Rated Gigi US Tour Live Concert at the Saban Theater, Los Angeles, CA
This song was the finale (and a perfect one) for the concert and was definitely my favorite of the night (the second one being their rendition of "Sakalam," which I have also posted). I am glad that this video is finally starting to get the attention it so richly deserves.
Please feel free to share this video -- I really don't care if you post it on your own page, embed it or what have you without any attribution or credit. I am not a vlogger and I'm not here for the views or anything like that. I just want as many current and future fans as possible to be able to enjoy this performance (I've also posted other videos from their LA concert).
(I truly think she looked so exquisitely lovely in that blue dress. I believe the Los Angeles concert was the only one where she wore something different for the final song.)
You can clearly see Gigi whisper the word "Mama" before she sings. I myself was close to tears as I watched her sing this song (it took all I had not to cry). At the time of this concert, her mom was in the ICU fighting for her life. She has since passed on from the cares of this world (may Gigi's mom rest in peace and may Gigi and the rest of her family find comfort in their time of grief). It is hard to even begin to fathom how difficult it must have been to be so far away from her mom when there was no assurance as to how much time she had left in this world. I do know that the primary reason Gigi was in the US (and subsequently Canada) instead of being by her mom's side is that she needed to be able to raise funds for her mom's hospital bills, so she could keep giving her mom a fighting chance. Life can be so cruel sometimes. Truly one of the most heartbreaking instances of a "Sophie's Choice" quandary a person can face. In spite of her difficult circumstances, she gave her all that night; she didn't hold anything back and she poured every ounce of what she had into her songs. From my vantage point so close to the stage, I clearly saw her on the verge of tears and of breaking down a few times (some of those moments are captured in some of the videos I took), but she soldiered on like the consummate professional that she is.
I had the privilege of watching Loren Allred perform this song up close and in person with David Foster a few years ago, and I can say in all sincerity that Gigi did this song justice. I was a fan before; I'm an even bigger fan now.
Some may argue that there are other singers who are more technically proficient than Gigi, and that's ok. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and someone can't be everyone's cup of tea. However, ask yourself how many times you have sat through a concert in which the singers may have wowed you from a technical perspective, and yet you left the venue feeling that there was something missing, that you felt little to no connection with the singers or the songs that were performed.
Where Gigi really stands out (don't get me wrong, she is highly technically proficient herself, although she herself has acknowledged in various interviews that there are certain things she is still working on) is her ability to not only sing each note with the appropriate emotion, but to give you the sense that you are feeling exactly what she feels as she sings. When you listen to her sing, you are able to feel an emotional connection to her and to the song. You are able to feel it the way she feels it. She is able to establish this intimate, almost magical connection with each member of her audience that makes every single one of them feel that she is singing personally just for them.
So, if they ever come to your area, make sure you get yourself a ticket and catch them live. I have made a lot of good to great decisions over the course of my life. Watching them (not just once, but twice -- I loved their LA concert so much that I actually flew to Vancouver just for a day almost 2 weeks later just so I could watch them again) were some of the best I've made.
In the meantime, while you are waiting for your chance to watch them live, do check out their official channel:
/ @thegigivibesband