Canadian singer-songwriter Johnny Orlando visited Manila again last November 20th. Manila Concert Scene was lucky enough to hang out—and feel the butterflies—with him up the office of Universal Music Group for an afternoon chat, then jam at 12 Monkeys for his intimate gig via Live Nation PH.

The young matinee balladeer’s visit is included in his world tour dubbed as “The Ride Tour.” That being said, here are some of the reasons why we loved his visit here in Manila.

How He Writes The Songs

It is different every time for Johnny. There are times that he has written ideas, or what he calls taglines, then expanded them to wider stories and then written stories out of them.

For the young star, there are times when ideas are already written, which he dubs “tagged lines.” From there, it expands into lyrics so that he can narrate the story of his “idea.” Melodies then come after.

New Album

For Johnny, his future album will be a heartbreaker. As he quips to MCS, “This album is going to be very f*cking personal.” The Canadian pop star added “That’s what the riot is, it’s about the breakup. It is supposed to be ambiguous enough for everybody to apply it themselves.

Tattoos

“I have a lot of tattoos,” is what the young matinee quipped when asked by MCS to describe one of them. The reason? He had them since his heart got broken because of a girl.

But one small insignia standout, among all. A lightning zap was placed near his elbow. As he shows, it is his and Zach Tabudlo’s friendship tattoo.
“I got his logo, it’s a lightning. Then he got a butterfly, [my logo]. And then we got that just two days of going with each other. We still chat…” he added.

The Show

It feels refreshing to see an international artist playing in a small venue. As surprising as it may be, fans fill in a small music pub with their glistening eyes, and packed screams.

Seats on the other hand remained almost empty since most of the attendees go straight near the stage for them to be closer to Johnny Orlando.
Acts

Like a theatrical performance, his last gig in Manila had three acts. And just like how good storytellers tell it, channeled a way to tell his tale with a rising action, a climax, and an ending for fans to be happy.

He also sampled some of his unreleased tracks jiving it with the classics.

Covers

Johnny was also able to impress the fans with his wide range of musicality. He did some covers too—including “Iris” by Goo Goo Dolls, and “The One That Got Away” by Katy Perry.

Intimate, Small Venue?

What does this have in common? Heat.

And yes, it did get hot in the small venue. He did remove his shirt and went topless, which of course made the girls crazy. Of course. Here’s a photo of him in that specific description:

Special thanks to Live Nation Philippines, and UMG Philippines
Words and Interview by Aram Lascano
Photos by Danilo Factor, Kevin Pableo, and Aram Lascano