Katy Perry Heats Up The Fest

The pop singer and Tokio Hotel charmed and delivered but the Wonder Girls disappointed.

OF THE music festival's line-up over the three days, Tuesday's certainly takes the cake for being the most international. There was saucy Katy Perry from California, pop rock band Tokio Hotel from Germany and pop group Wonder Girls from South Korea.

Not every act left a good taste in the mouth, though. After local singer Inch Chua, alternative rock band The Like and singer-songwriter Orianthi from Down Under warmed up the crowd, the five Girls came on around 8.30pm in an assortment of short dresses. They proceeded to underwhelm with their singing which sounded rather shrill and ragged.


They were also dwarfed by the size of the stage and could easily have done with another, say, five back-up dancers. Or perhaps they could have a live band instead of singing to a minus-one track as if this were a karaoke session.

When they disappeared for a costume change, a music video of theirs played on the screens. It was not a good sign that they sounded considerably better then.

Reappearing in matching denim outfits, they urged the crowd to sing along for Tell Me before ending with their big hit, Nobody. Their moves were smoothest here, but then again, they have been doing the same routine to this track for two years now so they certainly have had plenty of practice.

Tokio Hotel were up next and while some might dismiss them as goth-lite, they definitely got the crowd going. Next to them, the Wonder Girls seemed like rank amateurs.


In his all-black get-up, lead singer Bill Kaulitz looked like a tall and gangly dark angel with out-of-control shoulder pads. The boys revved things up with their radio-friendly brand of pop-rock and even hauled a motorcycle onstage.


They also knew how to turn up the drama, so Darkside of the Sun came complete with jets of flames.

(the rest is about Katy Perry)

vox pops

Germane D'Rozario, 20, student - I liked Tokio Hotel and Katy Perry. They really made an effort to make their performance mind-blowing. It was really good to see Orianthi perform for the first time. Wonder Girls were disappointing, though. I expected more from them.

Emily Lim, 19, student - The highlight was definitely Katy Perry's performance. It was worth the long wait. She managed to express herself very well through her songs. But I didn't like that some of the concert-goers were smoking and getting drunk.


Ahmad Kahar, 32, advertising executive - I thought it was very well organized. The acts were very cool. And even though I'm not an emo guy, I ended up falling in love with Tokio Hotel.

Kaylee Sia, 22, banker - I thought it was pretty good. The sound system was awesome. I liked that Katy Perry invited the audience to dance with her. Tokio Hotel put in a lot of effort for the visual effects. Overall, it was worth the money I spent.

Raymond Chia, 34, fund manager - I think Tokio Hotel's performance was the best. The tightness of the band, their showmanship, and how they came back for an encore were all very commendable. The first few bands were not very good, though it makes sense that they would save the best for last.


Sri Ayu, 35, senior manager - The performance line-up was good. There was a lot of variety. I enjoyed how there was a lot of "rah-rah" and confetti; it added to the wow factor of the show. I didn't see much of this at the last Singfest. 

Source: The Straits Times