Boyz II Men did not disappoint. In fact, they were awesome. We went for their Jan 26th show. They sang songs that everyone knew very well - including On Bended Knees, Water Runs Dry, Four Seasons of Loneliness, A Song for Mama, Doin’ Just Fine, I’ll Make Love to You and End of the Road. They also belted out a coupla tracks from their latest album The Remedy, such as Perfect Love Song and You Don’t Love Me.

I don’t know how many had heard the new songs before, but I’m sure everybody was familiar with their old, timeless tunes. The stage was a simple one, unlike Chinese concerts where there are usually elaborate decos and set-ups. There was a table with bottles of drinking water placed on it, which made it look as if there’d be a press conference after the show or something. Oh by the way, Harith Iskandar came to watch, too. I saw several people managed to have a photo taken with him as well.

On Bended Knees was the second song of the night. They did a ’semi-a capella‘ version of the song as intro, much to the delight of the audience. I was like “This is it! It’s live right here!” - I couldn’t believe it. A number of fans even gave them a standing ovation at the end of the song. We loved it. At the beginning of A Song for Mama, they got the audience to call their mom using their mobiles. I wonder how many actually did, but I didn’t lah.

They also distributed flowers to their fans during I’ll Make Love to You. Needless to say that got scores of (mostly) screaming ladies up on their feet. Their dance was of course nowhere near Rain’s (ok that’s a stupid comparison anyway) but we weren’t there for those things. After they had sung one of their new songs, one of them said “Ok that was our new song. Now, we’re gonna do something old”. Imagine the noise generated by their fans.

Their powerful vocals were the same ones we first heard many, many years ago. Despite having been in showbiz for 15 years, they could still strut their stuff like they haven’t aged. Funnily throughout the first half of the concert they addressed the crowd as ‘Kuala Lumpur’, when we were actually in Genting, Pahang. It was only after a short break (during which the stage was lit with beautiful ’starry’ LEDs) that they realized the mistake. But they were cool about it. ‘Malaysia’ was used thereafter.

The last song before the encore was End of The Road. It was one of those tracks that you could relate so well, that you used to sing along to, that would ring in your head for days, that you’d just never get tired of! Fans chanted “We want more!” after the end of the song, to which Boyz II Men responded with Motownphilly. But before that, they made them sing Happy Birthday for one of their crew members, who was celebrating his birthday that day. I had a time of my life watching the live performances of my favorite songs. We braced the thick mist and drove back home right after the show.

P/s: Obviously One Sweet Day couldn’t be done without Mariah Carey. Even if it could, it just wouldn’t be the same!

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