By Debbi Tan & Nurshurina Sariff
YouTube sensations Sam Tsui and Kurt Hugo Schneider returned to Kallang Theatre for the second time on 27 June. They promised their fans that they’ll be back for another concert, and true to their words, they did. The concert was a full house, with fans of all ages – from children to teenagers to even parents – clapping, fist pumping and grooving along to the music.
The duo and their band kicked off the performance with one of Tsui’s original, Make it Up, from his 2013 album. Tsui expresses his gratitude and appreciation to his fans in Singapore when performing the song Pompeii by Bastille. When singing the lyrics “in the city that we love”, he added, “which is Singapore” with a smile and pointed towards the audience. His Summer Pop Medley 2012, which includes mashup of songs such as What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction, Good Time by Carly Rae Jepsen, Glad You Came by The Wanted and Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye, got the audience dancing along despite the fact that Summer runs 365 days here in Singapore.
When the Disney movie “Frozen” came out, many started singing the well-known song, Let It Go. Instead of sticking to the status quo, Tsui combined Let Her Go by The Passengers with it. When this Let It Go/Let Her Go mashup was being performed, the visuals at the background changed to fallen blossoms and the entire room went silent as Tsui captivated the audiences’ attention with his phenomenal vocal.
Drenched in sweat, Tsui had to change his clothes while performing mid-way and considering how hot the weather was, we weren’t surprised. Despite running around the stage and dancing to the beat of the music, Tsui was not once out of breath. His vocals never faltered and his performance felt the same as his original covers up on YouTube. His voice was clear and fine, hitting all the right notes at the right time.
When two of the backstage crew made an appearance with tables and chairs, the audiences were left dumbfounded. It was only when two red cups were placed on the table, the audience then realised what song was to be performed next. When Tsui and Schneider were performing the Cups song, some audience members even started to mirror their actions and join in the fun.
Besides performing to a room of cheering fans, Tsui and Schneider took time off to interact with their fans by giving away free merchandise. They slingshot wristbands into the audience, trying to get it across the theatre. However, Schneider was better at it, as compared to Tsui, who only managed to sling it to the front row of audience. They both even signed a shirt for one lucky fan. “Signing of shirts are surprisingly hard,” laughed Schneider.
As the concert drew to an end, Tsui and Schneider performed the first original song they’d written, Don’t Want An Ending. Just like the lyrics to the song, “I don’t want to fall out, but we’re all out of time. I don’t want an ending”, the duo did not want the concert to end. They sat at the edge of the stage as the audiences started to sway their bodies from left to right. The concert was so good, the fans demanded for more by chanting the words “encore, encore” even though it was over. “We weren’t expecting this,” added Tsui with a smile as he returned to the stage with Schneider and performed their last song, Without You.
Both Tsui and Schneider delivered a spectacular performance. They proved that they’re more than just singers and musicians from YouTube, they are also performers. Looking at how far they’ve come – from performing in their bedroom to headlining their second Asia tour – it’s for certain that this duo is going to be the next best thing (no pun intended).
