witsandnuts

We made one of our rarest decisions a month ago. That is to experience a Filipino artist’s concert while in the UAE, of one who is infamously alleged as a wannabe singer. However, she always reiterates that she is not a singer, but loves to sing though.

While we loved Eraserheads in their Dubai gig in 2013, we did not want to expect much from Anne Curtis’s — but just to savor a no-pressure-feel-good night. The timing was of the essence, too. My father was vacationing in the UAE and we saw this as one of the uncalculated experiences worth discovering. While he (or any of us) is not a fan at all, we were happily surprised that the entire experience and Anne herself were fun.

As she said, she planned to compensate her shortcomings in singing through her performance and fancy outfits.

Unbelievable but yes, this song will be part of her album.

A singing contest was held, of which the screening process started as early as March. The set of prizes is generous, which included a chance of singing with Anne at the actual concert. The grand finals served as the opening acts and the grand winner has been declared few minutes before the start of the concert.

“Huwag mo masyadong galingan ha? (Do not outperform me, okay?)”, Anne said before bravely belting I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing.

The grand finals was hosted by the disc jockeys from 91.1 Tag, the only Filipino FM radio station in the UAE. It was interesting to see the faces behind those voices — known for their style of intentionally (or not) speaking street slang at times and mass appeal humor.

This number is adorable and turned out to be of the highlights as she carried a kid from the audience who hardly wanted to part ways with her as he was being handed back to his mother. Anne patiently carried (lullabyed) him.

Since she is not a ‘real singer’ as she claimed, she brought with him Mark Bautista. He did a few songs.

It was too hilarious when she touched her armpits (apparently sweating!) in this number. I guess her spontaneity (and piece of honesty when facing the audience) is one of the reasons she is liked by many. She recalled the moment when she sung this piece while in one of the streets of Italy and an Italian exclaimed “bravo! bravo!”. She wished that her audience will do the same. And she got it. Though we did not understand any of the lyrics, we were really entertained and engaged by her throughout this piece. And of course, we did not know if she was in tune or not. But her guts is indeed admirable.

This was the part when everyone almost laughed out the hardest. She claimed that she sounds like Aegis and even sings better than the group. Hahaha.

Worth every penny. For a while, I was guilty of underestimating what she can offer. This is one rare experience of appreciating the performer more than the ‘real singer’. Hence, we drove back home to Abu Dhabi that night with a happy heart.