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Totally worth it! This sums up my trip to Singapore to watch Gwen Stefani’s “The Sweet Escape” concert.  The decision to go to the City State to watch Gwen was just a back-up plan in case Hong Kong fizzles out, and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  Singapore was a great crowd, no wonder Gwen loved coming back, she said she’d been in the country for 4 times already.

 

Last August 14, me and my friends from High School were all excited to watch Gwen at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.  During the day, we went to Bugis, a shopping district that reminded me of Eastwood, Libis so we can claim our tickets for Sistic (Singapore's Ticketnet).  It was a block away from our hotel so we knew we had ample time to go home and leave early for the concert venue.  We all wanted to go back to Sentosa and ride the ski lift and do the luge so we left Bugis early and went back to the hotel, just as we arrived, the rain poured, so the trip to Sentosa was shelved and we decided to just go the VivoCity mall at the Harbour Front since it was a transit station towards the stadium.  The subway ride to the stadium was exciting, being in the bustle of Singapore’s evening rush hour provided the added adrenalin.  After the subway ride, a taxi ride was necessary but it was difficult to flag one because of the rush hour, we also spotted some Australians haggling for a ride to the stadium and it felt like we were on an Amazing Race since it was now past 7pm and the show was to start in an hour.  Our group split into two since cabs can only accommodate 4 people in a car otherwise they will be fined by the Transport Authority.  Our cab unknowingly made the wrong detour that we arrived later than usual, 750 we stepped out of the cab and went directly to the North Entrance where everyone was in, having security checks.

 

As we entered the stadium, it was not yet filled, as with the rest of Singapore, it was clean and organized, our seats were not bad (pictures to be posted soon).  We sat next to two Singaporeans whom we asked to take our pictures, they gamely agreed and asked if we were from the Philippines, we told them yes and asked them how they knew, they said we had an accent, I was stumped, I never thought Filipinos had an accent that gave it away for foreigners to notice.

 

The stadium started to fill up and the spectators were eagerly awaiting for Gwen to show up.  The lights dimmed and everyone screamed their lungs out.  Two Harajuku girls went straight to the spectators area as if running away from something, the police eventually caught them and brought them to the stage.  A police escort followed and there she was wearing sequined black stripes, the crowd was going crazy when the cue for the song began, as if Akon was there, WooHoo weee hoo(Sweet escape) started to play and Gwen began to sing, with everyone standing, she quickly blurted out: Singapore!!! (to rousing cheers from the audience).  Hit after hit, Gwen wowed the crowd with her stage presence and humility, she always acknowledged the crowd and supporters for coming to the show and said her appreciation for their unending loyalty all these years.  I’ve never been to a concert where the artist thanked her fans profusely, this shows Gwen’s genuine appreciation for the people that made her the global superstar that she is.  Among my favorite parts during the concert was her rendition of “4 in the morning”, “Hollaback Girl”, “Wind it up” and “Cool”, wherein Gwen surprised everyone by climbing up towards the audience and racing towards the corners of the stadium, to the deafening cheers from everyone.  The Harajuku girls were impressive as always, too bad Gwen did not sing my favorite song from her L.A.M.B. album – Harajuku Girls.

            When the lights dimmed and everyone was cheering for another curtain call, me and my friends decided to transfer to a nearer part of the stadium, and to our surprise, nobody stopped us, no burly guards, only polite ushers who gave way to our desire to be closer to the stage, at that point we were 10 meters from the stage and Gwen revealed her final ensemble along with singing “Watcha Waitin For”, everyone was jumping and having a great time and it was a fitting conclusion to a very successful concert.  As everyone was filing out, most were still talking about the concert, most had only good words for the performance.  My friend Diane, who is the most avid fan among us, already proposed stalking Gwen in the hotel where she is billeted so we can get her autograph, we agreed but the problem was, none of us knew which hotel to go to, Gwen could be anywhere in the numerous upscale hotels of Singapore, was she at the Fullerton, Raffles, ??? So that plan was shelved. 

            While walking aimlessly and waiting for a cab, I noticed some people looking at something and shrieking girls were there, it was a backstage encore of Gwen’s dancers, I told my friends, Gwen MIGHT come out too, so we hurriedly went there where the crowd was gathering and bodyguards were everywhere.  Hoping to see Gwen in the flesh, we also joined the waiting crowd, and one by one, Harajuku Girls were filing out, I instantly got my pen and paper and handed it to my tall friend, she’ll handle that while I handle my camera phone.  Two bitchy ladies were in front of us, and we suspected that they were Pinoys too, Maryann called them “Bruha”, but they didn’t react, so they might not be Pinoys afterall, but soon, I overheard them saying – “Baka hindi na lumabas, uwi na tayo”. Nye, Pinoy nga sila. And by the time they left, lo and behold, Gwen Stefani stepped out and waved to everyone, she whispered something to her bodyguard, and he nodded.  And to my surprise she was going straight at our direction, my friend handed our paper and she gamely signed it.  Gwen then went to the other side where Diane was and Leellian(my other friend) even held Gwen’s arm to the shrieks of everyone.  Gwen then went straight back at our place, good thing Maryann had the presence of mind to turn our paper backwards so Gwen signed it another time, this time, Gwen lost her pen so Maryann handed her MY ballpen, my own pen – a simple black Sierra Inoxcrom from Spain that I’ve been using in my last days in college, the same pen I used to fill out my Nursing Board Exam application, US Visa application, enough of the pen.  Gwen got it and removed the cap, then signed our paper once again, but sadly she didn’t return my pen, but still we had two signatures.  We all screamed “thank you Gwen”, “we love you, Gwen”, and she just smiled back, she was really pretty and taller in person and was svelte in a Louis Vuitton fedora and a jumpsuit.  All this encounter happened in 1minute and 25 seconds as my video suggested.  Knowing too well that this experience was too good to be true, we were disappointed that we did not bring any CDs, well then again, it was unexpected, serendipitous if I may say.  I’ve been a Gwen Stefani fan for quite sometime and I loved her first album, after seeing her in person and realizing her genuine affinity with her fans, I now worship her for her humility and her worth as an artist.