A Beautiful Belonging

Interesting themes, extravagant costumes and plenty of talent brought much excitment to GMM Live House at CentralWorld as New Jiew returned to the stage for the second of their solo concerts.

Titled “We Belong Together”, the concert signalled the pop duo’s growing stature as performers. The pair, Napassorn “New” Phoothornjai and Piyanut “Jiew” Suajongproo, selected their own guests for the three rounds of shows and opted for five greatly underrated singers, who added even more warmth to the event and brought a large dose of humour to the interactions on stage.

It was the first time the duo had performed at this venue, which sits atop the Zen department store. It’s a good place for a concert too, with the almost square, high-ceiling auditorium designed to emphasise the acoustic tone and a high stage that ensures every member of the audience has a clear view.

The girls and their guests were backed by two bands – one playing contemporary tunes and the other dedicated to string instruments and percussion. The bands were positioned on two retractable stages, which conveniently gave way to a full stage floor for the well-choreographed dance numbers.

Now both 31 and thus drawing a more mature audience, New and Jiew allowed themselves more license in the sexiness department with occasionally provocative costumes and dance moves that included crawling between the male dancers and a fair amount of twerking.

Jaruwat “Dome” Cheawaram, winner of “The Star 8” and solo artist Pramote “Oat” Pathanbrought a masculine note to several songs and medleys while veterans Rudklao “Tongneng” Amratisha, Nonthiya “Jeab” Jewbangpa and Primapa “Nok KPN” Kornrochanakavinadded experience and a touch of nostalgia.

A highlight of the concert was an amusing musical segment featuring well-liked transvestite entertainer and television host Madame Mod, who portrayed a suicidal woman recently jilted by a handsome television heartthrob. Madame Mod recovered from the pain thanks to the wise words and pep talksdelivered through GMM songs by the five female singers including New and Jiew.

Two vertical LCD screens ensured constant live close-ups of New’s and Jiew’s perfectly made-up and photogenic faces as well as showing newly recorded footage that matched the themes of eacg individual part. 

The shows, all of which were packed, were divided into nine parts, with the musical in the middle and others devoted to vocal battles between New and Jiew, Dome and Oat, and the other guest artists.

The set lists including four foreign songs “Wrecking Ball” and “Chandelier” as well as the more provocative “Girl on Fire” and “Booty”, which saw the girls have fun with the male dancers.

The duo closed out the show by retreating to the back of the hall and invited fans to sing along with them to their megahit “Mai Rak Mai Tong” before returning to the stage for a lively finale.