Christmas through Kids' Eyes

Delon
"The Sweetest Christmas" Performance
Mal Kelapa Gading 3
25 December 2010, 7.15pm-8.30pm

When I found out that Delon was gonna perform for the Christmas event in the mall, I'd never had a doubt in my mind. See, Christmas is my thing. And since the location was reachable, the show timing was good, and it's Delon, why wouldn't I go there? I took Mat, Karen, my sister and my mom with me. Knowing the place would be packed, I only worried about the kids' convenience. Based on my experience watching public shows like this, the view from center side was always the best, but it was also the worse. Eventually audiences would lose control and started pushing people forward just to get nearer to the stage. That's why all securities were allocated there. So we managed to get a loose spot at rear side. The only spot without securities around.

This was how it looked like to watch Delon from the kids point of view:

~ I wanna see Christmas through your eyes. Want everything to be the way it used to be. Back to being a child again, thinking the world was kind. I wanna see Christmas .. Christmas through your eyes ~
by Gloria Estefan

That's right. That tiny figure wearing Santa's hat was Delon. Kids didn't complain, though. They enjoyed his performance as much as we, the adults, did. Considering I had to keep my eyes on Mat and Karen, I let go of my plan recording the songs. Back to the old days, when I could see his shows without any camera on.

Delon sang 8 songs. Or was it 7? I lost my counting since he started his first one. First, the acoustic of the atrium was pretty bad. Second, I couldn't concentrate on what's happening on the stage. I was more amazed by what's happening around the stage. It was alive. A fact that Delon was still loved by many, many people. Young and old. A fellow audience at my right side, brought her daughter. I heard she said to her little one, that the man on the stage was "Koko Delon". Then in her conscience, she corrected herself and telling her daughter to call him "Oom Delon" instead, since she was still a baby when Oom Delon held her and took photo together.

W-O-W. Talking about the leap of generations.

Chances of Delon to go to our spot was quite slim, since most of the enthusiasts were at the center. I also noted, maybe one of the reasons was also because there would be no security to help him, in case the rear audience dragged him to the dark side of irresponsible fans action. But hey! We got two, no, three potential young fans in here. I told Karen and Mat to raise their hands and wave to Delon whenever he looked at our spot. Thus, together with the little girl mentioned above, the choir had started: "Oom Delon! OOM DELON!! OOM DELOOOOOONNNN!!!!!!!"

It worked. I got a really good hunch when he was about to start singing one song. One particular song that kept swimming in my head whenever Christmas came around. A timeless, beautiful song written by David Foster and Linda Thompson-Jenner, originally performed by Natalie Cole. One of the best song that was also included in "The Sweetest Gift from Delon" album. Instinctively I turned on my camera.

And there it went ..

"Grown-Up Christmas List":
Natalie Cole (with David Foster), Natalie Cole (with London Symphony Orchestra), Amy Grant, Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Anthony Callea & Sylvie Paldino, Charice (with David Foster), Jane Monheit, Michael Buble

That's the only video I captured. The one with "Grown-Up Christmas List". The one when Delon finally acknowledged the kids calling and he approached us to say Merry Christmas. Mat got his handshakes.

Then near the end of the song, the kids got Delon's Christmas pins, privately distributed by Vena. These limited number of pins, were also distributed to the crowd by Delon and the MC. Only the lucky ones at the front row could grab it. Many others were left drooling over it. At one point, Mat dropped his pin. It flew over the railing and dropped near the stage. I couldn't reach it. Some audience around us had already locked their hungry eyes on that lonely pin on the floor. Oh no. Mayday! Mayday! Luckily, Wawan was around. I called him out and asked his help to pick that pin up stat. He returned the pin to us, thank you, and I immediately pin it to Mat's t-shirt. Ha-Ha. Now it couldn't leave anywhere.

So the rest of the evening was enjoyable. No one pushed us forward, nor stepped on our feet. When the kids were tired standing, they sat on the floor. Really. Like Mother, Like Son. (If I could sit on the floor, I wouldn't hesitate as well). I recalled some songs: "Hai, Mari Berhimpun", "O Holy Night", "Grown-Up Christmas List", "Negeri di Awan" (his new single, originally by Katon Bagaskara) and "Mary's Boy Child" as the closing song. Three other songs I couldn't remember, one of them I suspected written by Delon himself (gosh, I was such a lousy fan).

I could say Delon and Christmas were a perfect match.

This was Mat's first public Christmas show to see. I knew kids wouldn't care for details, and perhaps what he saw was different than what I saw. Or maybe it was the same. Seeing he could stay nicely among the crowd and the noise, eyes on the stage, I thought it caught his attention very well indeed. I was happy I took him along with me.


Thanks to Vena Kresnan, Delon and Yeslin Wang.