Contrary to what others may believe, Carly Rae Jepsen is far from being a one-hit wonder. On her second visit to Manila, she proved just how worthy she is to be considered pop royalty through her adorable dance moves and hooky yet charming songs.
Kicking off the show was OPM artist Marion Aunor. In her short but sweet set, she showed off her vocal prowess through songs like “Wanna Be Bad” and “I Love You Always Forever”.
“Run Away With Me” was the perfect start to a 20-song set (TWENTY!). In place of the recognizable saxophone intro, an extended rock intro kept the audience guessing until Carly stepped onto the stage and sang the first words of her latest album’s opening track.
What followed was a big dance party with the audience feeding off of Carly’s energy through songs like “Making the Most of the Night,” “Emotion,” “Warm Blood,” and “Good Time.”
“It’s so good to finally see your pretty faces!”
In between songs like “Your Type,” “LA Hallucinations,” and “Gimmie Love,” the multi-awarded pop sensation fawned over her fans and talked about the story of each song before going right back into performing.
Perhaps the most magical moment of the night was seen during Carly’s performance of “Tiny Little Bows” wherein the pop star mimed shooting arrows to the audience until she “released” an arrow and perfectly timed streamers fell from the ceiling.
Another thing to adore about Carly is how she talks to her fans as if they’re her best friends. Before starting on “Boy Problems,” Carly revealed being heartbroken as well and talking about heartache to anyone who would listen until she realized people might be getting sick of hearing about it.
Ending the night with two of her most catchy songs, “I Really Like You” and “Call Me Maybe,” she left everyone happily overwhelmed and catching their breaths. That night, Carly Rae showed us that a real pop star doesn’t need elaborate visuals and a ton of costume changes to be good. All she really, really, really, really, really, really needs is a stage and a microphone.