My Three Decades-Old Richard Marx Journey, With A Resorts World Genting Twist
The Endless 60th Diamond Jubilee Celebrations With Richard Marx at the Arena of Stars, Genting Highlands was a night to remember for many.
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To borrow a phrase from Sophia Petrillo of The Golden Girls: Picture this. It was the early 90s. Music was good. The world was not going from 0 to 120km/h in five seconds every day. Right Here Waiting by an American songwriter turned rock ballad singer was playing practically everywhere.
He was young, he wrote beautiful music, he was good looking and his songs became worldwide chart-topping hits. His name is Richard Marx.
Of course he was big in Malaysia too. As a tween when Right Here Waiting came out in 1989, you can count me as one of his fans.
So in the 90s when he was set to hold a concert in Kuala Lumpur, of course I was excited. My memory may not be quite accurate but I remember they put him up at the Pan Pacific Hotel, next to the Putra World Trade Centre, across the road from a shopping complex we simply called “The Mall” back then.
My uncle worked security at the hotel and he said he could arrange it for me to meet Marx, maybe get a photo or just to say a quick hello. You can imagine how excited this girl from Kedah was at the prospect of coming face to face with this heartthrob.
It was probably the school holidays at the time because I remember my family and I headed to Kuala Lumpur from Cameron Highlands, where I had also bought a flower to give him.
When we arrived at the Pan Pacific, or what most of you today know as the Seri Pacific Hotel, my uncle apologised and said he couldn’t arrange a meet. I remember being sad, maybe even devastated because of course, I was an overdramatic tween.
To sum it up, I didn’t get to meet him, and I didn’t attend his concert. I remained a Marx fan. My Top 3 are: Hazard followed by Now and Forever, and then Right Here Waiting.
Fast forward to 2025. Over three decades later.
Resorts World Genting announced a Richard Marx concert at the Arena of Stars, as part of the group’s 60th Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
In an earlier release, Resorts World Genting said the celebration is not only paying tribute to Marx’s enduring legacy, but also to the memories shared by millions who have walked through the doors of the Arena of Stars.
That rings true for me as the Arena of Stars is also the first time I saw the legendary Engelbert Humperdinck perform live. Having grown up with his songs, the venue was witness to how excited I was to finally be able to hear his timeless classics by the man himself.
The venue has not changed much over the years, it remains an excellent spot for live performances, high amidst the clouds, lending it a romantic charm.
As Marx took to the stage on the night of 16 August, the crowd roared with applause, welcoming this man back to our shores, a man many of us have on our music playlist, serenading us with his smooth guitar playing and amazing vocals.
He opened the night with one of his newer numbers, Believe In Me. The song came out in 2022 and it set the stage for an electrifying night ahead.
Much to the delight of his fans from his early days, the next number was Endless Summer Nights which was released in 1987. This song was in Marx’s very first album as he made the move from songwriter to singer-songwriter.
The night wouldn’t have been complete without the song about a little place in Nebraska that hit number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in 1992
The audience was immediately transported back to the early 90s as the original video clip starring renowned Robert Conrad graced the big screen as Marx slowed things down to deliver Hazard which told the story of Mary’s murder.
While there is no disputing the man’s talent of playing the guitar or piano while singing, he is also a charming performer, beautifully engaging with members of the audience, teasing us about being very quiet and asking us to sing along to which almost everyone accepted the challenge.
His repertoire for the night also included Now and Forever, Angelia, the N’Sync hit which he wrote and produced titled This I Promise You, Hold On To the Night, among others.
Magic Hour jazzed the night up. It’s a brand new song Marx wrote with his wife Daisy Fuentes.
Magic Hour is Marx’s attempt at trying something different and honouring the good old days of big band and the Great American Songbook. He also served up his own take of Fly Me To The Moon.
The concert ended with none other than Marx’s worldwide hit Right Here Waiting. The crowd went wild and of course it became a sing along session because who doesn’t know the words. We may have been Oceans Apart from the singer but music knows no borders.
Once again, Resorts World Genting promised and delivered. The concert was a huge success and I’m pretty sure many left with a smile on their faces.
The night however did not end there for me. As media partners, we were invited to a photo session with Marx and this was when I whipped out the single stalk rose I had brought with me.
When it was our turn for the group photo, I told Marx the story I just told all of you, and handed him the flower. He graciously accepted it, said thank you and later told the photographer to take another pic “just the two of us“.
As Genting turned 60 on 16 August 2025, it was also the day my decades old dream came true. The disappointed little girl back then, with a flower in hand, finally fulfilled her dream of handing a flower to this multi-talented Grammy-winning singer.
Thank you, Resorts World Genting! And, Happy 60th! More importantly, thank you Richard Marx, for being a fine gentleman and an amazing performer.
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