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Romancing with Michael Bolton
Before coming to Indonesia for his concert in Jakarta, Grammy award-winning pop-ballad singer Michael Bolton was on the American talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live
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efore coming to Indonesia for his concert in Jakarta, Grammy award-winning pop-ballad singer Michael Bolton was on the American talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Kimmel warned the women in the audience not to look directly into Bolton's eyes while he sang, "You will fall in love with him and you will not be able to fall in love with anyone else ever again."
Well, the women in the audience at Bolton's concert on Monday, May 17, were oblivious to that warning as they professed their love to Bolton, sang for him, with one even proposing to him.
Bolton jokingly said that it was his second time.
The 57-year-old with his seven-piece band - including backing vocals - sang love songs to around 3,000 visitors at the Ritz-Carlton Pacific Place ballroom, Jakarta. Visitors who paid between Rp 750,000 (US$82) and Rp 5 million for a seat enjoyed a night of romantic pop ballads, with a touch of swing and blues.
Bolton, who a lot of people remember had a signature long curly blond locks look, sported a flattering short haircut at the concert, which he has had since 1999.
Talkative and relaxed, Bolton showed impressive vocal stamina, singing around 20 songs.
Bolton is touring the world to promote his latest album One World One Love released in September 2009. The new album features collaborations with a younger generation of singer-songwriters such as rising phenomenon Lady Gaga and Ne-Yo. Original Production organized the Jakarta concert.
He sang two songs Hope It's Too Late and Just One Love from his new album during the concert. However, the songs that caught the audience's attention were his classic hit singles.
He started the show with a teaser of the dramatic intro of one of his hit singles Go The Distance, which was the sound track of the box-office hit Disney animated movie Hercules. From the intro, the band switched to the song Soul Provider that warmed up the audience.
Soul Provider was followed by his romantic ballad To Love Somebody, which sent the audience to their edge of their seats, singing along to the lyrics.
Another song that became a big hit in Indonesia was the overly romantic song Said I Loved You But I Lied, which mesmerized the audience even more.
Bolton entertained the audience with a wide range of music genres. From pop-ballads he went to soft rock, to swing and blues. He performed songs from his album Timeless: The Classics and Bolton Swings Sinatra. Bolton smoothly sang Sinatra's singles like That's Life, Fly Me To The Moon and New York, New York.
His band was a treat to the ear as the piano blended nicely with the delicious guitar riffs, the funky bass and the brass section.
Bolton showed his undeniable vocal strength in a song he once sang with the late tenor singer Luciano Pavarotti. Standing alone on the stage, the tenor in him shone through when he sang Nessun Dorma.
Bolton brought along Danish contemporary jazz saxophonist Michael Lington, whose album is currently in the top five on the Billboard music charts. Bolton let the band and Lington entertain the audience with a smooth jazz piece, while he disappeared behind the stage.
After Lington finished playing, Bolton reappeared on the left side of the audience and walked toward the middle singing When A Man Loves A Woman.
The snap-happy audience went into frenzy and got up from their seats, walking up to Bolton and aiming their camera phones to get a picture of him.
Ending his show with a series of his 90s ballads, such as How Am I Supposed To Live Without You and Time, Love and Tenderness Bolton returned for a long encore, in which the audience was spoiled with a long slashing guitar, playing blues. The audience was by now standing, some crowded in front of the stage.
On his twitter page, a couple of hours after the show Bolton tweeted: "Hi everyone, in Jakarta today and had a great show. The people here are very nice."
Monday's performance was Bolton's second in Indonesia. He visited Indonesia in 1996.
One World One Love is his 18th studio album. Throughout his career Bolton has sold more than 53 million records worldwide.
Aside from Pavarotti, Bolton has performed with musical legends such as Ray Charles, written songs with Bob Dylan, and penned hits for Barbra Streisand, Cher and KISS.
