"You are an awesome audience. Thank you Manila," says Rihanna (left) as she bid goodbye to her Pinoy fans after her back-to-back concert with Chris Brown (right). The concert organized by MTV Philippines took place last Sunday, November 16, at The Fort Open Field in Taguig City.

Noel Orsal

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Rihanna and Chris Brown in a smashing concert at The Fort

Nerisa Almo

Tuesday, November 18, 2008
06:47 AM

International singers Rihanna and Chris Brown gave an early Christmas treat to Filipino fans through a back-to-back concert last Sunday, November 16, at The Fort Open Field in Taguig City.

More than 70,000 followers filled the concert venue to show their support for the two young R&B singers who arrived in the country last Saturday from a cancelled concert in Indonesia. There were still hundreds of avid fans who failed to get in the venue, but still managed to enjoy the show by listening to the songs of the international music artists.

The show started exactly at the scheduled time with Chris Brown appearing on stage with a cover on his face. In the background were initials in bold-lighted letters.

The 19-year-old pop singer-songwriter showed off his dance moves with his hit songs like "Forever," "Kiss, Kiss" "Gimme That," "Picture Perfect." Then, after his first set, Chris engaged in a showdown among his crew members who grouped themselves based on gender.

Of course, Chris did not only prove his talent in breakdancing, he also serenaded the audience with his R&B songs like "Say Good Bye," and "With You." He also performed the duet song "No Air" with the recorded voice of Jordin Sparks.

The Grammy-nominated artists also paid homage to the King of Pop Michael Jackson by singing a few of his hits while imitating his dance moves. The tribute included songs such as "Rock With You," "Billy Jean," and "Thriller."

After Chris Brown's performance, fireworks entertained the thousands of spectators during the 30-minute break.

As the second set began, stairs slowly emerged on the stage with Rihanna standing on top. She wore an all-black outfit—composed of a corset over a one-piece bikini and knee-high boots—which made her a total rock chic as she sang "Disturbia."

The fun continued as the 20-year-old performed her dance songs, "Pon de Replay," "Don't Stop the Music," "Break It Off," and "Shut Up and Drive."

Then, in the middle of the set, the lights faded out, and Rihanna was seated on the stairs with her backup singers. She thanked the approximately 70,000 people who came to see her concert with Chris Brown.

Rihanna got the audience to sing with her when she started her mellow songs such as "Unfaithful," "Hate That I Love You So," which she originally sang with R&B singer Neyo, and "Rehab" (co-written with Justin Timberlake).

After more than 10 songs, Rihanna bid good night to the audience to signal the end of the show. But she appeared again on stage after a few minutes for the encore. She sang "Take a Bow," currently one of the most popular Rihanna songs in the country.

Before the finale, Rihanna gave a message to her Filipino audience. She said: "Unfortunately, somehow this is the end of our show. I know, right. You have the whole show to scream tonight, you gotta scream on this song. All right, I had so much fun tonight with you guys. You are an awesome audience. Thank you, Manila!"

Then, she introduced her last song by saying, "This next song is special to me." As the familiar instrumental of the song played, the spectators gave their last screams for Rihanna. The crowd sang with the R&B singer for the song "Umbrella," which did not only made her famous in the U.S. but also in other countries. Various music artists such as Mandy Moore, Marie Digby, and even local celebrity KC Concepcion have done their own rendition of this song.

The fans will definitely remember this concert because Chris Brown joined Rihanna on her last song, which was the remix of "Umbrella," titled "Cinderella." And to make it more memorable, the two hugged each other in the end, making their fans scream louder. This scene just showed that the two are really "playing good music" together.

During the concert, PEP spotted several local celebrities: couples John Estrada and Priscilla Meirelles, Paolo Contis and Isabel Oli, John Lloyd Cruz and Liz Uy, and Janno Gibbs and Bing Loyzaga with their two daughters.

Other stars, like Sam Milby, Vhong Navarro, Patrick Garcia, Bubbles Paraiso, Raymond Gutierrez, Mel Soriano, Sam Concepcion, and Karylle, also had fun watching Rihanna and Chris Brown in this one-night concert staged by MTV Philippines.

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