Highlights From Ed Sheeran's Concert In Singapore: Surprise Mandarin Performance With Guest Star JJ Lin
British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran is no stranger to Singapore, having wowed audiences since 2015. And with each visit, he seems to outdo himself. His sold-out concert at the National Stadium marked his fifth appearance, and boy, did he raise the bar!
Photo from Hoong Qi Hao
The evening kicked off with fellow British singer-songwriter Calum Scott, who took to the stage at 6:30 pm. Throughout his thirty-minute performance, the ex-Britain’s Got Talent participant sang his popular ballads, including Dancing On My Own and You Are The Reason. He even charmed the crowd by exclaiming "Huat ah!" as a cheerful Chinese New Year greeting.
Photo from Hoong Qi Hao
Dressed in his signature black +-=÷x Tour T-shirt, proudly displaying "Singapore," Ed Sheeran hit the stage at 7:45 pm and performed the first song, Tides, to a crowd of 60,000 people. Like all his typical live performances, he performed all by himself, using only his guitar and loop station. For those who might not know, a loop station is a tool that records and plays back musical performances instantly. The singer-songwriter shared: “Everything you hear tonight is completely live, there is no backing track whatsoever.It’s all made live on the spot, controlled by my feet. Once it is deleted, it will not be the same tomorrow.” This makes all of his concerts one of a kind.
Photo from GirlStyle Singapore
However, he didn't perform solo for the entire show. For his current tour, he chose to bring along a band to support songs that required additional musicians. He also featured violinist Alicia Enstrom during the rendition of Galway Girl, adding her lively playing to capture the song's spirited fiddle-playing character.
Sheeran also performed on a 360-degree rotating stage, ensuring that fans seated anywhere could enjoy a good view.
Photo from Hoong Qi Hao
One of the highs of his concert was he performed Happier – a song that wasn't originally included in the setlist, for the first time in five years as he heard that it was a popular song amongst the fans in Singapore.
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Towards the end of the concert, Sheeran delighted the crowd by announcing a special guest appearance. Much to everyone's excitement, the guest turned out to be none other than homegrown Mandopop singer JJ Lin. Together, they performed a duet of Lin’s 2015 hit Twilight, with Sheeran singing his parts in Mandarin – another unexpected treat for the audience.
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Sheeran posted on Instagram, giving fans a glimpse of the collaboration through behind-the-scenes footage. In his caption, he wrote: "I had the honour of having the amazing @jjlin on stage last night in Singapore. Me and the band had learnt one of his biggest hits, Twilight, for the show, but because it was entirely in Mandarin, I felt like I didn’t want to mess it up, or be disrespectful by by getting it wrong so the original plan was for us to play and JJ to sing."
"10 mins before I went on JJ said he would sit and teach me some of the Mandarin and it was so fun to do live. My first time speaking and singing in Mandarin and deffo not the last." He added.
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JJ Lin also improvised some lyrics, singing "Happy Birthday" to Ed Sheeran (who would turn 33 the next day on February 17th) in tune with the song and also sang "Singapore loves you."
Photo from Mark Surridge
It was truly a magical night filled with surprises.
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