The Night Celine Dion Rocked Kuala Lumpur

What: Celine Dion Taking Chances World Tour 2008

Where : Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

When: 8:00pm 13 April 2008 (Originally 8 April 2008)

I made my way to Stadium Merdeka at 5:00pm on a rainy Sunday evening even though the gate only opened at 7:00pm. Was hoping to get the best seat in RM288 free seating ticket category. Couldn’t afford the RM1000 numbered seat ticket. LOL!

I couldn’t believe my ears when I arrived to the stadium. I heard Celine singing! The Show Must Go On! A Queen hit! I pinched myself. Yup! That was Celine. I was not dreaming! LOL!

She was doing her sound check. So, peeped through the stadium fence and there she was in all her glory – Celine Dion, pretty in a floral blouse. Her reddish hair glistened so beautifully in the glow of Malaysian evening sun. She was singing and occasionally stopped to talk to her sound technicians in French! Sounded so romantic. LOL! Je t’aime, Celine!

I was standing in queue, the first few people of course. We got very excited when we hear the intro of Celine remake of Heart’s Alone. Wow! We get a little teaser of what was in store for us later that night! (Insert squeals of delight here). CLICK PLAY to see “Alone”.

Celine left the stage after belting out Alone. We were all hyped up for the concert. While we stood in line, a Celine Dion hardcore fan started to blast Celine hits from his speaker phone. So, waiting in line was not that boring after all. Hahah! It was fun talking and with some die hard Celine fans out there.

At about 7:00pm. The gates were open. A brief security check. Big camera with zoom lens were not allowed. Small camera like mine is allowed. Hahah! Click like crazy I would! I rushed into stadium and plonked myself seat near the railing. I need to railing to support my mini gorilla-pod (tripod with flexible arms).

We spotted local artistes - Cheryl Samad (Malaysian Idol Host) and Nur Fazura (Gol & Gincu Actress) sitting not far from us. I am sure they can afford the RM1000 tickets but I guess they were just being thrifty! :)

Watched the sun set. The sky was glorious after the heavy rain in the afternoon. I was so worried about the rain that I brought my raincoat, just in case. Thank God I didn’t have to use the raincoat. We were all blessed with a beautiful evening!

CLICK PLAY! To fend of boredom while waiting for the show to start, the whole stadium (except those filthy rich flers who can afford RM1000 per ticket in the middle of the field..LOL!) created the Mexican Waves. It was so much fun!

All Eyes On Celine...

At about 8:50pm, the stadium light were switched off after the arrival of the King and Queen of Malaysia. We screamed and screamed Celine’s name. Then….Boom! The screen played Celine's I Drove All Night video clip. Wow! I was transported into the musical world of Celine Dion! It was surreal watching the diva on stage.

She sounded great. Without wasting any time, she slipped into Power of Love. Wow! I was totally blown away by her sheer power!

She greeted the King and Queen graciously and later apologized for reschedule the concert as she got sick during her OZ leg. It’s OK, Celine! As long as you don’t cancel it, I am fine. She even noticed the beautiful Malaysian moon, high up in the sky. CLICK PLAY to watch Celine greeting her “extraordinary” Malaysian fans. I love you Celine!

Celine sang and sang like there was no tomorrow in perfect pitch too! Hit after Hit! Song after Song! (See song list at the end of the post). Truly a diva!

CLICK PLAY to hear she belt out ALL BY MYSELF. Awesome! Awesome! Still give me goose bumps every time I listened to this! Awesome!

I was quite surprised when Celine went in and out the stage without a costume change. Was she doing a Mariah Carey – no costume change in her Malaysian Charmbracelet tour? Hmmm....

Celine's sequinned dress with leather sleeves and pants. She didn't make any costume change until the last song unlike her shows in other cities where she had a few.

CLICK PLAY! Celine will rock you! A QUEEN tribute. She rocked the stadium, indeed!

The Show Must Go On! The Show Must Go On! Celine, we glad that the show in Malaysia went on despite having to reschedule. Thanks for singing for us. Love ya!

Celine did change her costume after all. Into a sweet yellow evening gown...and then the haunting flute of My Heart Will Go On played....The crowd screamed with delight! She saved the best for last!

CLICK PLAY. You can hear yours truly warbling along with Celine Dion too in the video too. LOL! Well....everyone in the stadium sang! It was a true mother of all goosebumps moment!

After the final song, Celine bowed and said Terima Kasih (Thank You in Malay with very good diction) to the crowd!

Flying kisses...Muah! Muah! Muah!

Wow! What a show! She Came. She Sang. She Conquered My Heart (along with other 10,000 hearts too!). I LOVE YOU, CELINE!

I was transported back to Stadium Merdeka as I was writing this blog. I am really awestruck by Celine's grace, beauty and sheer powerful voice. It is one of the best concerts so far in MY LIFE! Awesome!

The Complete Kuala Lumpur Set List

First part (Black leather and silver sequinned dress)
1. Video introduction: "I Drove All Night" (remix)
2. "I Drove All Night"
3. "The Power of Love"
4. "Taking Chances"
5. "It's All Coming Back to Me Now"
6. "Because You Loved Me"
7. "To Love You More"

Second part
8. New Mego's Flamenco (instrumental)
9. "Eyes on Me"
10. "All by Myself"

Third part
11. Interval video: "My Heart Will Go On" (remix)
12. "I'm Alive" (remix)
13. "Shadow of Love"
14. "I'm Your Angel" (with Barnev Valsaint)
15. "Alone"
16. "Pour que tu m'aimes encore"
17. "Think Twice"
18. "My Love"

Fourth part (Queen Tribute)
19. "We Will Rock You"
20. "The Show Must Go On"

Fifth part
21. "Soul Man" / "Lady Marmalade" / "Respect" (by band and background vocalists)
22. "It's a Man's Man's Man's World"
23. "That's Just the Woman in Me"
24. "Love Can Move Mountains"
25. "River Deep, Mountain High"

Sixth Part (Long yellow outfit)
26. "My Heart Will Go On"

OTHER REVIEWS
Here are some blogs with Celine Dion Taking Chances reviews. Linked without permission. LOL! Found them in the Net. If you are the owners of the blogs and in any circumstances you want me to remove the links, do drop me a mail. I hope not, we Celine fan love to share, right?? :)

Judd - He hobnobbed with the local celebrities - Datuk Siti & husband Datuk Khalid, Datuk Mukhriz, Datin Norjuma & husband - Datuk Nazim, Sarimah Ibrahim & husband (who were seated next to him), fashion designer - Rizalman Ibrahim, Ezlynn, Ziana Zain, Jaclyn Victor, Daniel Lee, Harith Iskandar, Hannah Tan, Fara Fauzana, Amy Search, Rossa from Indonesia, Sasha Basir & Malaysian astronaut - Sheikh Muszaphar.
http://golden-judd.blogspot.com/search/label/celine%20dion

Juliansi – Great pictures. The difference from a RM1000 seat from RM288 is so striking. LOL!
http://juliansi.blogspot.com/search?q=celine+dion

Sasha Bashir - Local celeb.
http://sashabashir.blogspot.com/2008/04/celine-dion.html

Kevin Meets The Star.
http://kevinmeetstars.blogspot.com/2008/04/celine-dion-taking-chances-tour-in.html

Some other reviews/ blogs:
http://phuntort.blogspot.com/2008/04/taking-chances-celine-dions-concert-in.html

http://www.razlan.name/blog/2008/04/celine-dions-taking-chances-concert-in-kuala-lumpur/

http://wonderfulcharm.blogspot.com/2008/04/celine-dion.html