Dato’ Sheila Majid was in Singapore for her concert at The Star Theatre on October 20. The Fifth Parlour were lucky to meet her in person at the press conference and watched her Live!

Sheila opened her concert with such fanfare I was in awe. The Big Band led by Julian Chan, consist of 13 brass instruments; saxophone, trumpets, and trombones. For the concert, Sheila worked hand-in-hand with her team from curating the setlist with her band to designing her wardrobe and makeup, to have a clear understanding as they worked together for a successful concert.

The 58-year-old showed her vocal prowess by belting her 80s hits such as Boneka, Di Dalam Emosi Ini, Antara Anyer dan Jakarta, and many more. Throughout the two hour show, Sheila performed 20 songs and was never out of breath. Without dancers or props, Sheila commanded the stage, solo, from start to finish with two costume changes.

Among others, I found very interesting was the Japanese song that Sheila belted, which seemed to me, effortlessly. Also, Sheila sang songs honouring the late P. Ramlee with all his hit songs featured in his classical movies. That was an excellent build-up to her performing her own song, Lagenda, which was written specifically in honour of the late P. Ramlee.

When she performed Ku Mohon, the whole room fell silent. Just observing and listening intently to the meaningful lyrics as it is loaded with prayers which Sheila managed to turn into a beautiful and calming song. This is one of her favourite songs that she composed as it comes from her heart and is universal to all individuals regardless of racial or religious background, as she described briefly during her press conference.

Lastly, the night went on with more of her upbeat hits and that got everyone standing and dancing the night away. She teased us and left the stage to a rousing crowd chanting, “Encore!, Encore!,” before returning to perform one of her biggest hits, Sinaran. I was thoroughly entertained and impressed with the Big Band performance alongside Sheila Majid’s evergreen vocals.

The Fifth Parlour would like to thank Offshore Entertainment for the invite to the press conference and concert.