Clad in a simple shirt, baggy black pants and braided hairstyle, British pop-singer Anne-Marie filled the New Frontier Theater in Quezon City with “angry, love and party” songs on a Sunday night. The Manila show, presented by Wilbros Live, was part of her Dysfunctional Tour.
The atmosphere was full of energy and the crowd would sing along with her most of the time while raising pink light sticks to show their support. There was a fan sign that read, “Thank you for being our therapy.”
She would occasionally speak to fans in Filipino — “Salamat,” “Mahal ko kayo” and “Kamusta ka?” — and would make a cute laugh and giggle whenever she felt excited.
Her opening song was Ciao Adios and the last song was Friends, a collaboration with Marshmello.
Before hitting Tell Your Girlfriend, she flattered the fans with the words, “This is the loudest crowd I ever had, ever. I feel like this show is gonna (be the) one I remember for the rest of my life.
“I’m gonna be doing a lot of songs, a lot of old songs (and) new songs. First of all, if you haven’t noticed, we’re gonna go from a lot of angry songs, then we’re gonna go into the love section and then, we’re gonna go into the party section…”
She requested the concert-goers to sing Rockabye and later performed it again, this time with music on.
Anne-Marie carried on with Therapy, a “very important” ditty from her second album of the same title. “It’s been so long since I’ve been here. And I just wanna say thank you so much for all the support all the way through.”
“Even if I haven’t been here in person, I’ve seen (you) all online, on social media so thank you so much. During the time we can’t do anything and we can’t do stuff like this, I think we all felt really alone and we didn’t really know what to do about ourselves. And I was one of them. Like who am I? I don’t know who I am anymore,” she mused.
The 31-year-old artist admitted she started going to therapy. “I went to see a therapist and I talked about all my problems. I talked about what was in my brain even (though) I thought it was weird. I just spoke about it anyway and I learned a lot about myself. And during that time, I wrote this song for therapy. If you’re going through a tough time right now, just know it’s gonna get better. Things always get better.”
Moreover, she rendered the track Breathing for those who are in love: “This song is a bit different one for me because I normally write angry songs about bad ex-boyfriends. But this one is a love song. I never thought I would write a love song… I’m in love.”
As the show continued, she introduced Ivy Bee (on drums) and Beanie Bhebhe (on guitars), who likes lechon and adobo and is eager to try balut.
“You guys are incredible, you guys are amazing,” Beanie told the crowd.
Anne-Marie agreed, “He is not lying. You are the best crowd I’ve had. I’m having more fun than you (laughs).” Afterwhich, she performed I Just Called, an interpolation of Stevie Wonder’s I Just Called to Say I Love You. Hers was, “I just called to say I hate you.”
The next song she did was the one she penned with Ed Sheeran called Beautiful, which is “about loving ourselves.”
“Looking in the mirror and loving that you are beautiful. Trust me when I say beautiful. Being beautiful has nothing to do with what you look like on the outside. Nothing at all,” she said.
“Being a beautiful person is if you’re a good person, if you have a good heart, you’re kind to people (and) you love people. That is what a beautiful person is so don’t worry about what you look like. Remember that looking different is the most beautiful thing of all,” she asserted.
She also made a duet with a young fan for the track Perfect To Me and then Don’t Leave Me Alone (a collaboration with David Guetta), Psycho (with Aitch) and of course, her 2018 hit, the LSS- inducing 2002.
Anne-Marie likewise dedicated Birthday to those who are celebrating their special day. “I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed tonight’s show. I’m being serious. This is my favorite show of all time. This next song is a very specific song because it has a very specific question… If you’ve got someone close to you and it’s their birthday, turn to them right now and say happy birthday.”
Rounding up her setlist were x2, Alarm, Then, Kiss My (Uh Oh), Don’t Play and Our Song (with Niall Horan).
She then took a selfie photo with the crowd and uttered her parting words, “I want you to understand (that) it has been so great to be able to spend this evening with you. Thank you so much for coming. You have made this so special for us…
“I love you. This is the last one (Friends). I’ll be coming back soon. I love you so much.”