Sam and Nadine give Indonesians a taste of Pinoy music

Sam Concepcion (left) and Nadine Lustre

JAKARTA—Nadine Lustre and Sam Concepcion initially considered going for a duet—one that’s already well-known, perhaps—for their number at Lazada’s recent seventh anniversary concert dubbed “Super Par7y.”

But being in a foreign country, at a musical event being attended by artists, celebrities and fans from across Southeast Asia, the two realized that it was the perfect opportunity to introduce their own music to a new audience.

“We thought it was better if we performed original songs, so that people here in Indonesia can get to know us,”  Nadine told select Filipino reporters, shortly after wrapping up her morning rehearsal session at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition.

“I had promised myself that, from now on, I would start singing my own songs, instead of doing covers … I want everyone to hear my songs,” stressed the 25-year-old star, who considers setting foot on the same stage as headliner, Dua Lipa, and over a dozen Southeast Asian musicians, an “amazing opportunity.”

Dua Lipa

“This is something big for me,” she said of being part of the show organized by the popular Southeast Asian e-commerce company, or online shop.

For Sam, who has been singing and dancing for 17 years now, presenting one’s authentic self is imperative. “We want to show the people what we  do as artists, and let them know what our music sounds like and how it differs from others,” the 26-year-old performer said.

It was showtime later that night. And the austere, industrial-style stage they practiced on has now turned into a festive sprawl of pink and purple: massive screen backdrops displayed streams of trippy visuals; laser beams darted every which way across the venue; chains of spotlights oscillated and fanned out; and, every so often, smoke geysered from the two converging runways.

Sam emerged onstage, skipping and dancing to “No Limitations,” a six-year-old dance-R&B single he never gets tired of busting out during shows. “I wanted a party song … something that draws energy from the crowd and gets them pumped up,” he said.

Nadine admitted that the idea of performing in an international show like this one was “nerve-wracking.” “It’s a different country, and the stage is amazing … It’s my first time performing on a stage this big and grand,” she admitted.

And if she were, indeed, nervous, Nadine didn’t let it stop her from enjoying the experience. She sang her song “St4y Up,” a sultry, more contemporary-sounding R&B bop, which she spruced up with a more robust and upbeat arrangement to suit the show’s crackling atmosphere.

She opened her number from a suspended platform, shimmying seductively with two backup dancers, before slinking down the catwalk, where she and Sam mashed up their songs. “I have performed with Nadine a lot, but this is, I believe, the first time where it’s just the two of us,” Sam said. “We always make sure that we have fun onstage.”

Aside from the 5,000 invited revelers and guests at the venue, netizens from the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and the rest of Indonesia were able to watch their favorite musical acts show off their wares through livestreaming on the Lazada app, which recorded over 6.5 million views. The show was likewise aired on the local television network SCTV.

Lazada dubbed this merging of entertainment and shopping as “shoppertainment.” And “Super Par7y” is only one of the various projects the company is cooking up as part of this  new campaign, according to an executive at a press conference. The online shop has also launched LazGames, a series of games that allows shoppers to earn vouchers.

“We’re offering an immersive experience in which our customers can shop, watch and play,” Lazada Indonesia’s chief marketing officer Monika Rudijono related. “We hope our customers see Lazada as a ‘shoppertainment’ destination with great assortment, discounts, in-app games and entertaining video content and live streams.”

The two-hour concert—hosted by Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach, Indonesian celebrity Nadya Hutagalung, Singapore-based television presenter Allan Wu and Vietnamese comedian Tran Tranh—was brisk, with one performance seamlessly transitioning to the next.

Clad in a baggy pink suit, Dua, the night’s main act, delighted the fans with a repertoire that was strategically divided throughout the night.

The British pop star, now a two-time Grammy winner, performed such hits as “Blow Your Mind (Mwah),” “Be the One,” “IDGAF” and “New Rules.”

Meanwhile, standouts among the Southeast Asian roster were Indonesia’s Agnez Mo, whose act fused rock-laden dance ditties, quirky fashion and powerful singing; Vietnam’s Dong Nhi and Indonesia’s Kallula had good portions of the audience standing up and dancing to their thumping beats; and Thailand’s UrboyTJ, who rode the flow of his melodic hip-hop hit, “Rebound.”

Toward the end of the concert, Nadine and Sam joined their fellow artists from the region in singing “happy birthday” to Lazada.