For the 4th time, Avril Lavigne rocks Manila

By: Julliane Love de Jesus - 10 years ago

MANILA, Philippines—It was Avril Lavigne’s fourth tour in Manila but nothing’s changed and she stayed youthful as ever—except she performed onstage with Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger, her new husband.

The Grammy award-winning Canadian pop-punk sensation came back to the Philippines to once again rock the Smart Araneta Coliseum Monday night in celebration of her fifth studio album.

Kept a mystery to all Black Stars, as Lavigne fondly calls her fans, Kroeger did not join her in the stage until suddenly a raspy male voice dominated her tunes.

Avril Lavigne

Donning a plain black top and pants, the 38-year-old Nickelback vocalist humbly entered the scene, welcomed by a brief yet warm hug by his rock star wife.

From her self-titled album released last year, the Canadian couple then belted together to Lavigne’s latest single, “Let Me Go.”

Before parting onstage, Kroeger lauded the star of the night soon as they sang the last notes of the song, saying “Ladies and gentlemen, Avril Lavigne!”

In turn, the 29-year-old Lavigne gave her husband another hug and sheepishly uttered, “Bye, hubby.”

Lavigne and Kroeger tied the knot sometime July last year but kept it a secret to the public.

The May-December relationship was preceded by the divorce of Lavigne, then 25, with rock band Sum 41 lead Deryck Whibley after three years of marriage.

Forever young

At exactly an hour after the starting time at 8 p.m., lights dimmed as a video clip voiced by Lavigne herself played, officially kicking off the pop punk princess’ 2014 Manila tour.

Spruced up in an all-black blazer and tutu skirt embellished with Hello Kitty brooches, Lavigne emerged on stage and sang to one of her newest tracks, “Hello Kitty,” followed by her hit, “Girlfriend” while holding an all-glittered pink microphone.

Amid the austere set up, bright pink lights, hearts, skulls and stars adorned the stage as Lavigne, now dressed in black muscle tee and tights, finally performed two of her latest “Peter Pan-esque” hits “Rock ‘n Roll” and “Here’s to Never Growing Up.”

Giving the fans a little throwback, Lavigne performed “He Wasn’t,” “Don’t Tell Me,” “I Always Get What I Want” and “My Happy Ending,” from her 2004 “Under My Skin” album.

Before switching from one song to another, she would inject sweet words to the Filipino crowd, of the few are “You guys are way too much for me” and the almost-mandatory remark “Thank you so much for being here tonight.”

All throughout the show, fans were all on their feet as they sang, most of the time—screamed, along the upbeat tracks of Lavigne, who also played the guitar in some songs.

After the playful aura of Lavigne went on when she sang “Complicated,” a lull filled the dome for a few minutes. The next thing the crowd saw was a dark stage accompanied by a clip of heavy metal singer Marilyn Manson.

Lavigne then came out the stage wearing a black gothic dress and tulle cape accentuated with a devil’s horn head band. She and Manson virtually shrieked together, leading to the song “Bad Girl.”

Close to the pseudo end of the concert, Lavigne belted more familiar songs “Losing Grip,” and “Sk8er Boi,” drawing even more loud cheers from the wild crowd.

Lavigne said good bye. But in a little while, she eagerly came back to please her fans who literally stomped on the grounds of the coliseum while chanting her name, demanding for an encore.

This time sporting a bunny ears headdress, the pop punk princess performed three of her biggest hits “What The Hell,” “Smile,” and “I’m With You.”

As the end of the concert draws near, Lavigne interacted more with her fans in the middle of each song, passing on to the crowd the mic and asking them to sing in chorus.

Before serenading the concertgoers with her final song, “I’m With You,” she said “I want to dedicate this song to all the Black Stars of Manila tonight.”

Lavigne, unlike any other international acts performing in Manila, did not give her fans a “thank you” and “I love you” in the vernacular but what marked everyone inside the big dome was when she warmly said, “You’re the reason I smile, Manila,” to cap off the night.

Not only the Canadian singer-songwriter, but each of her Filipino fan walked out of the coliseum with a smile after she gave them the performance they deserved.