JJ Lin wows sell-out crowd at in-person MBS show

Some 2,000 fans flocked to see Singapore superstar JJ Lin in concert yesterday at the Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands (MBS), and they did not have to sit 1m apart.

The sell-out concert was Lin's first in-person concert in two years. The show, titled JJ Lin "After The Rain" A Charity Live Special, is among pilot events with new protocols in place.

The VDS+Test - vaccination-differentiated safe management measures + Test protocol - allows for greater flexibility for activities involving those who are less vulnerable and fully vaccinated, subject to the additional requirement of pre-event testing.

One concertgoer, lawyer Samuel Kwek, 30, took his pre-event test (PET) at a Quick Test Centre in Hougang, where he lives, yesterday morning. The antigen rapid test (ART) cost him $15.

"The last in-person concert I attended was JJ Lin's Sanctuary World Tour 2.0 concert at the National Stadium in December 2019," he said. "Since the pandemic began, I've watched only online concerts. So I am elated to finally see an in-person concert and that I succeeded in balloting for the tickets.

"I booked the VIP tickets at $688 per pair."

Under new protocols, all attendees must be fully vaccinated and have a valid negative PET - either a polymerase chain reaction test or ART. The PET result is valid for 24 hours, meaning those attending the JJ Lin concert had to take their test any time from 10pm on Friday.

The PET can be done at any Covid-19 test provider approved by the Ministry of Health or at MBS' PET facility at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre. Each PET at MBS cost $40 for a ticket holder.

Among the guests at the concert was Health Minister Ong Ye Kung.

Lin took to the stage at 7.45pm dressed in a black and white outfit, opening the show with the song Like You Do, from his 14th album Drifter • Like You Do (2020).

In a shout-out to the fans, the 40-year-old said: "Wow….I can't believe this is really happening. Finally we get to see each other face to face, in close proximity… Not too close, but close enough."

The singer-songwriter also performed the numbers You N Me, Those Were The Days, If Only, and a jazz version of Practice Love.

One highlight of the show was when Singaporean singer-songwriter Gentle Bones joined Lin on stage to perform the song, At Least I Had You, which was released on Nov 19.

Fans had to be fully masked at all times while observing prevailing safe management measures. No food and beverages were allowed.

Tickets to the show were priced from $288 for a pair, and proceeds will be donated to Community Chest, a key beneficiary of MBS' corporate social responsibility programme, Sands Cares.

Lin will perform another show tonight, which will be streamed over his official YouTube, Weibo and Douyin channels at 7.30pm. Previous events with the VDS+Test protocol include the Milken Institute Asia Summit at MBS (Nov 15 to 16) and the Bloomberg New Economy Forum at Sentosa's Capella hotel (Nov 16 to 19).

An assessment of these pilots will be made before deciding how to expand the protocol to more events and settings, as part of broader plans to allow safe resumption of further activities.