The return of two popular Filipino concert acts on stage has grabbed headlines in major Arabic newspapers in the United Arab Emirates.
Filipino-Canadian pop singer Darren Espanto and OPM hitmaker band December Avenue performed on the Jubilee stage of Expo 2020 Dubai last Sunday and it marked their first concert since the pandemic.
A crowd-puller, with tens of thousands of Filipinos, foreign concertgoers, Expo visitors in attendance, their concert acts caught the attention of Albayan and Al Khaleej, two major Arabic newspapers in the emirates.
A report of Albayan stated in Arabic: “Not only did the audience sing with the band [December Avenue], but praised them with warm, countless rounds of applause. It seemed that this [warm support] was not expected by the band members, according to the band leader’s expression, who thanked their fans for the “high level of love”. Singer Darren Espanto likewise drew a remarkable throng of Filipinos and Expo visitors.”
Al Khaleej, on the other hand, described the acts as “a huge artistic concert at the Jubilee Theater”.
“The audience was introduced to Filipino music for a night and the event witnessed a huge turnout from the Filipino community in the Emirates, as well as visitors to the global event of all nationalities,” said the Al Khaleej report.
An alumnus of ‘The Voice Kids’, Espanto performed his hit songs ‘Tama Na’ and his rendition of ‘Dying Inside to Hold You’.
December Avenue, meanwhile, took their fans on a treat with their popular songs ‘Sa Ngalan ng Pag-Ibig’ and ‘Kung ‘Di Rin Lang Ikaw’.
Last October 2, ‘Buwan’ hitmaker JK Labajo became the first-ever Filipino performer to headline the ‘Late Nights @ Expo 2020 Dubai’ stage.
Watch their performances below:
