Sam Smith thanks Pinoy fans for ‘sticking by our side’
MANILA, Philippines — A haunting voice from the choir rose in the background. An enormous statue of goddess Aphrodite was lying on the stage. Then, a bright spotlight focused on the figure who had just appeared on the stage.
The singer-songwriter Sam Smith started crooning, “Guess it’s true, I’m not good at a one-night stand/But I still need love ‘cause I’m just a man/These nights never seem to go to plan/I don’t want you to leave, will you hold my hand?”
From such a dramatic entrance to multiple outfit changes (at least five times), grandiose props, incredible vocals and songwriting and some daring acts, Sam put on a memorable show for their Filipino fans. (Since coming out as non-binary in 2019, Sam has adopted the they/them pronouns.)
Wearing a silver and white ensemble, Sam warmed up the audience last Saturday night at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena, with Stay With Me, a track from their debut studio album In the Lonely Hour, released in 2014. The Manila leg of the Gloria tour was presented by Live Nation Philippines.
“I love you, Manila!” Sam exclaimed at the crowd before hitting the second song I’m Not the Only One.
In Act 1, with love as the theme, the English artist presented it with Like I Can, Perfect, Diamonds, Too Good at Goodbyes, “favorite” How Do You Sleep?, and Dancing with a Stranger, the ditty Sam wrote six years ago when going through one of the most tough heartbreaks in life.
“Manila, how are you doing tonight?” Sam asked the concertgoers who cheered in response.
“Oh my god. I can feel some of the good tonight. It is so amazing and beautiful to be back here with you after so long,” the artist further told fans. The last time that Sam was in Manila for a concert was in 2018.
“I just wanna say that I will never take for granted ever your support and your love from me and my friends. Thank you so much for sticking by our side over these eight or nine years. I remember coming here when I was 21 years old. And having the most incredible experience with you all, so thank you for being here again. Thank you.”
After the Philippine concert, Sam said they only had nine shows left. So, they assured the crowd, “So, we are gonna give you everything tonight. Everything. But we need you as well to give us as much as you go tonight, OK?”
“This show is our baby and it is about so many different things. But the one thing that we want you to take home with you tonight, one thing we want you to know about our show is this night, this show is about freedom,” he continued.
“So, please everyone enjoy yourselves tonight. Have fun. This is about fun. If you wanna stand up and dance, if you wanna sing, whatever you wanna do, we are here to support you. We are here to love you. We love you so much.”
The jampacked audience followed and went on to sing and dance with Sam, coupled with loud cheer and clapping, all throughout the evening.
They were unafraid to express themselves and performed bold moves, like taking off their shirt and rolling on the floor in Act II titled Beauty, one of the artist’s favorite parts of the entire tour.
“Because I was thinking about this moment right now for the last few years. When I made my album Gloria, it was a very different time in the world for us,” Sam recalled referring to the pandemic.
“And we couldn’t do what we are doing right together in these rooms. We couldn’t share music like we used to. And it was the first time for me that I had stopped singing on stage since I was a kid. Since I was about eight years old. And it really, really hit me in those couple of years away whether it’s about this work and about music that I love and missed the most.”
“And the truth is I love to sing and I love to sing with you. For the reason why I got into this world,” Sam admitted.
The artist is passionate about the craft that they wanted to dedicate their life to music.
“When we make music, we don’t make music alone. We make music with our friends and with our loved ones. And I missed them more than anything else and so I promise myself that if I come on tour again, I would use this time to really celebrate my friends and properly introduce them to you,” said Sam who proceeded to present friends one by one.
They then requested the spectators to wave their phone flashlights to fill the arena with sea of lights. “You look beautiful,” Sam said and sang Kissing You, Lay Me Down, and Love Goes.
Sam, together with backup dancers, further heated up the venue with steamy performances of Gimme, Lose You, Promises, I’m Not Here to Make Friends, Latch and I Feel Love.
The Act III called Sex was even more intense if not racy as Sam executed some “unholy” behavior in Gloria, the cover of Madonna’s Human Nature and Unholy, sticking to the themes of the Gloria album including sexuality, self-expression, among others.
The singer was topless at this point, wearing only black underwear, fishnet stockings and black boots while “express yourself, don’t repress yourself” lines from Madonna’s Human Nature repeatedly echoed in the background. Wearing their controversial “devil-themed” outfit, complete with red pitchfork, they left the fans with the parting message: “We hope you will have us back one day soon.”
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