Katy delivers promised 'Firework'

MANILA, Philippines - Twenty-five thousand people breathed a collective sigh of relief when American pop star Katy Perry finally appeared onstage, two hours after the advertised start of her “California Dreams” concert Sunday night.

Disgruntled booing turned into wild cheering the moment the lights dimmed and a short film in the campy style Perry is famous for started playing on the concert screens.

Mere moments before the grand opening number, many had started to jest that the show had been intentionally delayed so that the California-born singer could take advantage of Lunar New Year pyrotechnics for her song, “Firework.”

The delays were actually caused by technical difficulties, but the fans’ joking predictions were not unfounded – as her outrageous antics during the concert proved, Katy Perry is the queen of surprises.

Perhaps the most shocking and most memorable of her larks was her torrid flirting with local celebrity Ivan Dorschner. After scanning the crowd and telling the men in the audience to strip off their shirts if they wanted to come up onstage with her, she finally chose the chiselled Dorschner to give her a taste of the Philippines.

The raunchy segment was only one in a generally for-adults-only show. Despite acknowledging that there were plenty of kids in the audience – many of them had actually started crying the minute the clock struck 10 and the concert had still not begun – Perry still performed in her trademark burlesque fashion, with humor to match.

While the sexiness wasn’t a bad thing (it was probably the main reason why thousands of teenage boys went to the show), some parental units seemed torn between wanting to laugh at Perry’s innuendos and wanting to cover their children’s eyes and ears.

They needn’t have worried. There were so many other things to capture their children’s attention. The bubblegum pink curtain and stage backdrop, as well as the giant candy props used throughout the show were distracting enough.

Add to that the incredible kitschy costumes that were the crown jewels of the entire concert. Perry’s outfit changes were, of course, the stars of the show.

She first appeared onstage in a white minidress with pinwheels on her bust. She followed that up with an emerald green and blue shimmering one-piece with peacock tail feathers. There was also a black catsuit, a candy-striped gown, a shimmering tank top with tassels on her breasts.

The piéce de resistance, however, wasn’t a single costume – it was a series of six or seven dresses which she changed in and out of during her performance of “Hot and Cold.” It was mind-boggling dress-changing sorcery.

But the fans were not to be outdone. Many had turned up with rainbow-colored tresses and in Katy Perry-inspired costumes – from candy covered dresses a la “California Gurls,” and cat ears, to skin-tight mini dress and heel combos Perry would have rocked on any red carpet.

However, it was obvious that the wonderfully designed props were only the icing on the cake for the 25,000 people who attended the show. No one was waxing poetic about the lights, dancing or set design – everyone was still focused on Katy Perry as a performer and of course, Katy Perry’s songs.

“I love her so much. She’s so crazy, you never know what to expect,” said a fan after the singer unleashed a bunch of giant beach balls for the crowd to play with during her final number, “California Gurls.”

The same fan sang along to every single song Perry sang – all 14 of them – most of which were songs from her Teenage Dream album. She wasn’t alone, however. All around, the thunderous chorus of thousands of people singing was even overpowering the concert’s sound system.

After arriving super late to her own show, Katy Perry seemed to have been forgiven by many, if not all, the people in attendance. Murmurs of, “Best show ever!” punctuated the entire concert.

A fan perfectly put it when she said, “It was worth the wait.”

Upon her arrival onstage, Katy Perry had asked, “Manila! Did I save the best for last?”

The thousands of fans who waited two hours for her certainly hope so. The 125th and final leg of Perry’s tour didn’t start auspiciously, but it definitely ended with a bang – and tons of water drenching the crowd. In any case, Katy Perry’s California Dreams concert is certainly the first of the best shows to hit the Manila scene in 2012.