By Erika Tapalla
INQUIRER.net

TAGUIG CITY, Philippines — Thousands of Filipino fans spent their Sunday evening swinging their arms around and swaying to the live beats of American pop and R&B artists Chris Brown and Rihanna.

With critically acclaimed music that has reigned in global music charts, Rihanna and Brown held a joint concert to screaming fans at the Global City open field at The Fort.

The concert opened with dramatic lightshow and a countdown with Brown taking over the stage with an intense hip-hop dance and showmanship.

Making a dramatic entrance, Brown was suspended upside down in midair and was slowly lowered down to the stage, head first. Masked and dressed in black gear, Brown’s dancers immediately started dancing as a flash of light signaled the start of his set.

Here are fans raving about Rihanna and Brown’s concert.

Brown is a Grammy-nominated American R&B pop singer-songwriter, dancer, music video director and actor. He made his recording debut at the age of 16.

At 19, Brown has had major hits like “Run It,” “Say Goodbye,” “Kiss Kiss,” “With You,” “Forever,” and “Superhuman.”

During the concert, Brown also performed a Michael Jackson medley, which progressed to a hip-hop dance turning the open field into one large outdoor club with people gyrating to the beat.

Brown eventually slowed down and ended with songs, “With You,” “No Air,” and “Forever,” thrilling female fans, as if he was serenading them.

A display of fireworks followed after Brown’s set.

After a 20-minute intermission, Rihanna, 20, took the stage with a pulsating heartbeat emanating from the large speakers on stage. As the heartbeat increased and the fans screaming for Rihanna’s name, she emerged from the center of the stage with her sexy dominatrix outfit complete with fishnet stockings and sharp boots.

The fans went wild as she explodes into the song “Disturbia.”

Rihanna is known for her hits “Umbrella,” “Don’t Stop the Music,” “Shut Up and Drive,” “Hate That I Love You,” “Unfaithful,” “SOS,” “Pon de Replay,” “Take A Bow,” and “Disturbia.”

A Grammy-award winner, Rihanna has achieved five Billboard Hot 100 hits and has sold over 11 million albums worldwide.

Her distinct voice and music with club music overtone explain how she could easily get thousands of Filipino fans dancing and singing song after song during the concert. To top that, her short dance routines, frequent poses and sprinkle of back bends have charmed and won the hearts of thousands of Filipinos who knew her songs by heart.

Rihanna’s great rapport with the audience has seemingly hypnotized the crowd. As if no one cared that during her more sober songs, she could barely sustain high notes. For fans, it did not matter because at her budding age of 20 years, Rihanna was no less than breathtaking.

Brown and Rihanna’s success only proved that age is but a number that marks one’s technical experience in a world seeping with adversaries, aridity and disenchantment.

Diligence, passion and soul resonate amid the noise and the haste – it is as if both pop icons are saying “dream big,” “follow your heart” and “let’s escape into the music.” (Photos by Janie Octia, INQUIRER.net)