Taeyang in Singapore: Charm and sweat but the shirt stayed on

Seats are soon forgotten when you have Korean mega star Taeyang right in front of you.

Despite having front row seats, fans in the front half of the Star Theatre were on their feet and down by the stage almost throughout the two-hour White Night concert, on Friday (Oct 27).

Nice for those down at the front but this reporter, along with other concert-goers at the back who had taken to sitting, ended up only peering through the shoulders' of those at the front to get a glimpse of Taeyang.

Still, the 29-year-old Big Bang star controlled the stage with an overwhelming confidence.

He knew how to charm his female fans' hearts and even got a handful of male fans shouting, "I love you Dong Young Bae!" (That's his real name).

Here's a low-down on what you missed:

HIS VOCAL PROWESS

Backed by a powerful four-piece live band, Taeyang - solo and in the flesh - belted out a setlist of a whopping 23 songs.

Yet he was never breathless and didn't even falter during songs that required him hitting the high notes.

The hard-working singer was also never short of energy even towards the end of the concert, as he jumped and bopped to high-octane Big Bang songs like Bang Bang Bang and Fantastic Baby.

HIS ALLURING CHARM

Taeyang's performance included a lot of sensual body waves and flirting around with his female dancers.

This earned him a lot of oohs, aahs and wows from the crowd.

Especially when one of the dancers went legs akimbo in front of him.

The fan reactions amplified during popular jams like I Need A Girl, and Eyes, Nose, Lips.

And it is hard to not be envious of those who ran down to the front of the stage when the man himself ran from the left to right, bending down to give his fans a handshake.

Some other lucky VIPs (Big Bang's official name for fans) managed to grab items that he threw; such as towels he had used to wipe off his sweat, his cap and the flower headbands that he wore.

HIS ABS WERE A NO-SHOW

If fans were hoping to get an up-close with Taeyang's abs during the concert, they would be sorely disappointed.

The hot-bod artist is typically known for taking off or rather, ripping through his shirts during concerts.

This time, he went from wearing a thin, see-through shirt to a translucent floral blouse, and teased fans by removing his outerwear from his all-white ensemble a few times - but not once did he take off his top.

A FAREWELL, FOR NOW

After the heart-wrenching ballad Last Dance, he gave an emotional speech to the fans.

As the song was originally sung with his five-member group, Big Bang, he asked the fans how they felt about him singing it alone.

Speaking to the crowd in English, he said, "Every time I sing this song, I miss Big Bang a lot. The biggest happiness and joy in my life is having my Big Bang members."

He continued: "The next chance I get, I will come back to meet all of you guys again… perhaps with all my Big Bang members."

While the crowd's reaction was enthusiastic, to say the least, there is also the looming cloud of military duty.

It was a bittersweet moment for the fans.

Enlisting means this could be Taeyang's last tour for some time. Singapore was the penultimate stop on the White Night tour.

Fan, Ho Kwai Qin, 23, said: "I feel very sad that he has to go the army soon because I won't be able to attend any of his concerts anymore."

Her friend, Wee Sze Ning, 23, added, "We have been fans of Big Bang for about eight years. We will wait for Taeyang and continue supporting Big Bang in the future no matter what."