It doesn’t matter where you put Jerry Yan. You book him; they will come. Thousands of fans flew in from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, China, Singapore and Taiwan, and from different areas in the Philippines (Dumaguete, Davao, Baguio, Manila, Navotas…Navotas?!). All to get a glimpse of Dao Ming Xu, who, due to his super hectic schedule, had only enough time to rest a bit and titillate his fans for less than an hour before leaving.
All the fan groups, most of them women from all ages, came well prepared and super coordinated. The group from Hong Kong even had handheld neon signs, proclaiming their love for Jerry, just in case he couldn’t hear them screaming.
It reminded me of those Nora Aunor days, when La Aunor – whether she was singing at the Nayong Pilipino or opening a movie – would be swamped by fans, wearing replicas of whatever Nora wore (of course, someone only told me this; not that I was old enough to remember on my own). At this Jerry gathering in Cebu, fans sported "Fat Free" shirts, red hats, and other trademark Jerry items.
The brave host for the day, Amy Perez, still dared to get the crowd, already shaking with excitement, even more worked up until they were in frenzy. The MTV of Jerry’s latest hit, plus a mini fashion show only whipped the fans’ screaming to a fever pitch.
You have to hand it to Bench. I don’t know how they did it, but they managed to take care of the legions of swooning fans. Each and every person was given a Jerry Yan poster and fan, and they all got Bench candies. When they entered the Ballroom, they were hypnotized by the larger-than-larger-than-life billboard of Jerry’s face, staring straight into the audience. Then the hallway going to the ballroom was lined with Jerry’s posters. So by the time Jerry came out to sing his two songs, the crowd was near orgasmic.
Some fans were crying, some were speechless. Most of them were chanting Jerry’s name over and over. I was amazed by the fact that everyone – and I mean everyone – could sing along with Jerry’s songs. Never mind that it was in Chinese. And never mind that not everyone could understand what it meant. When the microphone was passed around, everyone knew the lyrics. It was… magical.
Of course, to put all this together, we had a little help from our friends. Waterfront Hotel in Lahug, Cebu was obviously the place to be. Ford Philippines helped Jerry zoom from one place to the other. ABS-CBN made sure that the fans who couldn’t make it to Cebu still got to see him.
After his hair-raising, bone-melting, laglag-Bench-underwear performance, since Jerry did not have the opportunity for fan photos, fans were content having their pictures taken beside the Jerry Yan posters. Some even had snapshots with the great Ben Chan, who was responsible for bringing the Jerry mania to the country. And I suppose he looks like Jerry, only older. (Whatever!)
I guess Jerry deserves the adoration; when he came out, you could tell that he sincerely adored his fans. Should Jerry choose to run for president, he would win, hands down.
But sadly, no politics for him yet. Aside from his Bench endoresement, Jerry is busy with other brands like Pepsi, UHA Candy, S&K, among others. He also was busy promoting his album and bagging the Best Newcomer and Best Song (for crowd favorite Gravity) awards at the January 2005 China Pop Music Awards in Beijing.
After his trip here, Jerry will be back in Taipei, working on new projects: a new series, a movie and maybe a new album. And I, in the meantime, will organize my own Jerry Yan fans club – and we will be ready to mobilize when he gets back.
Jerry Yan for President!