Christina Perri is soft, sincere, steely

Christina Perri shared a piece of herself with each song.

The only way she deals with “heavy feelings,” Christina Perri said, is to put them into song. This was apparent in her recent concert at the Smart Araneta Coliseum: A slew of pop tunes about love, the fears that come with it and the many different ways it could fail.

“This one is about an a*****e; there’s [no other way] to put it,” the American singer-songwriter said, giggling, of “Butterfly,” in which she rued about being caught up in “lies and blinded by a lover’s sideways smiles.”

In “The Words,” she sang of the nagging sense of uncertainty that one gets before confessing his or her love to someone.

First time in PH

“It’s terrifying; we don’t know if they’ll love us back,” Perri told the crowd of mostly young girls, who shrieked and professed their love for the artist every chance they got.

Visiting the country for the first time as part of her ongoing “Head or Heart” world tour, Perri truly shone in simple, piano-driven ballads, soared with her vocals that sounded haunting when she went soft; and strong, almost metallic, when going for glory notes. More importantly, her delivery was sincere and passionate, as if sharing a piece of herself with each line.

Charming, too

She was just as charming when tackling more upbeat, rock-tinged songs like “Run,” “Burning Gold,” “Arms,” “Lonely Child,” and the anthemic concert opener, “Shot Me in the Heart,” which had her prancing and tapping the tambourine.

Aside from her original compositions, Perri delighted the audience with covers of “A Sky Full of Stars” by Coldplay and “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran, whom she worked with on the perky and folksy “Be My Forever.” The buoyant mood and lyrics couldn’t be any more different from the rest of her repertoire.

“This is perhaps the happiest song that I’ve written in my entire life. Yes, I’ve been happy before,” Perri quipped, drawing laughter. “I want you all to smile as big as you can.”

Doubtless, the highest points of the show, mounted by Midas Promotions, were her three biggest hits thus far. Phones and cameras shot up when Perri sang “A Thousand Years,” from the popular film franchise “Twilight.” There was the “very personal” work about self-forgiveness, “Human,” which she said she at first didn’t intend to release. “I wrote it when I was feeling stuck down in life,” she related.

First hit

Prompting the loudest sing-along of the night was “Jar of Hearts,” Perri’s first hit; the one that brought her from waiting tables in a Los Angeles café to performing on different stages around the world.

“I’ve been wanting to come here for five years. My heart is exploding right now. Thank you … salamat,” she said, eliciting wild applause. “This is so magical. I wouldn’t have imagined being so welcome and loved here.”

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