Li Ronghao laments he's old, but his concert fans tell a different story
PUBLISHED ONOctober 20, 2019 4:30 AMByWong Xue Min
For someone who constantly brought up his age throughout his concert and described himself as an old person, Li Ronghao's audience was ironically rather young.
Fans of the singer-songwriter at the Singapore Indoor Stadium last night (Oct 19) largely consisted of people in their 20s and below.
His popularity with young fanboys and fangirls recalls a Shawn Mendes or K-pop concert.
Fangirls behind me could be heard screaming his name hysterically while fanboys showered compliments on the 34-year-old, calling him "handsome!" frequently.
At one point, upon being interrupted by a fan shouting at him, Ronghao cheekily responded, "I'm an old person. Can you not break my train of thought?"
He seemed pleasantly surprised and amused by the ardent show of support at this stop of his If I Were Young concert tour, remarking that Singapore fans seemed much more "high" as compared to the last time he visited in 2017.
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One fan explained why age was not a barrier.
"His singing is really from the heart," said student Larissa Lim, 21.
And sing from the heart he did, as the Chinese star, who recently married Taiwanese singer-actress Rainie Yang, churned out enthusiastic performances one after another.
His soulful vocals in ballads such as Quit Smoking left the crowd in hushed silence. Meanwhile, the intense guitar riffs in songs such as King of Comedy left everyone headbanging along with him.
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During Ear, Ronghao skilfully played the piano while blindfolded, relying only on touch and sound.
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Playful elements were added to his cover of Childhood, an old favourite here. The singer swopped out lyrics with random words such as "meow meow" and "ha ha", and made the audience follow along, drawing much laughter.
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His strong and energetic performances put to rest any worries about his physical fitness. Ronghao had dropped 8kg within a month while preparing for this tour by eating only one meal a day.
In fact, he seemed fitter as a result, barely breaking a sweat last night.
If anything, Ronghao seemed to have boundless energy as he teased and interacted with fans like they were longtime friends.
He joked that he liked Singapore so much that he delayed his flight out of Singapore today — by one hour.
Near the end of the concert, he spotted a woman apparently leaving the arena and teasingly supported her, remarking that it would be best to leave now or face a huge traffic jam later.
Despite the usually serious and deadpan face he sports, Ronghao quickly established a warm and comfortable relationship with his audience through effortless humour and casual demeanour.
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Perhaps this was why Rainie fell in love with him?
The next stop of the If I Were Young concert tour is in Taipei on Oct 26.