured the US, Europe, Australia and Asia to perform his chart-topping hits including 'Truly', 'Still', 'Say You Say Me', 'Dancing on the Ceiling', 'All Night Long' and 'Endless Love'.
Richie closed the performance with 'We are the World', which he wrote with pop legend Michael Jackson.
He left the stage to a standing ovation from a satisfied audience.
