Jacky Cheung, 62, Wows S’pore Concert Crowd By Doing Same Perfect Split He Did In Macau

#1 His concert started right on time

We aren’t exaggerating when we say the only thing more punctual than a Jacky Cheung concert is a Japanese train. Right on the dot at 8pm, his stage burst into music and we were shortly treated to the first notes of his distinctive velvety baritone belting out the upbeat ‘Keep This Moment’. Even with Jacky’s superstar status, he doesn’t let his fans wait. We stan this professional king.

#2 He is probably the only 62-year-old who looks so good in skintight leather pants 

Jacky turned 62 six days ago on 10 July. As he launched into his song ‘Another 10 Years’, an AI video montage played, starting with a young Jacky morphing into an old man with the rhetorical question: “How many more decades will there be?”

It was a sobering thought for everyone in the house, though Jacky gave the crowd a timely reminder by sharing: “Age is just a number. For example, I wanted to hold a concert [at my age]. So I did.”

He didn’t just hold a standard issue concert, though. While some 60-something folks we know are wearing 3XL-sized clothing from Uniqlo, Jacky is dancing, gyrating and singing on stage in well-fitted suits and skintight leather pants that look like they have been spray-painted on him (no, seriously, just look at him). And he’s going to do this for 11 nights. If the fashion police gave out public service awards, Jacky would be the first to receive one.

#3 He did a perfect split on stage... again.

To prove his point that he is 62 going on 26, Jacky performed a full split on stage and popped right back up, grinning. It sounds difficult enough, made even more impressive by the fact that Jacky also did the same thing perfectly during his first concert stop in Macau last month. It just made us reflect on how we can't even get up from a low sofa these days without taking an MC. Jacky, can you add an anti-ageing masterclass as your 12th show? Thank you.

#4 There was a 74-strong orchestra and 20 ballet dancers at the concert 

We have been to stripped-down concerts where the stage is sparse and the artiste the focus. But Jacky’s show is an extravaganza, filled with gorgeous stage sets like a vintage car, a four-storey structure where a 74-strong orchestra played, and a retro cabaret backdrop for the fun, energetic song ‘Double Trouble’. Endearingly, Jacky laboriously introduced each and every member of his orchestra, including his concert music director and pianist, our own homegrown Goh Kheng Long.

The stage is a conventional one this year, unlike Jacky’s A Classic Tour stop in 2018, which had staging in the middle of the stadium that allowed the audience to see him from every direction. But still, he paced the stage last night and stood on mounted platforms at either end so lucky concertgoers with seats there can catch a good glimpse of him.

There were also pyrotechnics, 20 ballet dancers dressed in LED light-woven outfits, and acrobatic dancers who entertained the crowd while Jacky shimmied into his next costume (we timed that he takes less than five minutes to change from suit to suit — a true pro).

#5 His voice is still heavenly 

You definitely get your money's worth watching Jacky Cheung live, because the man can sing. We felt all the intense emotions he poured into each note, not realising that over two hours had passed as we listened to him croon his hits like ‘Wait Till My Heart Aches’. The song was accompanied by a tear-jerking video played on stage, with Jacky and Shu Qi (!) acting as a couple going through the stages of birth, marriage and death. 

He also hit high notes with ease for classics such as ‘Rainy Day Breakup’, ‘Forever With You’, ‘Love is Eternal’, ‘3 Days 2 Nights’ and a special remix of ‘Kiss Goodbye’. While we preferred the original version for the latter — what’s a Jacky Cheung show without the requisite singalong to this hit? —p the crowd did spontaneously break into a phone torchlight-led karaoke rendition of ‘She Came To Listen To My Concert’.

Jacky had notably chosen to showcase his lesser-known works and more Cantonese than Mandarin songs for this tour, which he acknowledged during the concert. “Most of you know how to speak Cantonese too, right?” he teased the audience before sharing: “I feel very comfortable singing here. It feels like I’m singing at home.”

It means that you should expect less of a greatest hits concert, which may dampen some who are looking forward to this. After all, Jacky also reminisced that he had been holding concerts for over 30 years. That’s a career spanning longer than some people’s HDB flat ownership, which seems fair for him to try something different.

“This is my 10th tour. I want to hold another concert when I’m 70, will you come?” Jacky said to the crowd. And the answer? A resounding “yes!”.

Photos: UnUsUaL Entertainment