Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is usually home to the West End Theatre production of Oliver, but for one night only, the stage was set alight with five of the Philippines biggest stars. For the second year running, Piolo Pascual, Pokwang and Sam Milby returned to London to a sold out 2,000 people audience. In addition they were joined by John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo for Heartthrobs 2009… And to guide them along the way, Star Circle’s Mr Manahan.

Despite the cold weather, queues of old and new fans patiently waited to get into the Theatre Royal. They buzzed with excitement with the anticipation of seeing their favourite idols on-stage in London, rather than on The Filipino Channel (TFC) or on DVDs. This time round they would be able to have the experience of the biggest acts in Filipino entertainment performing live in their ‘home’ city.

The show started promptly with the opening acts, the Cachero Sisters, Silverdale Boyz, Natalie Chua, Relle Ente and X-Factor contestants Tru Colorz, which warmed up the audience prior to the main event.

 

First up on stage, the current Queen of Fil-comedy, Pokwang. The audience gave Pokwang a thunderous cheer as she stepped out onto the stage. Her hilarious set was met with roars of laughter. Similarly to last year’s show, she incorporated her act of choosing a man from the audience to be her ‘subject’ for the next ten minutes. As her set neared the end she introduced the next artist on stage.

Sam Milby, the first of the ‘Heartthrobs’ was welcomed with massive screams as he sang “And I Love You So” and “Maging Sino Ka Man”. Even as he stepped out to the front of the stage, he was mobbed by his fans. To their delight, he was joined by his most recent Love Team partner Bea Alonzo, together they sang “Cruisin”.

Bea was then left to do her solo song for the evening, her rendition of “Pokerface”. This then followed up with an introduction to her original love team partner, John Lloyd Cruz and a duet to “Mahal Naman Kita” which was met with so many screams and the crowd yelling ‘kiss’. It was all in good fun as they played up to the audience with playful flirting. John Lloyd, another first-timer on the ‘Heartthrobs’ tour, sang his solos which included “Hinahanap Kita” and “Ngiti”; and also surprised the audience with a few ‘interesting’ jokes which caused a few raised eyebrows. All in jest of course!

As the artists sang together and even played games with a few lucky audience member on-stage, Pokwang, Sam and John Lloyd finally introduced Piolo Pascual. Just like the other artists, he was welcomed with deafening cheers and screams from all of the audience as he sang “Ikaw ang Pangarap.” He then dueted with the rest of the artists, most memorable was for ‘Bakit Ngayon ka Lang’ which involved the guys fending off each other for Bea and a jealous Pokwang. As they wrapped up a two hour show with a medley of songs for the finale, the audience stood up for a standing ovation and danced.

After the show, VIP guests were able to share a moment with the artists in a special meet and greet gathering.

For the ‘Heartthrobs’ crew this was their final stop after visiting other European cities. This was KCC Production’s second year coordinating the event at yet another prestigious venue, setting the bar higher for future shows… Kapamilya Fiesta and KCC Productions created an outstanding event.

As the ‘Artista’ tours in London and the UK comes to an end for another year, who will be coming to London next year. In other words, who would YOU like to see next?

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A big ‘Thank You’ to Kapamilya Fiesta and KCC Productions.

 

Posted on 12 December 2009 by Lani in Entertainment, Events

Tagged abs-cbn, heartthrobs 2009 tour, kcc productions, london, tfc, theatre royal