Ed Sheeran made sure his Philippine comeback show was worth the six-year wait as he prepared a jam-packed show last March 9 for the Manila stop of his “Mathematics Tour”!
Filo Sheerios came to the SMDC Festival Grounds in droves hours before the British singer-songwriter took the stage, and the energy was off the charts from the front acts’ set all the way to Ed’s encore.
With the beautiful sunset as his backdrop, Calum Scott set the tone for the show as he showed off his vocals performing a few songs, including his hits ‘You Are The Reason’ and ‘Dancing On My Own’. He thanked everyone who came in early to see his set and said: “The Philippines is one of my favorite places to perform in - I believe some of the best voices in the world are from [here]!” You better believe the crowd proved him right throughout the whole night!
Next up was our very own folk-pop band Ben&Ben, who warmed up the crowd and had everyone singing ‘Pagtingin,’ ‘Leaves,’ ‘Ride Home,’ and ‘Kathang Isip,’ among others! Aside from being OPM faves, the band’s members Paolo and Miguel Benjamin Guico (vocals and guitars), Poch Barretto (electric guitar), Keifer Cabugao (violin), Patricia Lasaten (keyboards), Toni Muñoz (percussion), Andrew de Pano (percussion), Agnes Reoma (bass guitar), and Jam Villanueva (drums) are actually avid fans of Ed Sheeran - they even shared that one of their first YouTube uploads was a cover of Ed’s ‘Perfect’. Talk about a full-circle moment!
Ed Sheeran tore up the stage with back-to-back performances of 30 songs - all done live and with no backing track, just him, his guitar and looping station, and his band! There is truly no denying Ed Sheeran’s pure talent and musicality. Some of the fans’ favorites were ‘The A Team,’ ‘Lego House,’ ‘Eyes Open,’ ‘Dive,’ ‘Overpass Graffiti,’ and ‘Thinking Out Loud’ – these songs had everyone singing at the top of their lungs like it was a giant karaoke fest!
One of the show's highlights was when he called up Ben&Ben frontmen Paolo and Miguel back on stage to sing the band’s song ‘Maybe The Night’ with them! He shared that he was impressed with the band’s music - real recognizes real indeed! Ed then capped off the show with ‘I Don't Need You,’ ‘Shape of You,’ and ‘Bad Habits’ for the encore.
"I'm so happy to be back... From rooms of no one to everyone here," Ed shared. “Manila, this has been really special. I do not take this for granted." He promised the crowd that he’ll be back sooner than before, and we’ll hold him to it!
We’re no mathematician, but one thing is for sure: Ed Sheeran + the Filipino crowd will always equal a ‘Perfect’ time. ’Til the next one!
Huge thanks to Ovation Productions for making this event possible.