Adam Lambert in Manila

Clad in leather with his signature dark eyeliner and edgy hairstyle, Adam Lambert took to the stage at the Mall of Asia concert grounds on 10.10.10 (October 10th, 2010), and wowed a crowd of 18,000 people. From his amazing backup dancers, to his talented band, the show was a spectacle of theatricality, musicality, and good old-fashioned glamorous fun.

The repertoire included Adam’s songs off his debut album, For Your Entertainment – specifically his hits: “Whataya Want From Me,” “For Your Entertainment,” and “If I Had You.”

One of the highlights of the show was an intimate performance of his moving, motivational rock ballad, Aftermath, which began with an important piece of advice care of Adam himself: “To love anyone else, you have to first…love yourself.” Through the performance, he sat on a stool in the middle of the stage and broke the song down into a charged up acoustic, and the crowd lovingly sang along with him. “Just remember, you are not alone in the aftermath,” he sang to the hopeful and hopeless alike.

Sweet, and conversational, Adam made it clear early on in the show that it was all about – and for the glory of, love, proving that he has heart, soul, and passion. “This show is about love,” he declared, smiling at his audience, “Both the dark side of it, and the light side…You see, sometimes in love, it’s not just about answers, but it’s about asking the right questions.” It was at that point when he jumped into an epic rendition of his hit, “Whataya Want From Me,” which generated a surge of energy and cheers from the crowd.

Despite the venue’s limitations in terms of production design, Adam was able to make a major impact with his vocal prowess alone. His deliciously risqué dance moves, and the quintessential intimate moment between his bassist (Tommy) and himself ten minutes into the show, were just the cherry on top of the most glamorous cake.

The last song on the list was a 10-minute long performance of his latest hit “If I Had You,” and as the intro began, Adam wanted to know: “Manila, are you having fun?!” He said, pointing his microphone toward the audience. Screams erupted from the crowd, and he grinned, “I said, Manila, are you having fun?!” he repeated, receiving even more enthusiastic cheers of agreement.

“The message I want you to walk home with tonight is that no matter how much money, fame, success, or sex you have in your life,” he declared, “it really doesn’t mean much unless it’s connected with love.” He screamed, “Love. That’s right people, come on!” Then the song began, and the crowd went crazy.

Bows, thank you’s, and I love you’s were exchanged, but as he exited the stage the audience began to cheer, “More!” and a few minutes later Adam was back on singing his final song (his encore): the infamous “Mad World.” In a more up-beat rendition of his popular Tears For Fears cover, Adam wowed the crowd one last time, then the lights dimmed on his final high note, he took one last bow, and walked off.

As the crowds dispersed, some concertgoers could be heard enthusing amongst themselves: “He sounded so amazing, and he’s got such an awesome personality too!” Although the show ended much too soon, after a performance like that it is impossible to deny Adam’s musical talent, as well as his stage presence. Hopefully he comes back soon to share more of his greatness. For now, he came for our entertainment, he strutted his stuff, he treated us like surefire winners, and he gave us what we wanted from him: love.

After all, all we need in this world is some love, right?

By Alex Romualdez,
For Yahoo! Southeast Asia