Rousing welcome for the new year
Tahir Alhamzah joined the crowd at Mutiara Damansara Commercial Centre in Selangor to usher in 2019
MUTIARA Damansara Commercial Centre (MDCC) ushered in the new year with a bang — with its The Final Countdown 2019 concert. MDCC, which includes the Curve, eCurve and IPC Shopping Centre, has been organising the annual concert for 14 years in a row.
“What better way to end the year than with our loyal patrons! Our annual countdown event is a much anticipated event by all our shoppers and residents in the neighbourhood. We hope that everyone present will enjoy this special evening and here’s hoping another fantastic year ahead for everyone,” said The Curve senior general manager Jazmi Kamarudin.
The concert, hosted by radio announcer Phat Fabes and TV host Lee Yvonne, started at 9pm and saw rousing performances by local artistes Aizat Amdan, Ruffedge, Elvira Arul, Talitha Tan and Orange Tan.
Despite the rain, the air was filled with excitement and merriment as revellers gathered to enjoy the performances.
More and more people joined the crowd in front of the stage as the shopping malls closed by 10pm.
Elvira Arul, winner of last year’s Mentor Otai, belted out a few songs, taking the stage after singer-songwriter Talitha.
Talitha, who opened the show, drew loud applause from the crowd with her soulful music style as she performed her wellloved songs such as Girls, Fooled Me and an impressive cover of current hit single, Without Me ,byHalsey.
Elvira performed six songs including the late Datuk Sudirman Arshad’s One Thousand Million Smiles and Indonesian number Sempurna.
Throughout her energetic and powerful renditions of hit single Titanium bySiaas well as This Is Me from the film The Greatest Showman, Elvira had the audience on their feet and singing along with much delight.
This was followed by Orange Tan, who sang a few Mandarin and English tunes.
Aizat who came on next, sang two of his hit singles — Sampai Ke Hari Tua and Hanya Kau Yang Mampu.
As a surprise, the singer-songwriter also performed a beautiful medley of Hero and You Are The Reason, which had the audience cheering and dancing along.
Ruffedge, which made a comeback last year, was the final act before the countdown to the new year commenced.
The band evoked nostalgic memories when it performed Bila Rindu, Khayalan and Lemas.
The festivities running up to the new year countdown began earlier that afternoon, when a throng of participants and merrymakers from all walks of life participated in various activities.
The celebrations kicked off with a Fitness Fiesta session led by TV hosts Hansen Lee and Nan a Al Haleq.
Sports enthusiasts worked up a sweat with the Movement Training and High Intensity Interval Training, while others rocked to popular tunes while doing the Zumba.
Children also had their share of fun as they bounced on an inflatable playground set up not far from the stage.
While waiting for concert to start, children and parents enjoyed an evening full of fun and laughter, and some even made some friends along the way.
When the clock struck midnight, the audience was captivated as the sky exploded into a brilliant display of colour and sparkle, staying true to Mutiara Damansara’s reputation of having the largest and longest fireworks display.