Bombs and love songs for Valentine's
Bombs and love songs for Valentine's
Posted 00:50am (Mla time) Feb 16, 2005
By Neal Cruz
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A14 of the February 16, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
THERE were many Valentine's Day shows last Monday, but I'm glad I chose "Love Songs at the Front Page" at the 21-day-old piano bar that is the new watering hole for journalists. There, a combination of veteran and relatively new singers took turns entertaining the crowd with old favorites on the joys and pain of love.
The veterans were pop icon Nonoy Zuñiga, M.D., the doctor who reportedly sings to his patients to hasten healing; Girl Valencia, the favorite singer of National Artist Nick Joaquin when he was still alive; and Edgar Orpida, the "Elvis Presley of Asia." The relative newcomers are Juan Rodrigo, a pioneer of telenovelas long before imported “telenovelas” [TV soaps] flooded the country, who has now turned singer, and, in the most pleasant surprise of all, Marri Nallos, a beautiful 20-year-old from London who is a contestant in "European Idol," which has been imitated by the United States as "American Idol." Well, she is not really a newcomer because Marri just had an album of love songs released by Universal Records, "Ikaw Pa Rin Ang Mamahalin." She was the featured singer of Front Page while the others were guests.
You may have heard of Marri only recently, but she is really a veteran and very accomplished singer. So you would know more about her, let me cite her pedigree:
Although she was born in Rome and grew up in London, Marri is a full-blooded Filipino. And although still very young, she already has had a long experience in music and theater. She was a scholar of the Sylvia Young Theatre School in Marlybone, London, and a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, with a bronze medal to her name. She started singing when she was only 9 years old at their own restaurant in Central London after winning the grand prize in an amateur contest in Le Palais, London. At age 12, she was picked from over 20,000 children in Great Britain to be the "Most Talented Child," a nationwide talent search in Great Britain.
While studying in London, she had memorable appearances in the theater like Young Stars in Sadler's Wells Theatre and the musical "Oliver" in London's Palladium. She also did television shows over BBC-London.
Here, in the Philippines, she finished her first album tour, which included 10 malls and five bars/music lounges last April. She started her music lounge act at the Calesa Bar and had gigs with her own band, Friends Inc., in other five-star hotels.
Marri, dressed in a green low-necked see-through with sequins, opened the show with a series of love songs, ending with "The Way You Look Tonight." Then she introduced Juan Rodrigo who sang the Spanish song "Amor, Amor, Amor" and followed it up with a medley of Broadway musicals. Then he and Marri sang a duet, "You Are My Destiny."
Girl Valencia, the girl with the svelte voice, sang a series of three interconnected love songs: "I'm In the Mood for Love," "The Nearness of You," and the Pilita Corrales standard, "Saan Ka Man Naroroon."
In a well-applauded number, Girl sang a duet with Marri, "I Will Always Love You" that almost brought the house down.
Elvis Presley has many imitators, both here and abroad, and there are always contests for Elvis Presley look-alikes. Recently, there was another such contest in Tokyo and our very own Edgar Orpida won over the other contestants from the region as the "Elvis Presley of Asia." (Chito Bertol of the Manila Seedling Bank Foundation is the first "Elvis Presley of the Philippines.")
In the signature Elvis costume of white tight-fitting, high-collared togs with sequin embroidery open in front down to the navel, sunglasses, complete with pasted sideburns and many big-stoned rings on his fingers, Edgar sang three Presley favorites that made the audience yell for more. For an encore, he sang a duet with Marri, "When I Fall In Love," a rare occurrence as Elvis rarely sang a duet with anybody.
After that, the audience practically went crazily in love with Marri again when she sang "Crazy." Mark my word, this girl will be tomorrow's super singer.
Then came the pop icon himself all in black, Nonoy Zuñiga, the doctor with the cool baritone that sends females swooning. He sang two songs from his newest album, released on Valentine's Day by Viva Records, one of which is the sentimental favorite, "Moon River."
For a finale, the group together sang "The Greatest Love of All" with hardly any rehearsal beforehand. This is the trademark of professional singers: they can sing duets, trios and in big groups with hardly any rehearsal.
The show was put together on short notice by talent managers Nelia Lim and Peter Sing, to whom I am grateful. Many journalists called, asking that the show be delayed so they could catch it as they were still busy changing their own front pages to report the series of bomb explosions that killed seven and injured scores of others in Makati, Davao and General Santos, the Valentine's Day gift of terrorists to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
But we couldn't delay it too much, as the audience had been waiting since 8 p.m. So, we decided to make it a regular show of Front Page with different outstanding talents performing and to have it televised so more people can see it.
Make it a habit to drop by the Front Page. You never know whom you'll see there.
Posted 00:50am (Mla time) Feb 16, 2005
By Neal Cruz
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A14 of the February 16, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
THERE were many Valentine's Day shows last Monday, but I'm glad I chose "Love Songs at the Front Page" at the 21-day-old piano bar that is the new watering hole for journalists. There, a combination of veteran and relatively new singers took turns entertaining the crowd with old favorites on the joys and pain of love.
The veterans were pop icon Nonoy Zuñiga, M.D., the doctor who reportedly sings to his patients to hasten healing; Girl Valencia, the favorite singer of National Artist Nick Joaquin when he was still alive; and Edgar Orpida, the "Elvis Presley of Asia." The relative newcomers are Juan Rodrigo, a pioneer of telenovelas long before imported “telenovelas” [TV soaps] flooded the country, who has now turned singer, and, in the most pleasant surprise of all, Marri Nallos, a beautiful 20-year-old from London who is a contestant in "European Idol," which has been imitated by the United States as "American Idol." Well, she is not really a newcomer because Marri just had an album of love songs released by Universal Records, "Ikaw Pa Rin Ang Mamahalin." She was the featured singer of Front Page while the others were guests.
You may have heard of Marri only recently, but she is really a veteran and very accomplished singer. So you would know more about her, let me cite her pedigree:
Although she was born in Rome and grew up in London, Marri is a full-blooded Filipino. And although still very young, she already has had a long experience in music and theater. She was a scholar of the Sylvia Young Theatre School in Marlybone, London, and a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, with a bronze medal to her name. She started singing when she was only 9 years old at their own restaurant in Central London after winning the grand prize in an amateur contest in Le Palais, London. At age 12, she was picked from over 20,000 children in Great Britain to be the "Most Talented Child," a nationwide talent search in Great Britain.
While studying in London, she had memorable appearances in the theater like Young Stars in Sadler's Wells Theatre and the musical "Oliver" in London's Palladium. She also did television shows over BBC-London.
Here, in the Philippines, she finished her first album tour, which included 10 malls and five bars/music lounges last April. She started her music lounge act at the Calesa Bar and had gigs with her own band, Friends Inc., in other five-star hotels.
Marri, dressed in a green low-necked see-through with sequins, opened the show with a series of love songs, ending with "The Way You Look Tonight." Then she introduced Juan Rodrigo who sang the Spanish song "Amor, Amor, Amor" and followed it up with a medley of Broadway musicals. Then he and Marri sang a duet, "You Are My Destiny."
Girl Valencia, the girl with the svelte voice, sang a series of three interconnected love songs: "I'm In the Mood for Love," "The Nearness of You," and the Pilita Corrales standard, "Saan Ka Man Naroroon."
In a well-applauded number, Girl sang a duet with Marri, "I Will Always Love You" that almost brought the house down.
Elvis Presley has many imitators, both here and abroad, and there are always contests for Elvis Presley look-alikes. Recently, there was another such contest in Tokyo and our very own Edgar Orpida won over the other contestants from the region as the "Elvis Presley of Asia." (Chito Bertol of the Manila Seedling Bank Foundation is the first "Elvis Presley of the Philippines.")
In the signature Elvis costume of white tight-fitting, high-collared togs with sequin embroidery open in front down to the navel, sunglasses, complete with pasted sideburns and many big-stoned rings on his fingers, Edgar sang three Presley favorites that made the audience yell for more. For an encore, he sang a duet with Marri, "When I Fall In Love," a rare occurrence as Elvis rarely sang a duet with anybody.
After that, the audience practically went crazily in love with Marri again when she sang "Crazy." Mark my word, this girl will be tomorrow's super singer.
Then came the pop icon himself all in black, Nonoy Zuñiga, the doctor with the cool baritone that sends females swooning. He sang two songs from his newest album, released on Valentine's Day by Viva Records, one of which is the sentimental favorite, "Moon River."
For a finale, the group together sang "The Greatest Love of All" with hardly any rehearsal beforehand. This is the trademark of professional singers: they can sing duets, trios and in big groups with hardly any rehearsal.
The show was put together on short notice by talent managers Nelia Lim and Peter Sing, to whom I am grateful. Many journalists called, asking that the show be delayed so they could catch it as they were still busy changing their own front pages to report the series of bomb explosions that killed seven and injured scores of others in Makati, Davao and General Santos, the Valentine's Day gift of terrorists to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
But we couldn't delay it too much, as the audience had been waiting since 8 p.m. So, we decided to make it a regular show of Front Page with different outstanding talents performing and to have it televised so more people can see it.
Make it a habit to drop by the Front Page. You never know whom you'll see there.
posted by Dante at 12:50 AM
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