Text and photos

By Jude Thaddeus L. Bautista

Rain (Korean name: Jung Ji Hoon) is known for his explosive live performances and he certainly didn’t disappoint the thousands of fans at the Mall of Asia concert grounds last Saturday. A majority of the tens of thousands of audiences were female just waiting for Rain to show them a glimpse of his famous washboard abs. Rain has transcended the music world and is one of the very few Asians to make it big in Hollywood as an actor. He played lead in “Ninja Assasin” and landed a major role in “Speed Racer”. Both of them blockbuster hits in the .U.S. Rain is also reported to be working on a remake of a Bruce Lee classic “Enter the Dragon” which will be entitled, “Awaken the Dragon.”

I still managed to shoot Christian Bautista in spite of the restriction

Our very own international balladeer Christian Bautista also performed that night. If there was any hitch to report it was that photographers like us were asked not to shoot Christian on stage. That seemed counterproductive considering the fact that local artists have been decrying the fact that not enough shows with local talent have been produced and or supported by concert goers. The restriction would affect Christian’s exposure that a concert with Rain can generate.  And it may possibly come from his home network at ABS CBN, we’re not sure. The event was presented by Smart Communications and TV5, a rival network.

Seeing a picture of him during the concert is important for any artist. If we can support someone like Rain here why not Christian who has also sold out venues like Araneta Coliseum? Yes, Christian has had success in Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and of course Hong Kong. And Rain fans from Hong Kong did show up in MOA, in spite of the recent travel ban. They even came with a portable neon light to show their presence. They easily proclaimed going to the concert was worth it.

U-Kiss seemed to capture the teenage crowd locally and they have been a huge hit ever since their first trip to Manila last June. The seven member Korean boy band specializes in intricate dance routines and upbeat songs. They performed their hit “Round and Round” (Bingeul Bingeul), “Mworago” and “Man man hani”. Speaking of abs U Kiss member Alexander briefly showed his abs lifting his tank top for a few seconds.

u92's KC Montero ably hosted the concert

Rain, however, was still the star of the show, singing “Song to Grab You”, “Hip song”, “One”, and “Same” from his most recent “Back to Basic” album. For any dancer especially in the Soul, R&B and pop genre, it is difficult not to emulate the moves of “the Greatest Entertainer Who Ever Lived,” Michael Jackson. Although Rain certainly has very distinctive dance moves and voice. No wonder he has captured a lot of fans not just in Asia but the world. Another concert to look out for at the Mall of Asia concert grounds is Supafest featuring Sean Kingston, Flo Rida, Kelly Rowland and T Pain. Hip hop fans are expected to fill the open air venue on September 18.