Okay, so here it goes...

I arrived at Trinoma a bit early just to make sure we get good seats. Seat stubs don't necessarily mean reserved seating, right? So, I got there at 4pm with my 2 sisters, Aia and Nikki, and my best friend, Karen, in tow.

Crazy thing is, as we were headed towards the activity center, Aia turns to me, with huge round eyes, and says "Did you see Michael Johns?!"

I was like, "Where?!"

"He just passed by us!" my sister says. And true enough, when I turned around, I saw Michael with two other guys just walking casually around the mall.

"Let's follow him and ask if we can take photos!" I said. But my sisters and Karen were too shy, or lazy, to actually go through with it. Boo. But when we reached the activity center, it was only to find out that Michael was headed for the stage for sound check. The video of that, I will post later.

So... We immediately lined up and soon after, we were joined by Jason, and then Yumi, and finally, Chikai.

By 6pm, we were finally allowed through the gates and we took our seats. Can I just say... Michael's awesomeness on TV, is nothing compared to him live. He sang about 11 songs, 2 of which were encore songs. Here's the lineup:

1. Fire (Michael Johns)
2. Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Green Day)
3. Daughter (Pearl Jam) / Another Brick in the Wall (Pink Floyd) medley
4. Wonderwall (Oasis)
5. Plush (Stone Temple Pilots)
6. Feelin' Alright (Michael Johns)
7. Yellow (Coldplay)
8. Don't You Forget About Me (Simpleminds)
9. We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions (Queen)
10. If Only You Could See (Tonic)
11. Come Together (The Beatles)

Anyway, right after the show ended, we lined up for the meet and greet segment. Which was hell, by the way. The waiting was fine. But the mall's management and the people who organized the show were total asses. Down to the security guards.

First of all, we weren't allowed to bring cameras on stage. WTF?! I had to leave my camera with Karen and ask her to take photos of me when my turn comes.

Secondly, midway through the line, they announced that autograph signing wasn't allowed, when half of the people already had autographs, and those who remained in the line were the only ones prohibited?! AND!!! Michael even brought a sharpie with him! He came prepared and was willing to sign stuff. EPIC FAIL, Trinoma. EPIC FAIL!

And thirdly, they were rushing us through the stage so fast. I mean, Michael was still talking to me when the lady began signaling me to get off the stage! I mean, did she think I was rude enough to leave Michael in mid-sentence?!

By the way, the conversation went something like this...

(not verbatim)
Tia: Hi! Nice to meet you.
Michael: Nice to meet you!
Tia: I'm a huge fan of yours.
(Michael gives Tia a hug... wink, wink.)
Tia: Yours and David's. Huge fan of the whole Mavid dance thing.
Michael: (laughs) So you liked that, huh?
Tia: I think we better have our picture taken now...
(poses for the camera)
Michael: So, you're a fan of David's. He's coming here in January.
Tia: I heard about that. But then he also said it wasn't sure yet.
Michael: That's weird. He told me he'll be here.
Tia: Yeah, but I heard something about how it wasn't confirmed yet, and wasn't supposed to be disclosed. So David sort of took it back.
Michael: (frowns) I talked to him over the weekend, and he said he's coming. On January. (shrugs)
Tia: Oh, that's great.

Therefore, it is confirmed. Michael himself told me, David Cook on January, here in Manila!!!

That's it...