Concert review: G.E.M. X.X.X. LIVE World Tour

SINGAPORE — We honestly had no idea G.E.M. was so popular in Singapore. Even though the Hong Kong singer has seen her popularity soar — nay, skyrocket — since she participated and ultimately won second place in the Chinese reality singing competition I Am A Singer last year, we were still surprised to hear that her debut concert in Singapore sold out so quickly, she had to add a second and third show to satisfy her supporters. (And yes, both shows sold out as well.)

It seems, however, that G.E.M. herself was equally surprised. “It’s unimaginable,” the singer quipped at her first show on Friday night at the MAX Pavilion @ Singapore Expo. “I never knew I had fans in Singapore!”

Still, the 23-year-old knew exactly how to please her audience of 5,000, most of whom were more familiar with the songs she sang at I Am A Singer than her own songs. G.E.M. spent most of the evening performing her most popular songs from the competition, such as her own Bubble, as well as Beyond’s Like You, Wang Feng’s Exist, David Huang’s You Make Me Drunk, Mavis Fan’s I Want Us To Be Together and Jay Chou’s Tornado — much to her audience’s delight.

And perhaps because it was her very first time in the country, G.E.M. also made an effort to endear herself to her Singaporean fans. She thanked them repeatedly for their support, told audiences that her favourite movie as a child was Jack Neo’s I Not Stupid, and that she had made a trip to “Lau Sa Pat” (Lau Pa Sat) the previous night.

Towards the end of the show, the singer even declared that, compared to the love she’s gotten from her fans, “a boyfriend means nothing”.

But it wasn’t until the end of her concert when things began heating up. G.E.M., whose moniker stands for “Get Everybody Moving”, actually managed to get at least half of her audience standing and dancing to Cantopop tunes like WHAT HAVE U DONE and Want To Tell You.

With her enormous talent, it is a little bit of a pity that G.E.M. isn’t better known for her own songs. But then, she is also only 23. And with more than 2.3 million Facebook fans and counting, it is likely only a matter of time before she produces a stable of her own hits.

And perhaps by then, she will be able to sell out three shows at the National Stadium without surprising anyone anymore.