ABOUT 10,000 fans of Ella made their presence felt with resounding cheers at the packed Arena Axiata, Bukit Jalil on Saturday.
The undisputed Queen of Rock held a solo concert titled Jilid Akhir: Ella Puteri Kota at the arena and the number of fans who came on the first day was incredible.
On Instagram, her followers amount to around 225,000 people. Compared to the younger generation who have millions of followers, this is relatively low.
Yet, with less than 500,000 social media followers, she was able to gather a large audience. In fact, her solo concert tickets for the first day were also sold out within 24 hours.
It was even more amazing when the concert was extended the next day (Sunday night) and it was also almost sold out when Arena Axiata was filled with 90% of the audience. All that proves how much influence Ella has in the country's music industry.
In fact, at 50 years old, Ella is still lithe and lively on stage, still capable of 'rocking' various genres with strong and powerful vocals.
Ella delivered more than 30 songs that night, almost all of which were her hits and popular songs compiled from 10 studio albums, namely Pengemis Cinta (1989), Puteri Kota (1990), Identiti (1990), 30110 (1991), Ella USA (1994), El (1999), Ilham Bicara (2001), Symbiosis (2003), Rama-Rama (2007), Peace.Love.Rindu (2017).
Among the songs performed by Ella are Belengu, Kesal, Penawar, Kabus Dan Sinar, Retak, Cinta Selem Sutera, Beggar Cinta, Bayangan, Rindu, Symbiosis, Tiada Tangis Lagi, Kasih, Demi, Menanti and Kitalah Bintang.
Fans from their 20s and 30s and 40s and 50s who literally grew up on her songs all sang along.
What's for sure, Ella's voice has stayed the same as it was in the cassette or CD, but her maturity is evident with the passage of age.
When she talked to fans it was to tease them in her signature cheeky style.
"Is this dress beautiful," asked Ella as she waved and turned her body left and right with one of the dresses designed by international fashion designer, Khoon Hooi. It was greeted with cheers from the fans. Ella wore three Khoon Hooi outfits during the concert.
But, fans are also mischievous and liked to tease Ella while mimicking expressions that are quite synonymous with her during her almost four decades in the music industry.
"What do you think...," shouted one of the fans when Ella wanted to deliver the next song. The audience cheered and screamed again and Ella then laughed at the excitement.
Some also shouted: "Ella... I love you" and Ella replied: "I love you too...," in her singular manner.
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The Final Volume Concert: Ella Puteri Kota organised by Hitman Solutions together with Ella's management company, RockQueen, is not just about bringing back nostalgia for old fans who grew up with her songs. It is also for new fans who also follow her journey.
Ella also delivered her hit rock ballads such as Retak, Pedih, Sembilu and Sepi Sekuntum Mawar Merah and the entire Axiata Arena echoed with the sing-along.
Funnily enough, in the middle of Sepi Sekuntum Mawar Merah, the music stopped but the unsuspecting fans continued to sing.
Ella smiled and stomped her feet, giving a hand signal to wait, which was met with cheers. As the music continued the fans returned to sing with her.
When Ella performed her iconic song Layar Impian, all the fans not only sang but also danced.
Ella also invited Datuk Amy Search to join in with the song Dua Insan Bercinta, produced when she was still with Ella & The Boys. Amy’s appearance excited the fans even more and the legendary rocker was full of energy when performing the song Kerja Gila.
Before that, Ella sang a duet with her husband, Captain Azhar with Peace.Love.Rindu. During the romantic performance, Ella blushed after he gave her a kiss on the cheek. She responded with a hug.
Ella also performed her iconic patriotic song, Standing In The Eyes Of The World, which became the theme song for the 1998 Commonwealth Games (Sukom).
The fans seem unsatiated and Ella continued her performance of songs that kept the fans’ adrenaline rushing, namely Bolero, Nuri and Permata Pemotong Permata which became the encore to her concert that night.
For the second concert, Ella wore three different outfits from Khoon Hooi. She had invited Datuk Ramli Sarip to perform their duet song, Kembara Kita.
Ramli also delivered Istilah Cinta and the legendary entertainer managed to amaze all Ella fans with his magnetic performance. Ramli also acted as a producer for her first album Pengemis Cinta dan Puteri Kota.
For the song Dua Insan Bercinta, Ella featured the guitarist of Ella & The Boys, Lokman Idris or Lord. – The Vibes, June 13, 2023
This article first appeared in The Vibes’ Malay-language sister publication Getaran.
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