The original king of Cantopop Alan Tam and his mentee Hacken Lee are just about to complete the world tour of their highly successful pop concert. During a very soporific 2 o'clock this morning, 10,000 concert goers huddled outside of the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall Arena in New Jersey, impatient to get to their seats while delayed by security check-ins. Murmurs outside the concert hall were exchanged by scores of Chinese twenty-somethings, where some compared Alan to Hacken and others couldn't wait to see how cute Hacken was in person. Most of them were plain cross that such a show, supposedly appealing to the 20s and 30s fans of Alan's and Hacken's, was scheduled at a time when people were supposed to be winding down and sleeping.

While the show was scheduled to start at 2am, HKVP Radio was about to rebroadcast the recorded concert from Hong Kong from earlier this year. The week leading up to last night, I had already heard the concert on-air several times. Although there was less anticipation of what was to come, there were some things that weren't apparent from listening to the concert alone. No, I'm not talking about the visuals of stage design, costumes, dancers and Alan and Hacken's repulsive hairstyles. I'm talking about body language hinting at the relationship between Alan and Hacken - the kind you can only sense and understand when seeing it live.

When the concept of this show initially came about, I was skeptical. I dismissed the show simply as a marketing ploy (which it still is) in which Alan would attempt a 21st century comeback by riding on the coattails of the finally socially accepted Hacken Lee. By designing a show that allowed Alan and Hacken to share a stage, I thought it was Alan's tactic of basking in the glory that was no longer his, but now belonged to Hacken. After seeing the show live last night, I realized this wasn't the case.

The difference between Alan and Hacken is that Alan isn't afraid to screw up, forget lyrics or miss a beat in his dance routine. Alan didn't come out just to perform, he came out to have a good time. This seems common in the entertainment industry: long-time fans of Madonna, Whitney Houston and Tina Turner realize it is more fun to watch these performers in their later years who no longer had anything to prove. On stage, Alan was uninhibitedly himself, his commanding presence was felt and the audience looked to him to lead the show. Alan was so immersed while belting his songs, he nearly doubled over several times. He gave his songs drama, he gave them emotional tension, and there wasn't a second you didn't believe Alan loved being on stage at the center of attention. But, when I saw Hacken last night compared to the time he performed with Shirley Kwan several years ago in Atlantic City, I realized Hacken hadn't improved. As much as Hacken has a pure and delicate voice, he isn't born a performer. What diehard fans find hard to differentiate is that many recording artists aren't born performers, and certainly, many who can perform and command an audience may not even know how to sing. Hacken felt uncommanding, tense and even a bit nervous last night. I'm not suggesting that he had stage fright, felt unfamiliar or had butterflies in his stomach. What I mean is, Hacken visibly felt uncomfortable in his own skin, unsure of his every move. If there was one word to describe him, that one word would be stiff. You could see it all in the body language - the way his face felt contained, the way his body looked inhibited and the way he stole glances reluctantly from his front row audience. Alan, on the other hand, was acknowledging his fans all night, whispering them love notes and blowing them kisses. Hacken doesn't crave the spotlight badly enough to be a great performer. Is he a good performer? Sure, he is good. But is he electrifying and irresistible? Hardly.

It was obvious that Alan is very protective of Hacken, and he gives it his all to encourage him on stage. When Hacken sings, Alan motions for the audience to clap. When Hacken finishes his last note, Alan nudges in a little compliment. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought Hacken was touring with Alan as a rookie special guest. And if anything, Alan's body language and behavior only underscores the fact that Hacken still looks and feels like a rookie. Indeed, Alan seems like a super supportive mentor to take Hacken under his wing, and that lies in why I believe Hacken, after all these years, is riding on Alan's coattails. Without Alan, the show would have been stiff and dead. Without Hacken, the show would've been just as entertaining. I'm not even sure why this concert was so popular. Maybe it was because most of it was a rundown of Alan's hit songs from the 1980s. Maybe it was the eloquently written B.S. they babbled in between each song. Maybe the Hong Kong audience liked being entertained by two jokers. It certainly seemed that way because they shared more fun and laughter while listening to Alan and Hacken's facetious jokes.

Whether or not Hacken continues his success lies in whether he can overcome his personal struggles and his subconscious disbelief that his dreams have come true. Until Hacken is at ease with himself and isn't afraid to fail, he cannot be an outstanding, spectacular performer. His mind seems much too preoccupied with what he thinks about himself and what others think of him, that he forgets to just get on stage, perform and have a great time. Perhaps ten or twenty years later when there is no longer anything at stake, Hacken will realize that being electrifying and irresistible is not a struggle, and that singing with emotion takes your heart, not your mind, to do.