The songs of Ogie’s life

"If I can make it there," says Ogie Alcasid, "I’ll make it anywhere!"

There is the Big Dome where Ogie is holding his OA Sa Hits major concert on Friday, Oct. 4, produced by Viva Concerts, with Freestyle, Side A and Regine Velasquez as his guests (musical director is Mark Lopez, with Louie Ignacio as stage director).

"I’ve done the Folk Arts Theater," added Ogie whose second child, Sarah Kate, was delivered by wife Michelle van Eimeren in her native Australia three weeks ago. "Now, I’m trying to conquer the Araneta Coliseum."

It’s not a "mission impossible," judging from the brisk tickets sales and the number of people asking – nay, demanding! – for complis (sorry, but tickets are sold out).

Now, isn’t it the best occasion to ask Ogie what he considers the (10) most memorable songs of his life?

Here they are (and why):

1. Nandito Ako (title of the movie where Kris Aquino and Phillip Salvador met and fell in love). "My very first ballad (1990). I didn’t write the song, it was Aaron Paul who wrote it; but I sang it. It started everything for me; na-establish ako as a balladeer because of that song. Nandito Ako is my national anthem, also chosen Song of the Year by WTM."

2. Sa Kanya (1990). "My second ballad. Again, I didn’t write it but Ito Rapadas who gave it to me. I fell in love with the song at first hearing. I didn’t know it would be a hit because it wasn’t very masa. But the masa liked it."

3. Mahal Kita Walang Iba (1992, also the title of a movie starring Kris Aquino and Christopher de Leon). "The first ballad that I ever wrote – for my girlfriend then. Binata pa ako noon; hindi ko pa nami-meet si Michelle."

4. Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang (1993, title of a movie starring Christopher de Leon and Alice Dixson, and Robin Padilla and Judy Ann Santos’ forthcoming Viva starrer). "Alternative music was the fad at that time, mga Eraserheads, but the song became a hit."

5. Dahil Mahal Kita (theme song of Dolzura Cortez Story, starring Vilma Santos and Christopher de Leon). "It’s my first Vilma Santos theme song, kaya memorable sa akin ’yon."

6. Bakit Ka Lumayo (1993, for the movie Blusang Itim starring Snooky Serna and Patrick Guzman). "I thought of someone who got separated from her loved one, istoryang inimbento ko lang. It’s about a guy longing for a lost love. No relation to my personal life whatsoever."

7. Kung Mawawala Ka (1999, theme song of the GMA 7 soap of the same title). "I was inactive in writing songs for four years (1994 to 1998) because I was concentrating on doing movies. Kung Mawawala Ka reflects my thoughts and fears of how my life would be without my wife whom I married in 1995. Michelle was taking a vacation in Australia at that time and I was missing her terribly."

8. Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw (title of the movie starring Robin Padilla and Regine Velasquez). "It’s my first commissioned work, written purposely for the movie. I didn’t realize that the movie was that big."

9. Ikaw Sana (2001, included in his album A Better Man). "It has the same theme as Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang and embraced by many people. Naging theme song ng buong bayan."

10. Hanggang Ngayon (title of the movie starring Regine Velasquez and Richard Gomez). "It’s my first duet with Regine – the first ever duet that I wrote. I wanted to write a song about two people who were separated but who wanted so much to be together again. But they were afraid to get back together because they’re worried that things might not work out."

Not one of those 10 songs, however, qualifies as the Song of Ogie’s Life. A Better Man is "it."

"It’s my song for my wife and my kids, Leila (the older daughter, 5) and Sarah Kate. There’s a line there that says, You make me want to be a better man, which was actually from a dialogue in the movie As Good As It Gets. I sort of worked around that idea – you know, how I want so much to be a good husband and a good father, and that’s how I came to be a better man. I’m so happy because A Better Man was chosen Album of the Year by the Awit Awards, an award that I’ve never won. I’ve won as Best Performer, etc., but not for an Album of the Year."

Ogie has written more than 90 songs so far, 50 of them recorded. It takes him from seven minutes to weeks to complete a song, depending upon his inspiration (his biggest nemesis is mental block).

"I wrote Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw in seven minutes flat," related Ogie. "Regine told me the story (of the movie) very vividly, so I knew exactly what to write about. I came up with the title. Tuluy-tuloy lang ang pag-compose ko. Done in seven minutes."

No, Ogie doesn’t know if the song he’s writing will be a hit or not.

"All I know is that when I write a song, as long as I know I put all of myself into it, all my heart and soul, and I feel a certain pain or angst or anguish, then I know that I’ve done something good. I know it has a chance. Like Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang. It wasn’t such a hit when I sang it but it was given new life by Freestyle (for the Robin-Judy Ann movie)."

When Ogie writes a song, he already has a specific singer in mind. It helps. He has written songs for, among others, Sharon Cuneta, Janno Gibbs and Pops Fernandez.

If he were to write (another) song for Michelle, how would it go?

"Actually," revealed Ogie, "I have already written a new song for her. It’s called Nais Ko, recorded by Side A. It’s the story of how we met (during the Miss Universe Pageant here in 1994 where Ogie acted as a mascot), how we started as friends and then how we ended up together. Side A and I will be singing the song at my concert, first time it’s going to be sung ‘live’ in public."

And what about for Leila and Sarah Kate?

"For my daughters, I’ve written a song called When I See You Smile. It’s about the sentiments of a father. When you see your children smiling, even if they kind of have been very naughty, parang nawawala ang galit mo, parang you realize that you have a responsibility to take care of them and bring them up to be good persons."

Okay, all together now, let’s sing along with Ogie and fill the world with love.

Assunta is out; Kris is in

It’s final: Assunta de Rossi is out of the cast of Regal Films’ mega-movie Mano Po, with an all-star cast and a budget of P60 million, intended for the Metro Filmfest in December.

Newest addition to the cast, as Funfare speculated yesterday, is Kris Aquino who will take the role originally meant for Ara Mina who, in turn, will play Assunta’s role (as a rebellious daughter... how apt!).

But Kris has one request: Please include Eric Quizon in the cast so her love scene will be with him. Regal Matriarch Mother Lily promptly granted Kris’ request.

Now, at the rate she’s getting to be "difficult" ("She made me wait for more than two hours at her house!" raged Mother Lily who went to Assunta and Jules Ledesma’s condo unit to iron things out), she might soon be "persona non grata" to producers.

Oh, well, maybe she should settle down as Mrs. Jules Ledesma and kiss showbiz goodbye. Good riddance?