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'One Last Time': Dionne Warwick makes her enduring and endearing legacy shine at Manila concert

Published Jan 25, 2025 5:38 pm

Legendary singer Dionne Warwick included a tour stop in Manila for her One Last Time concert, and her Filipino fans were ready for her. The New Frontier Theater was full of those who grew up alongside her timeless hits, then-young adults now well-heeled and successful, recapturing the magic of simpler times.

It was indeed a throwback to her yesteryears when juxtaposed with the high-tech, high-octane concerts of today. There was no front act, there were no big special effects such as LED screens or pyrotechnics to announce her arrival. With her iconic status, there was no need for them.

The concert, which was produced by Wilbros Live, started on time as her band of four walked onstage in tuxedos—and then there she was, in a sparkling sequined jumpsuit. After a few pleasantries, she dove right into her repertoire beginning with the Burt Bacharach and Hal David hit Walk on By, and the audience started singing along with her.

The audience’s singing and swaying along to the music of their youth lasted all throughout the performance, with Warwick holding court, simply seated at the front with a mic in hand. It had an intimate feeling, like being in a music lounge listening to the storied octogenarian artist talking about her journey and how much she appreciated the support through all those years.

The timeless hits just kept coming throughout the evening, with heartfelt and nostalgic renditions of the 1966 classic Alfie and her version of Albert Hammond’s 99 Miles from LA that sounded more poignant and touching as one matures and understands the full meaning of the artist’s longing to see their loved one again.

With her experience as a penultimate performer, she moved the audience, and she also got them moving. Her reworked songs Do You Know the Way to San Jose and Say a Little Prayer were the stuff of easy listening and enthusiastic movements, transporting fans to the time when they popped cassettes into the car radio for a drive through uncongested streets.

Of course, the evening ended with her chart toppers, with the audience filling in for the chorus of I’ll Never Love This Way Again and What the World Needs Now, her gentle, melodic reminder that is as relevant as when it topped charts in 1963. Her voice, raspier now, may not be as powerful as it was decades ago. But her message of love still being the most powerful thing rings loud and clear. 

The anthemic That’s What Friends Are For, which is listed as #75 on Billboard’s Greatest Hits of All Time, was her last song for the One Last Time concert. Is it really the last time? The icon, in her glittering costume, compared herself to a bad penny. “I just keep turning up,” she smiled.