The stage is set

Nicholas Teo who will be staging his debut concert in March is confident of filling up the 10,000-seating capacity Stadium Putra at Bukit Jalil.

By SETO KIT YAN
skyseto@thestar.com.my

AFTER releasing three solo albums, Nicholas Teo is more than ready to stage his first large-scale concert Nicholas [From Now On] Live in Malaysia. Based in Taiwan, the Malaysian artiste could have done it much earlier but he yearned to make his concert debut on homeground and play to his Malaysian fans.

“Initially we wanted to title the concert Chong Zhe Li Kai Shi (Starting From Here), but it was too long so we settled on using English, From Now On. It simply means we’re commencing in Malaysia, as I’d like to start in my own homeland, where it all began.”

However, he has had to wait all year for the concert venue of his choice – Stadium Putra at Bukit Jalil.

While the venue’s 10,000-seating capacity is considerably challenging to fill, Teo is unperturbed as he has confidence in his fans.

“We’ve waited such a long time for this concert venue but we feel it is worth the wait. It will be an enjoyable get-together where fans can happily sing-along.

“I can’t confirm yet what songs I’ll be singing but I’m sure we’ll all have a fun time together.”

The organisers said at a press conference recently that more than RM900,000 had already been invested in the preparations for the event.

Teo’s recording label Warner Music Malaysia even had an earpiece custom-made for him flown in from the United States specially for use during his upcoming concert
Better known as Zhang Dong Liang in Mandarin, the 26-year-old Sarawakian said the sound system was especially important to him as well as a host of other things.

“All the people involved from costume to makeup and music are those I’ve collaborated with before and this is important to me as I feel more comfortable working with a familiar team. Also, I'd like to add that the musicians are all Malaysians; we’ve got the Mac Chew team.

“I’ve even recorded a song which will be made the theme for this concert. That is how special this concert means to me.”

When asked whether he would be dancing, Teo who usually delivers his ballads straight said, “I’ve been training daily, every night before I got to sleep and every morning after I wake up.

“My special guest is a very good friend of mine but I’ll just leave you all to guess her identity for now. We’ll be singing a duet and she’ll also have some of her songs to share.

Winning Astro Talent Quest 2002 with an especially heart-felt rendition of Huang Hun (Dusk) helped launch his singing career. It even helped revive the flagging career of Taiwanese composer and original singer Steve Chow, also known as Xiao Gang.

Teo has since released three albums – 1st Choice, Only Nicholas, and Prince – all for which he has received numerous awards. His biggest hit last year, Wang Zi (Prince), sold more than 100,000 downloads on caller ringback tone alone.

Apart from making music, Teo has also made some successful forays into acting. He was the leading man in Taiwanese drama Smiling Pasta and Malaysia’s first award-winning Cantonese movie 3rd Generation.

His portrayal of Charlie Chan, also his big screen debut, even got him nominated as Most Promising Actor at the 19th Malaysian Film Festival (2006).

He also provided the voice for the Chinese version of Ratatouille.

Having successfully broken into overseas markets, Teo is well-known in China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, South Korea and Japan.

Nicholas [From Now On] Live in Malaysia is organised by Warner Music Malaysia, Astro and MyFM, and co-ordinated by Star Planet. It will be held at Stadium Putra, Bukit Jalil Indoor Stadium on March 29 at 8pm.

Concert tickets are selling at RM80, RM100, RM150, RM200 and RM260. The hotlines for ticket reservation are: Star Planet (03-9283 3667), Ticket Axcess (03-7711 5000) and Red Box (03-2145 2233).

For online booking, visit starplanet.com.my or redbox.com.my.