What Went Down: Hennessy Artistry 2012 @ Mercedes-Benz Cultural Centre, Shanghai

By Aizyl Azlee  •  in Reports
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It’s another Hennessy Artistry party, and it ain’t a secret that these events are adored by not just us at JUICE but everyone from KL to Hong Kong to Shanghai. Hennessy Artistry kicked off the end of 2012 with the combination of rock and elegance. It was a big evening for both the world-renowned Hennessy Artistry event and the city of Shanghai, where it was held. The aim of this exceptional occasion was to have the memories plastered in your head…on second thought, perhaps have some blurred out moments.

This time, Hennessy’s strategy was to meticulously plan the night of chivalrous glam fun with particulars that you won’t even be able to miss out. Every detail of this evening was thought out, from the plots of having rock band Mayday perform, to the former American Idol heartthrob Adam Lambert taking the stage whilst reppin’ his glam rock vibe, then transcending to the soul diva that hailed all the way from Portugal, Aurea, to finally the Korean classic rock band Nemesis (there’s such a thing from the land of k-pop, apparently).

Just when you thought that the night couldn’t be more blessed with the massive range of acts, then came booming the four winners of ‘2012 Pursue Your Dream of Music On-line Audition’ competition, who were more than content to perform alongside the different artistes. The cherry or whipped cream that topped off the event’s surprise had got to be the special guest appearance by China’s very own rock musician, Wang Feng; who didn’t hold back at sharing the stage with the 4 aspiring talents-cum-winners.

Beginning with a bang, Hennessy Artistry kicked off with a celebratory performance by Li Guang, Li Yuanbang, Liu Siwei and Hong Kong based band Empty, all of whom happened to be winners of the aforementioned contest. The night escaladed rather quickly as the four finalists joint forces with the top international acts to blend in the flavours of both eastern and western cultures, resulting in a perfect overdose of complex yet impressive sounds, including the orgasmic ooh’s and ah’s of Wang Feng.

Reppin’ the look of the legendary Bowie during his glamrock heydays was American Idol star, Adam Lambert. As you can’t help but notice the strength of his vocals, you also can’t help but sing along to the songs that you once would never have admitted you knew by heart, gotcha, cat’s out of the bag! We are really talking to ourselves. But who needs to be ashamed when you’re swinging at one of what may or may not be the biggest party in Asia of 2012. As things started heating up, the temperature could only increase, especially with Nemesis coming on and bringing the crowd’s excitement to a level of pure contentment. Baroque rock by way of South Korea, who knew such thing would work?

Aside from the music, Hennessy Artistry was definitely a top priority for some of Asia’s most well-known faces. The red carpet was bedazzled and graced by celebrity and singers such as Wanting Ou, Lolipop F, Alan Kuo, Chen Taochuan, Chen Shaogi, Li Sisong, and the list goes on! The event worked in a chain-like reaction, as the artistes who made their appearance had struck the different fans to form an excitement that clearly contributed to the atmosphere and vibe of the night. Leaving it to be thrilling for both parties and transferring all that energy to the performers that ended up rocking the stage for their loyal fans.

By now you would’ve probably thought the excitement has waned, well, you couldn’t be more wrong! The night was still young at this point and Portuguese siren Aurea took over the stage with her upbeat tunes that caught us by storm. We admit that we weren’t familiar with her works at the time, but as soon as she sung the melancholy-filled ‘NONONO’, we understood why she was so widely regarded and a winner of numerous awards. On top of this, fans went bizzerk with the appearance of the whole band whose popularity in Asia needs no explanation, Mayday. Climaxing with a collabo with all four winners of the ‘2012 Pursue Your Dream of Music On-line Audition’ contest, the band performed ‘Love ING’ with enough potency to make some of us shed a tear. Even if we didn’t understand a single word.

And that was it, the end that resulted in an outstanding night to many of the Cognac-goggled eyes (and possibly Cognac-filtered ears too) that had attended the night.

H-Artistry Shanghai went down on the 2 December 2012 in Shanghai, China. For more updates on the future Hennessy Artistry events, check out their official website www.hennessy.com.