Carly Rae Jepsen: Mahal ko kayo!

MANILA, Philippines - "Expect the unexpected."

This was what Carly Rae Jepsen told her fans before her concert on Wednesday night, explaining, "I want to think that what I bring to a live show is a little bit of spontaneity. I feel like when I get too rehearsed is when I start to zone out.”

This sets the expectations high for the singer mainly known in the Philippines for the 2012 hit song “Call Me Maybe.” True, Jepsen churned out a couple more radio hits (namely “Good Time” and “This Kiss”) but she still has to get out of the shadow of her megahit song.

It’s questionable if the audience at the Manila leg of Jepsen’s summer tour, held at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City on Wednesday, August 7, got the spontaneity the pop singer aimed for. After all, Jepsen’s songs don’t lend themselves to unpredictability.

But it’s also obvious majority of those who attended the concert—mostly teenagers and pre-teens with their not-as-enthusiastic parents—had the times of their lives, dancing and singing to Jepsen’s overly sweet, frothy tunes. It didn’t really matter if most of the songs, especially when played in succession, sounded alike. Jepsen’s fans, indeed, had a “good time.”

Jepsen opened the concert with “This Kiss.” Wearing a blue jacket with sequined jean shorts and blue brogues, Jepsen set the mood for her retro pop party. By the end of the second song, she removed her jacket, revealing a black tank top. It’s as if Jepsen is just out to go to the mall with her friends—perhaps the vibe she’s going for.

She also performed “Good Time,” “Tiny Little Bows,” “Just A Step Away,” and her latest hit “Tonight I’m Getting Over You.”

“Mahal ko kayo,” Jepsen said in between songs. â€œI heard that they sing good in Manila, and they were right.”

Jepsen would talk to the audience and share stories about her songs.

“This is about a boy that I was too shy to tell that I loved him. Instead, I chickened out and I didn’t tell him,” she said before singing “Almost Said It.”

For one song, Jepsen even asked the audience to tweet her pictures from the concert and promised to tweet them back.

A brief audio malfunction during the concert prompted Jepsen to do an impromptu “fake tap dance.”

The 27-year-old hardly did anything to punctuate her saccharine tunes with something less sweet, revealing her songs to be designed to induce one into a three-minute sugar rush.

Jepsen performed “Call Me Maybe” last. She chose four members from the audience to join her sing on stage. But it didn’t really matter. At this point, almost everyone was up on their feet, singing and dancing or taking photos and videos of Jepsen singing last year’s summer anthem.

“Thank you Manila!” she tweeted after the concert.

Unforgettable night in Manila. X pic.twitter.com/XR7NjuQNk9

— Carly Rae Jepsen (@carlyraejepsen) August 8, 2013