Hugot overload sells out Valentine shows

MANILA, Philippines -  Supreme romance spread the metro during this year’s Valentine celebration period. Love-struck partygoers opted to revel in big venues of the six concerts of Original Pilipino Music (OPM) with the country’s best singers, plus the only foreign act at basically the same price ranges, except the low and high ends.

A reliable industry source shared that all did well in ticket sales, for sure, with various degrees of success. No doubt that Vice Ganda’s mass-priced show, Pusuan Mo Si Vice Ganda, sold out at the 18,000-capacity Araneta Coliseum, took the No. 1 rank. The entertainer’s ticket sales appeal had been proven once more with his attention grabber show highlighted by an eight-minute hugot-filled spoken word performance.

Calvin Neria, concert director of #LoveThrowback2 featuring Hajji Alejandro, Ariel Rivera, Christian Bautista, Joey Generoso, Nina and Jinky Vidal, specified a verified “90-percent capacity.” This translated to 3,150 viewers at the 3,500-seater Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) Plenary Hall that ranked it second or first among the high-end concerts.

Neria first used the hugot device in Jennylyn Mercado’s 2014 Valentine concert with Antoinette Jadaone as writer, followed up by the original #LoveThrowback in 2016, also at the PICC.

Ogie Alcasid, Erik Santos, Ai-Ai de las Alas with Solenn Heussaff as guest in #Hugot Playlist, which was about songs that comfort the heart during break-ups, sold out at the 2,385-seater Kia Theater and ranked third.

The New Minstrels and The CompanY concert, Happy Together, a celebration of 45 years of OPM from the classics to novelty songs, pulled a wide-range audience registering a hefty “80-percent capacity” or 2,800 viewers, according to super creative Moy Ortiz of The CompanY.

Allan Villegas of Random Minds, who imported the critically-acclaimed ‘80s alternative-rock band, Goo Goo Dolls, for The Goo Goo Dolls Live in Manila rock concert at the Big Dome, shared, “It was overwhelming. I was close to tears when I saw the crowd. Expecting 8,000, we got 6,000 plus. The gig videos and photos speak for themselves.”

Martin Nievera and Lani Misalucha serenaded 1,408 viewers with some of the most romantic Filipino music in the two nights of Masquerade at the 1,760-capacity Grand Ballroom of Solaire Hotel and Casino.

But Gary Valenciano’s Love in Motion attended by the country’s power couples is unclassified here. For P150,000 per table, the sit-down dinner-concert was staged at the chi-chi Grand Ballroom of Shangri-La at The Fort. Producer Angeli Valenciano revealed, “A total of 1,200 went to see the two-night.” She did not, however, specify viewer count for each night.

This ranking is not entirely reliable as viewers count can be artificially bloated through complimentary tickets or contracted by no-shows of ticket buyers. Largely purchased now from automatic ticket reservation systems, sales figures are not released publicly.

The Philippines does not have law-mandated or organization-reported gross sales reporting system for shows and full-length features. We rely mostly on unverified figures or visual estimates.

What’s a tell-tale sign of success? A repeat! Lovethrowback2 announced during the show a repeat on May 2.

Villegas asked John Rzeznik, Goo Goo Dolls frontman, before flying out of the country, “Do you want to do this again?” He replied, “I’m in if you’re in.”

Expect the perennials same time next year.