ELLA remains a relevant singer despite being in the business for four decades, and it's no surprise that her recent concerts staged over the weekend were sold out.
The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre's Plenary Hall was packed was packed on the two evenings her 'Jilid Rockestra Ella: Rockers Juga Manusia' was staged.
The two-and-half-hour concert saw Ella performing about 30 songs, some of which were duets with guest singers.
The concert on the first evening kicked off just before 9pm, with the 58-year-old artiste performing the upbeat track 'Belenggu', followed by 'Itulah Saya', 'Nuri' and 'Kesal'.
In the second segment, after a brief pause for her to address the crowd, Ella continued with slower numbers, namely 'Dua Insan Bercinta' and 'Sujud'.
"I must thank my music director for his beautiful arrangement for the concert tonight," Ella said, while pointing out to the man behind the grand piano on the stage — Datuk Hashridz Murshim Hassim a.k.a. Acis.
Malaysia's rock queen was backed by a capable five-piece band and 15-member orchestra.
In the following segment, Ella carried on as she sang 'Justeru', 'Retak', 'Layar Impian', 'Tiada Tangis Lagi' and 'Pengemis Cinta'.
She didn't forget to remind the audience about the plight of the Palestinians.
When she started to sing 'Demi', red and green lights were beamed into the concert hall, with the screen showing videos of the war victims in Gaza.
She followed this up with her big hits 'Sembilu', 'Pedih' and this writer's favourite, 'Sepi Sekuntum Mawar Merah'.
In the next segment, Ella sang 'Cinta Pertama', 'Cinta Selembut Sutera', 'Puisi Hamba', 'Cekal', and 'Menyanyilah'.
She was then joined by her husband Captain Azhar Husaini Ghazali on stage for a performance of 'Mendung Tak Bererti Hujan'.
In the next segment, she paid tribute to local artistes who had died by singing Datuk Sheila Majid's poignant 'Lagenda'.
With Sheila seated in the front row among the audience, Ella then got down the stage and approached her compatriot, before passing the microphone to the song's original performer to join her in delivering the regal track.
"This is a tribute to those who contributed to the local art scene and had passed on, leaving us with memories of their beautiful contribution," she explained.
By this time, which was already two-thirds of the show, Ella still hadn't changed her black ensemble; which was quite unusual for a female singer.
As if she had read this writer's mind, she then left the stage, as a troupe of traditional dancers kept the audience entertained.
Ella had promised that this concert would see her also performing something out of the ordinary — traditional tunes.
Dressed in a traditional-inspired pink-and-black ensemble, Ella came out onto the stage to deliver her promise, first by singing the classic tune 'Jauh Di Mata' and 'Sayang Disayang'.
She was then joined on the stage by Haziq Rosebi for 'Keroncong Kemayoran'.
"I've done a cover version of 'Jauh Di Mata' before this. I especially chose keroncong for this segment simply because I like this genre," she said.
Apparently, being married to a Johorean was how she began to like the genre, she said.
And that also explained why she had invited Haziq to sing that evening too.
"My husband and I are huge fans of Haziq. He has everything needed to be a traditional song performer," she said.
After the duet, Haziq sang an old classic of Roslan Madun, 'Lemak Manis', which made Haziq shine ever so brightly after being in the industry for some time.
Ella then carried on with the next segment, now dressed in a robe and headcover made of what looked like a black-and-white keffiyeh singing 'Ala Amerika', 'Penggoda', 'Anak Merdeka', 'Puteri Kota', 'Bendera Damai', and 'Standing In The Eyes', before disappearing backstage.
Of course, it was just a gimmick before she returned to sing 'Gemilang' for the encore.
At the press conference after the concert, it was also announced by the co-organiser, Rohit Rampal of Hitman Group, that they would stage a similar concert in Singapore on Oct 12 at The Star Theatre.