Sam Milby
Here in the American suburbia, tweens and teens are Twi-hards, Team Edward, Team Jacob, or have caught the Bieber Fever.
Among the Pilipinos in cities and suburbias worldwide, tweens, teens, young adults, and even titas and possibly lolas are Kimeralds, Believers, part of the Milby Mob, or are CPAs – and not the CPAs you’d think, but Certified Piolo Adiks.
All these hardcore fans and more gathered at the Copernicus Theatre in Chicago on March 26th to see their idols perform live at the first stop of the U.S. Heartthrobs and Friends LIVE! tour. Pilipino superstars Piolo Pascual, Sam Milby, John Lloyd Cruz, Bea Alonzo, Richard Poon, Kim Chiu, Gerald Anderson, and Pokwang wowed a full house not only with their singing but some comedic performances as well. Along with the superstars came Mr. M, head honcho of ABS-CBN’s Star Magic and director of many concerts and shows such as Lea Salonga’s “My Life On Stage,” Wowowee, and ASAP.
Chicago’s own YouTube superstar Manny Garcia was the front act of the show, even garnering the attention of the Pilipino superstars who watched from the wings. Some titas in the crowd wondered who this opening act was, screaming for Piolo and Sam to come on stage. But after Manny’s first song – his Girl Jam Medley – these titas were yelling, “Ayyyyy, ang ganda! (Wow, so beautiful!),” the same things they yell for Piolo and Sam. The audience fell even more in love with him when he sang a Tagalog favorite, “Sana Maulit Muli” (roughly translated, “I Wish It Could Happen Again”).
Then the havoc began!
Comedienne Pokwang opened the concert using a screaming male fan as her human mic stand, dragging him all over the stage, on the floor, as a piggyback ride, and even putting him into controversial poses (semi-censored explanation: she was on her knees and the mic was…). Up next came Richard Poon, the 100% Chinese crooner, singing his own big-band version of “Ikaw Na Nga,” a song made popular by Wowowee host Willie Revillame. Richard and Pokwang joked around a bit about why he’s more fluent in Tagalog than Chinese, where Pokwang attacked him with her Chinese skills and Richard responded with only a “Ni hao” (hello).
Sitting in the third row probably wasn’t the best idea. As Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson – aka Kimerald – graced the stage, the titas around me and even farther back began crowding the front rows and aisles with their bodies, cameras, and screams of, “Geraaaaald! Dito! (Here!) Humarap ka! (Turn around!) Picture!” Even as security guards ordered them to move back, most of them didn’t move an inch.
The crowd and screams only grew louder as Sam Milby took the stage, flashing his dashing smile that only makes the titas and Milby Mob scream louder. Sam sang songs such as “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “And I Love You So,” and a duet of Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” with Bea Alonzo. Bea later joined John Lloyd Cruz for a duet of “Miss You Like Crazy,” the title song from their newest movie together of the same name.
John Lloyd’s solo stage time brought laughs to the audience as he compared himself to the built bodies of Piolo, Sam, and Gerald and the singing talents of Richard. He brought Gerald, Richard, and Pokwang for a hilarious apple-eating contest with audience members. (I’ll admit – I was both jealous and a bit disappointed I didn’t get chosen; I was super hungry and would’ve eaten the whole apple!).
After what may have seemed like forever, the person the CPAs were waiting for finally came – Piolo Pascual. He started off with a classic, “Babe I Love You,” and even sang an audience request and a Piolo favorite, “Kailangan Kita” (I need you). Piolo also brought Sam and Richard to the stage to perform Michael Buble’s “Haven’t Met You Yet,” complete with the choreography they’d done on the TFC Sunday variety show, ASAP XV (check out the video below!). No matter what they did, the fans kept on screaming, flashing the cameras in their faces, and – yes – even pushing.
As Ritz Brinas, the producer for the New York leg of the tour, said, “Their [Piolo, Sam, John Lloyd, Bea, etc.] fans have no shame; they are Hard. Core.” But the way they act is no more hardcore than the fans of the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC in the past and Justin Bieber, Robert Pattinson, Miley Cyrus, and more today.
So though our idols may be different, our reaction to them is the same:
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
-----------------------------------------
Check out some of the pictures and videos below from the concert.
Pictures courtesy of Nikko Salgado. For more pictures, check out Nikko’s album.
Videos courtesy of Gendell Fernandez. For more videos, check out Gendell’s Heartthrobs playlist or search YouTube.
