Johnny Orlando returns to the Philippines for the Manila leg of The Ride Tour. Presented by Live Nation, the concert was held at 12 Monkeys Music Hall, Estancia, Pasig on November 20.

The 20-year-old Canadian singer/songwriter last visited during the live busking event with Zack Tabudlo at the Venice Grand Canal in August of last year. This time, he has amassed a steady number of fans who were very familiar with the majority of his songs.

The evening began with the opening act GUS (full name: Gus McMillan) who played a good set of his self-composed tracks like “Pluto” and “Big Things Small Seeds”.

When Johnny Orlando made his way to the center stage, the crowd was ecstatic. He started off with a slew of his “Boyfriend”, “Blur” and “You’re Just Drunk” which instantly connected with his fans, many of them singing along to every word.

The Ride’s setlist was a mix of catchy pop-rock tracks about young love – attraction, romance, and heartache – which resonated with the audience of mostly teenagers to young adults. Songs like “If he wanted to, he would”, “What If (I Told You I Like You”), and “leave the light on” were particularly in tune with the crowd. There were also mellow acoustic songs like “coping (1621)”, “all the things can go wrong” “someone will love you better”. Johnny also included a handful of new songs like “A Man Like Me”, “thinking of me” and “party for two”. His renditions of The Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” and Katy Perry’s “The One that Got Away” were also appealing additions to the mix.

Johnny’s alluring presence onstage captivated his fans. The stage was set up very close to the audience, meaning that the artists were close enough to reach. Johnny Orlando was very accommodating all throughout the concert, obliging people’s requests and approaching them as close as he possibly could.

“It’s good to be back. You guys made me feel so welcome,” Johnny told the crowd as he thanked them again and again for coming to his show. He is set to release the album on December 8.

by Sandra Mae Laureano