Charice newly crowned "Concert Princess of Asia"

Revised 28 October 2010 at 2007 hours Manila

JAKARTA - Charice, We Asians hereby dub you, "Concert Princess of Asia." You have charmed the heart of Asia with your "mountain and valley vocals" (Ryan Brockington, New York Post) and "one of the most beautiful voices I have ever heard in a long time" (Josh Groban). The Asians are blessed.

Charice blows the roof off, and then blows the minds of her fans, whom she calls Chasters, in Asia. After Charice blew the roof off the Araneta Coliseum in Manila on 23 October 2010 with David Foster & Friends (pinoycinderella.com), the news is that "Charice, David Foster and Friends rewrite Indonesian entertainment history" with a concert today, 27 October that was sold out a month before, with tickets that are sky-high in figures: US $ 112 Bronze, $ 336 Silver, $ 560 Gold, $ 840 Platinum, $ 1,680 Diamond, and $ 2,800 Super Diamond (RJ Nieto, 26 October 2010, charicemania.com). Such expensive tastes, the Indonesian Chasters must be out of their minds!

This is insane. Nieto says these are "the priciest concert tickets of all time in Indonesia - and all 2,900 seats were taken way back in September." The tickets: Bronze (Rp 1 million / US$ 112) / Silver (Rp 3 million / US$ 336) / Gold (Rp 5 million /US$ 560 ) / Platinum (Rp 7.5 million / US$ 840) / Diamond (Rp 15 million / US$ 1,680) / Super Diamond (Rp 25 million / US$ 2,800), where US$ 1 = Rp 8,928.57 (Indonesian Rupiah). No wonder, it´s Diamond Entertainment who is sponsoring the show. The official name of the concert is the "Surya Citra Exclusive 16: A Special Evening with David Foster & Friends (DFF) in Jakarta." Dino Hamid of Diamond says, "The tickets were sold out in late September, which exceeded all our expectations. This proves that David Foster´s arrival is much-awaited by music lovers in Indonesia." Of course, everyone knows Charice is David Foster´s Friend above Equals.

Aside from Charice, Natalie Cole, Peter Cetera, Ruben Studdard and The Canadian Tenors, the Indonesian singer Yovie Widianto will be a guest performer for the show. Yovie says, "This is a golden opportunity of a lifetime. David Foster has always been an inspiration in my music. I am proud to be part of the grandest concert of 2010." Yovie is an Indonesian superstar in his own right, and he credits a Filipina, Jasmine Trias, with the start of his own success as an entertainer from their debut album Love Story released in 1994 (Wikipedia, with Google Translate).

The Jakarta ticket prizes are from 4 to 10 times higher than the Manila tickets, depending on the box. If my assumptions are right, for my Lower Box PhP 6,360 Manila ticket ($ 141), I would have paid 4 times more in Jakarta. Not only that, the Jakarta tickets were all sold out a month before the concert; the Manila tickets were sold out at the very last minute. I know because I was there; just before the show, we were still lining up buying tickets. It was a rainy day, but we forgot about it when the show opened with a roar from the crowd, enter David Foster.

The Hitman: David Foster and Friends Asian Tour goes this way: Tokyo, Japan, 19 and 20 October at the Tokyo International Forum; Manila, Philippines 23 October at the Araneta Coliseum; Bangkok, Thailand 25 October at the Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani; Jakarta, Indonesia 27 October at the Ballroom of The Ritz Carlton - Pacific Place; and Singapore 29 and 30 October at the Esplanade Concert Hall.

About the Jakarta tickets, expensive did you say?

Pure Brown44 says, "Ticket prices are expensive really but worth it if with Charice!" (All comments quoted here are from charicemania.com.)

Rick0825 says, "Tickets are expensive, but you are watching the most talented girl in the World ever!"

ncube says, "Yup, but still very, very expensive. The Singapore concert venue is even smaller and with better hall acoustics, but ticket prices are quite reasonable. Someone´s definitely making some big money in Indonesia. I just feel sorry for the regular Chasters – young people, students, and the average Indonesian. This really is a rich man´s concert." I say, "Entertainment must still follows the Law of Supply and Demand, bro; you demand, they supply."

osuna says, "Let´s just enjoy the ride. Thanks to YouTube, the ´have-nots´ are enjoying the ride just the same." I say, "YouTube is where I saw the Pyramid of Charice and all other performances and concerts. I couldn´t have done my research for my Charice book (coming up!) without YouTube."

hermiemel says, "Just my own humble personal observation and no disrespect. Considering all the combined star power of David Foster, Natalie Cole, Peter Cetera, Ruben Studdard, and The Canadian Tenors but without the shining star of Charice, I think that none of this will be possible." I say, "I´m willing to say it´s 30% them, 70% Charice, but you need the 30% to make it the whole success that it is."

Daniel says, "WOW! Lowest ticket price is $112.00, and I paid $85.00 for my Las Vegas ticket. Lots of rich and well-to-do-Indonesians will be in attendance. But of course, DFF is a once-in-a-lifetime musical experience and the show is priceless especially with Charice´s performance. Jakartan Chasters, show your love welcoming Charice and DFF crew!"

fdjohan says, "Welcome Charice to my hometown (but I´m stuck here in Bahrain). They will be stunned to hear your angelic voice. More and more, Chadiction will increase."

lola-elrem says, "Am so happy for Charice to be fully accepted by our Indonesian cousins. Terima kasih INDONESIA!" (Thanks, Indonesia!)

amymeng2 says, "If ever the DF&F concert is in your place, I recommend you go and watch them! Whatever the price, it´s worth it. I´ve been to their concert in LA and it was an amazing and unforgettable show. I love Charice and DF&F! :)"

Portia says, "Price for the concert tickets, millions; David Foster & Friends plus Charice performance, PRICELESS!" May I add, my Lower Box 207 Manila ticket (Gold in Jakarta) was really worth its weight in Gold.

Stockpicker says, "You don´t know the value of money unless you spend it. The Indonesians saw an opportunity and decided that the time to spend it is now! It´s only money but this experience is once in a lifetime!"

anitako says, "Wow, Indo-Chasters! You´re rocking the world! Your showing of love for Charice is tremendous!"

chit says, "Wow, almost 3,000 dollars for a ticker! Well, they´ll get its worth and much more. Our Indonesian friends, enjoy the show!"

charicefollower says, "That´s one expensive ticket, but I am sure worth every penny. If I have the money, I don´t mind spending it to see Charice sing LIVE."

osuna says, "The bottom line in this series of concert is CHARICE (Asian). David Foster has been in the business for a very long time, and he knows what it takes to attract the attention of other Asians. Come to think now, the other performers added to the program are for Nostalgic reasons (bring back memories). It´s so obvious that the age gap is wide so that the concert fits everyone just like it is supposed to be. Brilliant idea of Mr DF (godfather of Charice)."

flor from texas says, "Wow! $2,800 for a ticket? That´s just like buying 2 round trip tickets to the Philippines. Indonesians are showing their love for Charice. Like what everybody is saying, Charice is definitely worth that money."

gunrunner says, "Ha, ha, ha! To think that my ticket in the Upper Balcony cost me already an arm during the Araneta gig. OMG, Indons are filthy rich Chasters. My Princess is worth that much. We were lucky her in the Philippines, we were practically brushing shoulders with the most expensive talent in the world. Go, go, go my Princess!"

Maria :-) says, "I must say that people who were able to watch her live are very lucky. I hope that someday I´ll be able to see her live too. It brings tears to my eyes every time I see her sing."

Joining the Charicemania chorus, I say, "I'm very happy for David Foster & Friends, but especially for our very own Charice. The Asian has proven that Charice is truly Asian, adored by Asians!"

The visible, audible and incredible Asian success of Charice - brought to you by the Hitman: David Foster and Friends Asian Tour October 2010 - tells me that Charice is indeed The Concert Princess of Asia.

Today Asia, tomorrow the world!