Michael Learns To Rock in Singapore (again): 5 concert highlights that prove their enduring appeal

I’ve lost track of the number of times Michael Learns To Rock (MLTR) has come to Singapore. But if I had my way, any artiste whose concert announcements are met with one word – “Again?” – should be able to call themselves honorary citizens. 
It’s hard to escape the Danish pop rock band’s global impact since their formation in 1988, especially in Southeast Asia where their timeless popularity doesn’t seem to be expiring anytime soon (or at all).
Here are five highlights from their latest – and probably not the last – concert in Singapore on Saturday night (Nov 16) that reminded me exactly why.
Thirty years ago, MLTR performed in Southeast Asia for the first time. It was a small gig in front of 300 people at the Hard Rock Cafe in Kuala Lumpur, they recently revealed on Facebook. 
The band instantly felt the connection from fans despite the geographical distance from Asia to Scandinavia, the trio told audiences on Saturday. “We always felt very welcome. You showed us that music is for everybody. It’s a universal language.”
Drummer Kare Wanscher said the band often gets asked how they manage to stay together for so long. It’s because they share the same faith in music and have become “like brothers”, he quipped, to a sea of approving applause. 
But there is a “bigger power holding us together”, he clarified. “It’s you, all you fans in Asia.” 
Near the beginning of the concert, guitarist Mikkel Lentz declared they have missed Singapore and are glad to be back – an understatement if ever there was one. They were just here in September last year. 
“I hope you’re in the mood for singing,” he added, no doubt tongue-in-cheek and well aware of the night they were in for, having performed over 800 concerts globally since their start.
The only thing more enduring than MLTR’s appeal is their fanbase’s memory of their lyrics. 
The 90-minute performance, part of their Take Us To Your Heart tour, may have been advertised as a “concert”. But it was essentially a karaoke session of around 5,000 exceptionally in-tune attendees at that, though this is no surprise if you understand their fan demographic. (There was a seemingly sizeable portion of Filipinos at the show.)
Lead vocalist Jascha Richter kicked off the 18-song setlist, including an encore, with Someday to excited cheers. I would quickly recognise this as a sign the audience was ready to sing their heart out; the louder the cheers, the more KTV-friendly the song.
Other hits that received rousing cheers included 25 Minutes, The Actor, Paint My Love, Take Me To Your Heart and That’s Why – all of which several generations of fans have permanently imprinted in their minds. 
So, while having lyrics from some of these songs flashed on screen made the singalong concert more enjoyable, this was an audience that would have been able to sing the entire MLTR discography in their sleep.
The band have said English is their second language, like it is for many in Southeast Asia, which they believe partly explains their popularity within the region. But it was the pockets of Gen Z fans I did not expect to see on Saturday night – and they knew the lyrics.
Having heard the audience sing the first few, more popular songs of the night, Wanscher then suggested the next song might be challenging. He wondered if we’d know I Still Carry On, their first song to hit radio airwaves.
“How could we not know this song? It’s so iconic,” replied my sister, born in 1993, two years after the song was released.
There must be something in the water in Denmark. The band tirelessly segued from ballads to acoustic to rock, offering up different styles for different fans with the energy and enthusiasm typical of artistes at the start of their career.
They also played their newest single, A Life To Remember, produced this year. It was classic MLTR, with memorable melody and simple, rhyming lyrics – their tried-and-tested secret to success in the land of karaoke obsession.
“This is a song about getting older,” Richter said to what sounded like commiserating laughter from peers in the audience. 
“You know when you turn 40, it’s like the end of the world. When you turn 50, you look in the mirror and feel a little old. But when you turn 60, you realise it’s the time of your life.”
Yet, even after 90 minutes of pure nostalgia and contagious passion, perhaps the surest sign MLTR’s star power won’t be dimming was the emotional standing ovation they received at the end of the night – the first I’d witnessed at a concert.
I’d never seen a concert audience more moved, nor an artiste more deserving. 
It wasn’t just applause for the band’s performance, but their longevity and continued significance across generations and cultures – in the end, arguably the truest test of good music.