Fanatik for KRU-mania
As the curtain falls after 25 years, the KRU brothers bid farewell to their fans with a memorable concert.
YOU know it’s going to be a great concert when the pre-show announcement warns that anyone found sitting quietly and not having fun will be asked to leave Istana Budaya and go read at the nearby National Library of Malaysia instead.
Good news – no one was sent away because it was impossible to not sing along, scream or move to the amazing performance by Malaysia’s pioneer boyband KRU at its Konsert Gergasi KRU25.
Celebrating 25 years in the local entertainment scene, KRU, made up of brothers Datuk Norman, Yusry and Edry Abdul Halim, gave their all on the first of the threedate concert at the venue in Kuala Lumpur.
This, the brothers said, is their final hurrah before KRU disbands for good, to which the fans screamed a long and heartwrenching “No!”
KRU started strong with The Way We Jam, Awas and Terhangat Di Pasaran, setting the pace for the concert and didn’t falter throughout the two hours the three of them were on stage.
The brothers aren’t as young as when they first stepped into the industry; Edry is 42, Yusry, 44 and Norman is now 48, but hey, age is nothing but a number right? And KRU surely didn’t let that stop it from moving to the beats of its high-tempo songs.
You can somehow tell that Norman, Yusry and Edry truly didn’t care if anyone judged them for their out of sync choreography – they looked like they had a blast on stage and that high-octane energy just flowed through the entire sold-out venue.
As much as it saddens the fans to know that the band will be no more, we can at least take solace in the fact that it is not breaking up because of an unresolved conflict or that the brothers cannot stand to be in the presence of each other (*cough* Oasis).
There is love, and it was evident in the way they reminisced their time in the band, with Edry taking the pleasure in playfully teasing his older brothers the entire time.
He told stories of performances gone awry – like Norman’s shoe flying off his feet mid-dance and Yusry’s keyboard falling down during a show. The brothers countered with their own well-timed jabs, and the entire hall broke into laughter many times, thanks to their comedic banter.
They performed 16 songs throughout the concert, including the popular Di Dalam Dilema, Negatif and Ooh La La!, and even got the audience’s help for Janji Tinggal Janji. “The lyrics are on the screen, so please sing along if you’ve had your heart broken before,” requested Edry.
Right before singing Mengerti, released in 1994, the brothers invited four of their earliest back-up dancers – known as Dance Kru, to perform alongside them on stage.
“Don’t worry, we have an ambulance on stand by if anything goes wrong. These guys are senior citizens now after all,” joked Norman.
Fortunately, there wasn’t any unwanted incident, and the Dance Kru surely performed some age-defying moves that would put some younger dancers to shame.
There was a special treat for the fans as they got to listen to the brothers sing Di Pintu Syurga live for the first time. Originally recorded with Elite – an all-female singing group founded by KRU in 1996 – Norman said that they never had the opportunity to sing it live. “This time, we came prepared with female back-up vocalists,” he added. The beautiful rendition brought down the house, and of course tears along with it.
The tempo decelerated as the brothers performed an “unplugged” version of 2, Babe and Dekat Padamu. Fans knew that the concert was coming to an end when they sang the soulful Jangan Lafazkan, which essentially is a break-up song.
The trio left the stage for a bit but came back to perform the superhit Fanatik which got the audience on its feet, dancing, screaming, singing along and some even crying.
And with that KRU is no more, but guess what? The KRU-mania will go on forever.