Fans at Madonna’s concert here on Sunday could only dream of being in Mr Syed Hamzah Alsagoff’s shoes that night.
The lucky man was the envy of the 25,000-strong crowd when he was pulled on stage midway through the two-hour set at the National Stadium.
Without missing a beat, he flaunted his best moves alongside the US Queen of Pop and her dancers as she belted her song Unapologetic Bitch.
He even got to do his own raunchy dance solo.
Mr Hamzah, 35, was on the receiving end of several naughty spanks to his bum, courtesy of the 57-year-old superstar. And he got a warm embrace from his idol before he returned backstage.
His five minutes of fame at the R18-rated show, in support of her 13th album Rebel Heart, was a “dream come true” and the highlight of his night.
The public relations executive had bought a Category 1 VIP ticket priced at $688 and had gone to the show with a friend.
The duo inched their way towards the VIP area in between songs to get closer to the stage.
Mr Hamzah told The New Paper: “When two people from Madonna’s team approached me, I tried very hard to maintain my composure.”When I cried, I was told: ‘Don’t do that.’ I composed myself and said I was okay.
“As a frequent concertgoer, I don’t think about being picked to go on stage. I was there just to have fun.”
Choreographer Joavien Ng said she had never seen Mr Hamzah as excited as he was that night.
“Sure, he is usually dramatic but that night, it was something else. He looked like he was really crying,” said the 42-year-old. “Both of us were just jumping up and down, and cheering loudly when he was picked.”
Mr Hamzah was taken backstage 15 minutes later.
He was given water and a towel to dry his sweat. He was also led to a fan to cool down before he was briefed on what to do on stage.
“I was told to walk with Madonna and then turn around so she could spank me. I was also told to do a freestyle dance which emphasised on twerking and sexy butt moves,” said the former dance instructor, adding that his list of instructions included “be present on stage”.
Before he joined Madonna on stage, Mr Hamzah took his place at an underground path at the front of the runway stage where he said some Malaysian and Hong Kong celebrities gave him tissue to dab his sweat.
MAN DOWN
When he finally took to the stage, he forgot his nerves and “let the beat of the music control my body”.
“I just pictured myself as Rihanna and channelled the vibe in her Man Down music video,” he said.
“I kept thinking, ‘I better not upstage Madonna’, but I don’t think that was even possible anyway.
“She is such a casual person and I was touched by the way she addressed me by name and made me feel comfortable.
“I just kept thinking, ‘Oh God, this is the most powerful person in pop culture.’ It took me some time to absorb what was happening.”
When Madonna poured the content of a banana-shape container onto Mr Hamzah’s face, some of it got into his eyes.
“It was probably vodka and tequila, my eyes stung,” he said.
“I know she told me to close my eyes but I was too excited. Some also dripped onto my hair.
“After the performance was over, I was led backstage and was attended to by medics to make sure I was okay and didn’t feel faint.”
He also handed over his T-shirt, which Madonna had praised during the show, in exchange for an autographed Rebel Heart T-shirt.
Mr Hamzah felt like he was in a daze the rest of the show. When it ended, fans went up to him to take photos with him.
Yesterday, his phone and Facebook inboxes were flooded with messages from friends as well as strangers.
Needless to say, he has no regrets attending his first Madonna concert.
“A friend once told me that you must do three things – see the Northern Lights, skydive and watch Madonna in concert – then you can die peacefully,” he said.
ashikinr@sph.com.sg
The New Paper, The Straits Times, Zoe Tay’s Instagram, Zhou Chongqing’s Instagram, Jeanette Aw’s Facebook, Twitter
Facebook / Eason Chan, YouTube screengrabs
This article was first published on March 01, 2016.
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