MANILA, Philippines — Filipino-British singer-songwriter beabadoobee is indeed a promising artist of her generation.
Armed with her catchy guitar riffs, dreamy voice and relatable lyrics, the London-based beabadoobee rendered her bedroom pop songs and alternative rock sounds from self-released recordings, EPs and albums Fake It Flowers and Beatopia during her Manila concert last Friday night at the New Frontier Theater. The music event, which is part of her Beatopia Tour 2022, was presented by Live Nation Philippines.
The 22-year-old award-winning musician, whose real name is Beatrice Kristi Laus, hit it right away with Worth It as her first song during the one-hour program.
She would occasionally speak a few Tagalog words, wave and blow kisses to the delight of the fans.
“Pasensya na ang Tagalog ko kunti lang. It’s good to be back home,” she told the concert-goers, mostly Gen Z, before hitting He Gets Me So High. The first few lines say, “He pretends he is my closest friend/It’s a lie, my cries/Won’t uncloak his disguise/He’s a kick on my side/And I wish that I knew why/He gets me so high.”
She also performed Back To Mars and later on showed her appreciation to the fans by saying, “Hello, can I see the crowd please. Mahal ko kayo. Thanks for coming down.”
The crowd sang with her when she performed the sexy, bossa nova tune, The Perfect Pair, which has the chorus, “If I told you, you’d know how to go and break my heart in two/ ‘Cause I would anyways, we’d end up like always/ You know me, you better show me that you could say it to my face/’Cause you know we’re the same, there’s worse things I can take.”
Her army of fans jumped and chanted with Bea when she performed her rock anthems She Plays Bass and Talk which also displayed her guitar skills.
Bea continued the show, crooning her “favorite song” See You Soon, with the words, “I had some time away/Didn’t wanna go insane from this/I wanted you to know/I need time to grow and to exist/I think I needed space/Let you know I’m safe/I swear it’s just a little thing.”
She also rocked the stage with Sun More Often, Care, Sorry, Dye It Red and other tracks.
Bea and her bandmates took a short break at some point and the crowd shouted, “Isa pa, isa pa.”
She came back on stage and carried out her viral hit Coffee. The last song syndrome or LSS-inducing song gained attention online after it was uploaded by a fan years ago. The track became viral again on TikTok in 2020 after it was featured in Canadian rapper Powfu’s single.
Bea capped off the night with her last song, Cologne, the second track from her EP, Our Extended Play.
As she concluded her show, you can still hear the audience wanting for more, “Isa pa, isa pa.”
Dubbed as Gen-Z icon and guitar hero, Bea started making records in 2017.
In an earlier interview with The STAR, she shared her music inspiration, which includes The Sundays, Elliott Smith, Smashing Pumpkins and Norah Jones. She also mentioned Filipino artists APO Hiking Society, Itchyworms and Barbie Almalbis as musical influences.
She was named by US Billboard as Top New Rock Artist based on sales in 2020, given recognition at the NME Awards with Radar Award and nominated at the Brit Awards for Rising Star Award. She was born in Iloilo and moved to the United Kingdom at the age of three, with her family.