KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 1 — Silver-tongued Taiwanese crooner Eric Chou returned to Kuala Lumpur for not one, but two nights on his Odyssey Returns tour.
Last year, demand was so high for his KL stop for his Odyssey tour that an extra night was added to what was supposed to be a one-night only show.
Were Malaysian fans just as eager to see him return?
From the nearly-packed venue, which was Axiata Arena, I would say yes.
Young and excited
I was surprised to see how young the crowd was with roughly half being in their 20s or maybe I’m the one who is old.
Truthfully, I found out about Eric Chou from Shazam years ago, while waiting for someone in a tiny café in Subang on a rainy evening, curious to know what song was playing on the radio.
The song was I Loved You and it’s still one of my favourite tunes; perhaps it’s because I associate it with that long ago, sad rainy day.
Perhaps I shouldn’t have been that surprised seeing the young crowd as Chou’s soothing tenor voice and pleasing falsetto would appeal to all ages (unless you’re anti-ballad like some people I know).
Taiwanese media have dubbed Chou “king of the lovelorn people” for his talent for writing (and performing) wistful ballads but he opened the concert with the upbeat English track That’s All complete with backup dancers.
I certainly wasn’t expecting it but it did get the crowd hyped up.
Speaking of the crowd, I was amused to hear male fans shouting his name and cheering.
“I love you bro!”
“You’re so handsome!”
@ernamh Snippet of Eric Chou singing 怎麼了 (What’s on your mind) as fans enthusiastically join in #ericchou
original sound - Erna Mahyuni - Erna Mahyuni
Choir in the audience
Still, the crowd was most excited when Chou sang his most well-known hits including the smash Unbreakable Love — so popular that even K-pop singers have covered it.
Chou was engaging throughout, encouraging his fans to sing along or sing parts of songs for him and playfully interspersing heart gestures with casual banter.
Also on the setlist (among others) was How Have You Been, What’s On Your Mind and his own version of a song he wrote for singer A-Lin, Best Friend.
Despite performing over 20 songs in a span of around 2.5 hours, Chou never seemed to tire and even had a short segment where he sang snippets of songs he didn’t get to perform in full.
Maybe I cried a little when, yes, he sang the chorus of I Loved You — which I hadn’t expected at all.
The staging of the concert, with large screens and various revolving platforms so the audience would get better views as Chou performed on stage, was efficient while somewhat justifying the ticket price.
To end the night, Chou performed his 2017 hit, The Chaos After You.
”如果你要走也帶我走 (If you want to leave, take me with you)”, he sang.
I don’t doubt Chou’s fans would leave with memories of a very pleasant night.
