CEBU, Philippines — UK singer Chloe Foston brought the nostalgic feels from Scotland to Cebu at the “Carpenters Reborn Cebu” concert held at SM Seaside City’s SkyHall on October 3.
During the two-hour show, the tribute singer performed beloved classics from The Carpenters such as “Top of the World,” “Close to You,” “Can’t Smile Without You,” and “I Won’t Last a Day Without You,” which she dedicated to her mother.
Foston also covered songs from the duo’s contemporaries such as “Ticket to Ride” by The Beatles, “Desperado” by Eagles, and “Here I Am” by Air Supply. She explained that these tracks share a similar style to the Carpenters’ music, which is why she included them in her set.
Foston added a festive touch to the evening with a quick costume change, swapping her beige dress for a blue glittery bodysuit to perform Christmas favorites, including Carpenters’ “Merry Christmas Darling” as a nod to the Filipino tradition of celebrating the ‘Ber’ months, counting down to Christmas earlier than most of the world.
After each performance, she thanked her Cebuano audience with ‘Daghang salamat po!’, amusing the crowd as ‘po’ is not part of the Bisaya vocabulary, though they appreciated the gesture nonetheless.
As the audience thought the show had ended, Foston returned for an encore, delighting the crowd with “Sing,” adding one last dose of nostalgia for the audience to take home.
Foston told The FREEMAN after the show that performing for her Cebu audience felt “amazing.” “They are so nice and lovely. It cheers me up,” she said.
OPM trio The Rainmakers opened the concert as Ramon Villanueva, Joel Macanaya, and Jojo Grospe performed their crowd-pleasing hit “Binibini.” They also treated the audience to an Earth, Wind & Fire medley featuring “Let’s Groove,” “September,” and “Boogie Wonderland.” The trio gave a shout-out to their former member and Cebuano composer Joseph Lansang.
The concert was well-received, with one attendee commenting on a Facebook video of Foston performing “Yesterday Once More”, saying, ‘[It] brings back memories.’”
The Carpenters tribute concert was organized by Chao Sy Promotions and Events, Awe Creatives, Y101FM Cebu, Hotel Fortuna, La Fortuna Bakery, DMC Philippines, and the Inner Wheel Club of Cebu.