Manila left Celine Dion in tears

She was no iceberg as she sizzled with a powerful and stirring performance at the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena amidst a virtual ocean of fans, screaming, swaying and singing her hits the minute their first three notes were played.

Celine Dion, arguably best known by Filipinos for the hit song My Heart Will Go On from the movie Titanic,  sang, danced, jammed with her musicians and did virtual somersaults in a two-hour non-stop concert that brought tears to her own eyes as she took on the thunderous applause and outpouring of admiration from her fans at the end of her show. Wiping happy tears away, she sang her final encore, Can’t Help Falling in Love as she tried to lock eyes with as many people in the 16,000-strong crowd in the Arena.

Indeed, her heart could have gone on and on, as was her Filipino audience’s wish for her songs to go on and on.

Ready to watch Celine Dion at the MOA Arena’s Premier Suite are (first row, from left) Dinah Ventura, Tessa Arriola, MJ Marfori and Nelson Canlas; (second row) SM SVP for marketing Millie Dizon with the author and Ed Ramirez.

“It took me so long to get here and now I’m so happy to be here. Thank you for your patience…and for being with us tonight. Maraming salamat,” she said at the beginning of her concert, whose audience, seated at the Arena’s Premier Suites, included Philippine Airlines chairman Lucio Tan and wife Carmen. In another Premier Suite, SM matriarch Felicidad Sy, daughter Tessie Sy Coson and the other members of the Sy family watched the show.

There was an extravagant multi-colored light show that bathed the stage as Celine performed, and I felt that just like her back-up singers, the dazzling shafts of light zigzagging across the stage and around the Arena were her back-up performers. At times, they were the main act.

With about five costume changes (mind you, she did them in the blink of an eye), Celine dazzled with her earthshaking renditions of The Power of Love, Because You Loved Me, Beauty and the Beast (her very first movie theme song, which she sang with one of her male back-up singers), It’s All Coming Back to Me Now, All By Myself, At Seventeen (another duet), Kiss (she was wearing a sequined disco outfit here) and for her first encore, My Heart Will Go On.

SMIC vice chairperson Tessie Sy Coson.

This brought a tidal wave of reactions from the frenzied crowd who had waited with bated breath for her to sing this phenomenal hit, and when she did, it unleashed an ocean of memories, as well as a swaying sea of glow sticks and lighted cell phones. (Conspicuously not sung was The Prayer, which she  recorded with Andrea Bocelli.)

After singing the hit song from Titanic, Celine was unsinkable.

By this time, she was wiping tears from her eyes. “You know,” she confided, “it is so difficult to travel this far. So much to do, the children, the journey, the expenses. The whole thing.” 

But with an audience like she had in Manila last Thursday night, Celine said she realized, “that we don’t really live far away. We’re all one.”

And, struggling unsuccessfully to hold back her tears, she said, “The hard thing is not the journey -— but saying goodbye.” 

And she croon ed, a capella, Elvis Presley’s Can’t Help Falling in Love, making a big sweep with her arm as she pointed to her audience with the last words of the refrain, “Can’t help falling in love with you…” 

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Mall of Asia Arena VP for operations Francis Dominic Bonnevie (left) with SM Lifestyle Entertainment Inc. COO Herman Medina-Cue and SAVP for corporate marketing Karen Zabaljauregui.

 Celine sometimes made too much small talk (as when she was narrating how she reacted to a letter from heartthrob Ryan Reynolds who asked her to sing Ashes for his new movie Deadpool 2 — but who can blame her?), but she really connected with her audience.

We were invited by SM SVP for marketing communications Millie Dizon to watch the concert (postponed by Celine twice in the past) and I seized the opportunity. My husband Ed and I  braved the rains and the traffic and were rewarded with a helluva concert.

What made it extra special was that we were wined and dined before and during the performance in our own Premier Suite, a box at the mid level of the Arena with theater-style seating for about 12, a lounge, a bar and a private toilet.

The MOA Arena is the only entertainment and sporting events venue in Southeast Asia with its own VIP suites. A first-of-its-kind premium in Southeast Asia, the Premier Suites are private deluxe rooms that offer an exclusive spot to enjoy the Arena events.

The dazzling light show during the concert.

“You can see it from the building’s façade — the MOA Arena was built as an ‘eyecon’ to envision a brighter future for live entertainment in the Philippines. We believe that innovations like the Premier Suites, as well as our cutting-edge facilities, bring us closer to our goal of helping the country become one of Asia’s leading entertainment destinations,” said Herman Medina-Cue, SM Lifestyle Entertainment Inc. chief operations officer.

As guests step into the Premier Suites, they are welcomed into a lounge with large, comfy couches, and decked with hanging plasma screen TVs. Further exploring the room, one will find a spacious restroom and a fully-equipped mini-bar. Private butlers are also stationed in the suites to attend to the needs of guests. Sumptuous meals can also be served straight to the suite from the Premier Café, the Arena’s exclusive restaurant.

One of MOA Arena’s Premier Suites.

One of the room’s most impressive features is the glass-paneled viewing deck. Guests can decide to stay in the suite or watch comfortably as they sit in the plush seats of the viewing deck. Unlike other international event venues where corporate boxes are typically in the topmost level, the Premier Suites are located just above the lower-box section, making it one of the most coveted seats during live events.

The Arena houses 31 suites for long-term partners while 10 suites are available on a per-event basis. Partners enjoy perks including allocated premium parking spaces and an all-season pass for the Arena’s public events. Aside from being a gateway to live entertainment, the suites can also be a venue for corporate and private functions of partners and their stakeholders.

We were joined by other editors in the Premier Suite (number 330) during the concert, and indeed, it was a “suite” experience that one wished went on and on.

(You may e-mail me at [email protected].)