Greyson Chance thrills girls in Manila concert

It's not like 14-year-old Greyson Chance still needed an opening gimmick as he stepped into the Smart Araneta Coliseum spotlight last Sunday.

As the Youtube sensation-turned pop star finally appeared onstage, the crowd collectively let out a shrill scream of excitement, mostly from teenage girls armed with multi-colored glow sticks and placards expressing their love for the baby-faced artist.

Determined to woo the crowd, Chance took center stage and turned around to show off his jacket with a huge Philippine flag on it. Then the screams went from loud to near-deafening.

Among the sea of hysterical fans were siblings Ruvy May and Rosette Canteros, 10 and nine, respectively. The two girls flew all the way from Malaybalay, Bukidnon with their mom, Juvy, just to catch Chance live.

"I was watching the television show So Random and I saw him. That night I started searching about him," the glow stick-wielding Ruvy told philstar.com minutes before the concert.

Before stopping in Manila, Chance performed in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Jakarta as part of the Greyson Chance Asia Tour 2012. "This is the last show of my Asian tour tonight... I really can't tell you enough how glad I am that this tour ended in Manila," he told the audience who positively responded through the standard screams. This is his second time in the Philippines following his first concert in Eastwood City last November.

Out to prove his versatility despite his young age, the young singer-songwriter-pianist regaled the crowd with an eclectic mix of 16 songs, nine of which came from his debut album, Hold on 'til the Night.

His seemingly Facebook-inspired starting piece, Unfriend You, might have been an obvious reminder of his youthful orientation, but the songs Purple Sky and Cheyenne not only showed his vocal range, but his mature tone as well.

Reminding the audience of his humble beginnings, he took the piano and sang his cover of Lady Gaga's Paparazzi, which catapulted him from being a Youtube-sensation to a rising pop star who's out to give Justin Bieber a run for his money.

With Home is in Your Eyes, a song he personally wrote at a Los Angeles studio, Chance opened up about how he misses his hometown in Oklahoma, and a girl who has a special place in his heart.

"This song always makes me feel so lonely," he told the crowd, who cheered him on, as if sympathetically.

Taking advantage of his connection with the audience, he sat on top of the piano and sang Adele's Rolling in the Deep alongside his guitarist.

"One of my favorite artists right now is the almighty Adele," he shared. "I want you to think about your ex... and scream at the top of your lungs!"

Most of the teenagers may have not yet been in a relationship before, but that didn't stop them from furiously singing along with Chance.

In his last cover for the night, he surprised even the guys with his bluesy and passionate rendition of Foster the People's Pumped Up Kicks, which made him look and sound more like a veteran artist than a teenybopper idol onstage.

However, as if constantly reminding everyone that he is still a kid after all, he quickly put on his quirky side, borrowed his drummer's stick and played the cymbals on his own. Then he stood with his arms outstretched on top of the drum.

Chance told the crowd that his last performance for the night will be his more popular first single, Waiting Outside the Lines, but a collective "We want more!" from an apparently eager audience sent him back onstage with Take A Look at Me Now, which fittingly capped the night. After all, he has made a long way from being a mere Internet sensation to an actual artist in a short span of time.