Leon X U Concert Live (Blu-ray) Blu-ray Region All

Although the prince charming of 90s Canto-pop has shifted his focus to making movies and running his own record label, and sort of retired as far as his own music career is concerned, his live concerts remain an event for nostalgic pop fans. These days, the media seems more interested in extracting "golden quotes" from whatever he has to say or speculating about his wife's possible pregnancy, but tickets still moved fast for the seven Leon X U concerts, which many considered to be his best live shows in many years.

A major merit this time was the more balanced set arrangement. It was the 25th year since Leon emerged from the New Talent Singing Contest, and the passionate reception the Hong Kong Coliseum crowd gave him was a testament to his longevity as an idol. With his huge back catalog of pop hits, which songs got to be chosen for the shows was critical. Fortunately, most of the essential stuff fans expected was there. Ever the suave crooner, Leon opened with a number of his classic love songs, including his popular TV drama theme songs and commercial campaign songs, which were so ingrained in the audiences' collective memory that most everyone readily joined the 10,000-people karaoke sessions.

Unexpectedly, Leon also included a medley of dance numbers to send his fans screaming. It was another surprise to see guest stars on his stage, among which included an expectant Kelly Chen as well as his recently signed artists Jordan Chan and JW, all of whom were greeted with cheers. Not everyone received favorable reactions, though. While TVB comedian Johnson Lee aping Leon's vocal style (and those of the other Four Heavenly Kings) was funny, he and former radio DJ Nathan Cheung perhaps outstayed their welcome with their excessive appearances - which means less time to see Leon. The fan interaction part, where two fans were drawn from the audience to take part in a Q&A game on stage, was also rather long and tedious to the detriment of the show's flow.

It was actually satisfying to see that Leon seemed eager to please his loyal followers. He ended the concert with a rare encore session, and wrapped the set with a way extended version of "My Dearest Love" while trying to shake hands with half of the audience. The man clearly enjoyed his performance, and so did the audience.