David Cook mesmerizes Manila once more

Title: David Cook mesmerizes Manila once more

Written by Jhoanne Mariano

Photos by Magic Liwanag Photography

Who could ever forget that one memorable television performance back in 2008? As music lovers can recall, There was a  specific song played many times on local radio stations, an unexpected brilliant rock version of a cheerful Mariah Carey #1 song, “Always Be My Baby.” The tune, popularized by American Idol Season 7 winner David Cook immediately rocketed to #1 on iTunes (U.S.) becoming  the Most Requested Song all over the Philippines.

Fans of Always Be My Baby heard the song for themselves as the Season 7 American Idol brezzed through Manila last 14^thof July for his solo concert at the Smart Araneta Coliseum after which he also performed at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu the next day. Members of the media were given an opportunity to meet the Idol winner at a press conference a day before his shows at the EDSA Shangri-La hotel in Ortigas.

At his press conference at the EDSA Shangri-La hotel, Cook couldn’t stop talking praising the Philippines.   He found this ”incredibly beautiful” and  found the Filipino people and his Filipino fans inviting and friendly.”He also mentioned, during the conference, that he has been “amazingly blessed” and that being able to perform beyond the United States was “so far beyond [his] dreams.”

He also revealed several things about the latest season of American Idol. He said, “The last season of Idol, I thought it was interesting. It was one of the first seasons I’ve ever watched where I couldn’t really get a pulse on what the American public was thinking.”

Regarding Jessica Sanchez, “I had a chance actually to meet Jessica...” and he said that Jessica is a “sincere” person and “to hear her sing, it’s ridiculous… she’s so good and what’s scary about it is she’s so young!” He also compared Jessica Sanchez with his former competitor, David Archuleta mentioning, “Archie is so good at such a young age… how good can this person get?! And I look at Jessica the same way.” Cook found it difficult to find the right words to express what he thinks of the latest Idol runner up and settled with “she’s just really REALLY good!”

Cook’s closing remarks during the  press conference expressed how happy he is to be in Manila“I honestly thank you for having us out here again. I’m continuously amazed that I get to do this. This is ridiculous; I’m having a press conference halfway around the world… Hopefully we get to see you guys at these shows and you guys will have a good time because I know we will.”

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His concert began at around 9 in the evening at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.  Everybody was alive and cheering for Cook as  he entered the stage clad in all-black.  He started the night with a song from his latest album released June 2011, “Circadian” and “Heroes” with a “Champagne Supernova” snippet by the Oasis followed by “Mr. Sensitive” which were both from his 2008 self-titled album.

Before his next song, Cook said, “Manila, are you ready to have some fun tonight?”(as if they are not having the time of their lives yet.) He then performed “Declaration” (2008) and he also sang “If I leave here tomorrow…”- the first line of “Freebird” which is a song by Lynyrd Skynyrd. His fifth song was “The Last Goodbye,” one of the two singles from his second album, This Loud Morning.

Cook mentioned that they are working on a new album which made him ask he crowd “If you guys are okay with it, can we play one of these new songs tonight?” The crowd screaming in approval, he performed “From Here To Zero” which was the first live version of the song.

Then they performed “Hard To Believe” and “I Did It For You.” The crowd’s energy delighted Cook as he said, “You guys are incredible, I have to say that!”

For his ninth songthat night, he performed “The Last Song I’ll Write For You” which is a self-released single produced last May 2012. He regularly checks the crowd in between performances, “So are you good? Are we doing good?” He then sang “Paper Heart” and one of his hit singles from his self-titled album, “Come Back To Me.”

He reminisced back to his first visit in Manila and said, “So, we are very happy to be back in Manila. Thank you so much for having us. Our first time was in 2009. We shared the stage with a good friend of mine, who I understand has blossomed into quite the actor around here, Mr. David Archuleta."

“This is far removed from our last show in Manila. Any time anyone asks me about what's your favorite show you've done, I always tell this story. Forgive me, it's a bit long,” said Cook.

He continued, "So, I always say, we went off to Manila, the Philippines. And what I see is this amazing view...looked out over roughly a hundred thousand people and I thought, wow, half-way around the world to a place I've never been before and all these people are singing my songs back to me, very strange. So, thank you for that!"

His story was then followed by “Goodbye To The Girl” and his 2008 hit single, “Light On.” He even paused in the middle of the song to hear the crowd sing the lyrics back to him which was quite a scene.

For his fourteenth song, he performed “Rock And Roll” which is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. He also helped with the drums before ending the song and he looked like he was really having a whole lottafun playing with it. Which brings us to his next song, “Whole Lotta Love” also by Led Zeppelin – he sang the first verse and skipped the next two verses and of course, he sang the chorus.

It was then followed by “Bar-Ba-Sol” which was his hit single released April of 2009. After that David Cook took a bow and they left the stage but no one was fooled, they all knew that the show wasn’t over.

For his encore set, he performed his genius hit remake, “Always Be My Baby.” Philippines’ Pop Rock Princess, YengConstantino surprised the crowd when she entered the stage and did a duet with him. Cook was astounded by her voice and praised her, “Wow! What a voice! I wish I could sing that well!”

He then performed an acoustic version of “Fade Into Me” which was his second single from his second album. And then his last performance was “Rapid Eye Movement,” and he even played the drums to finish off his performance with a loud bang! Thanks to Dayly Entertainment for making this event possible.