‘Mega’ continues to spring surprises

Twenty-nine years in showbiz haven’t made Sharon Cuneta’s bright star shine any less. Despite the seemingly endless entry of aspiring talents in the local entertainment scene, Sharon has remained eminently entrenched in the showbiz firmament — ever popular, ever visible, ever in-demand — veritably making her an icon.

It is no wonder that her TV programs, movies and concerts are also widely followed by her millions of fans who have supported her all these years. It comes as no surprise, too, why she remains the most sought-after product endorser among local artists.

Yet, it continues to amaze and overwhelm Sharon whenever she would generate a high TV rating for her program, a box-office hit for her movies and a sell-out crowd for her concerts.

At My Mega Valentine 2 concert Saturday night at Araneta Coliseum, Sharonians came in droves to signify their support, for the nth time, to the one and only Megastar. The concert may have the same title as the one Sharon had at exactly the same time last year, also at the same venue. But this one was a totally different show with a different line-up of songs.

In fact, Sharon even did an Ennio Morricone suite, a tribute to the great Italian composer who will receive this year’s honorary Oscar at the Academy Awards late this month. It was certainly a very uncommon inclusion in a Sharon Cuneta concert repertoire, but the Megastar explained she simply wanted to do numbers by Morricone.

Josh Groban’s You’re Still You made it to the suite, that’s why the audience became readily familiar with the music — and the name. The songs were given beautiful arrangement by the show’s musical director, Louie Ocampo, whom Sharon described as "better than any Morricone."

The concert started more than an hour late, but when Sharon emerged on stage in her elegant, all-black Paul Cabral gown, the audience looked like they instantly forgot their whining earlier that night. She opened the show with the familiar, upbeat tune, I Believe in Love, but followed it up with a Jim Brickman composition, Valentine, in keeping up with the occasion.

The first medley of the night consisted of acoustic cuts from Sharon’s triple-platinum album, Isn’t It Romantic, under Sony BMG Records, Simply Jessie, Terminal, Laughter in the Rain and the title track. Sharon announced she will start recording soon the second volume of Isn’t It Romantic, which will include more cover versions of love tunes from the ’70s and ’80s.

For the first time, Sharon shared the stage with Pops Fernandez, her special guest that night whom she selflessly introduced as "the one and only concert queen." Pops instantly revved up the crowd with her dance medley that included ditties like Break Out, Locomotion, That’s the Way It Is, Dancing Queen and Walking on Sunshine. She worked the stage that is definitely all too familiar to her, having staged successful solo concerts, too, at the Big Dome.

When they were finally together on stage, Sharon surprised Pops with a personal letter that interestingly detailed how they were born on the same year, grew up together, attended the same parties and went to the same school, but never went beyond friends. As Sharon was reading her note to Pops, photos of their childhood and teenage years were flashed on the giant screen at the upper right side of the coliseum. It was truly a surprise that made Pops cry.

More amusingly, they traded anecdotes on stage so comfortably like they were just in a talk show. For a moment, one thought the two stars were probably oblivious of the huge crowd before them and simply kept on ranting about their lives, including their respective failed marriages.

Sharon said she is honored to perform on the same stage with Pops, whom she treated as "concert royalty." Together, they carried out saccharine ballads — Something New in My Life, How Do You Keep the Music Playing, Almost Over You, I Honestly Love You and The Promise. Later on in the show, Sharon and Pops dished out a vocally challenging duet, Whitney Houston’s On My Own.

The Apo Hiking Society trio of Jim Paredes, Danny Javier and Buboy Garovillo carried out their timeless hits with Sharon — Doobidoo, Ewan, Magkayakap sa Dilim, Pumapatak na Naman ang Ulan, Mahirap Magmahal ng Syota ng Iba, When I Met You, Batang-Bata Ka Pa, Nakapagtataka, Kabilugan ng Buwan and Awit ng Barkada.

When The Apo was left for their spot number, they brought the house down with their Salawikain, rendered Il Divo style, as well as the medley of novelty and kundiman songs, given a Top 40 and MTV twist.

They may not be as active on stage as they used to, but The Apo hasn’t lost their distinct and brilliant performance style that makes them a hit with their audience. It was good to hear that we can see more of the trio again on the live performance stage in the coming months, as The Apo has scheduled gigs in Manila and in the provinces.

With her guests, Sharon sang a medley of Ryan Cayabyab originals — Paraiso and Better World — especially penned for the now-defunct Smokey Mountain quartet.

After singing Louie Ocampo compositions — Ikaw and Ikaw Lang ang Mamahalin — Sharon would have ended with one of her earlier hits, To Love Again, but naturally, the audience demanded for an encore. Sharon lost no time in returning on stage to render Kathy Trocolli’s If I’m Not in Love With You (also a cut in her Isn’t It Romantic CD) and Friends, which she hadn’t sung in a live concert stage for more than 20 years.

As she was generous to her audience with her performance, the crowd, in turn, rewarded her with a steady stream of applause. Up to this day, there were still fans in the audience screaming "I love you, Sharon" — proof of the Megastar’s enduring popularity.

Sharon’s fellow celebrities likewise showed their support to her Valentine concert. Vilma Santos, who was with her hubby Sen. Ralph Recto, sat in the front row with Sharon’s husband, Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, and mother Elaine Cuneta. Sharon, who’s a self-confessed Vilmanian, was endlessly thrilled to see her idol watching her perform.

Others in attendance were couples Gary and Angeli Valenciano, Phillip Salvador and Emma Ledesma, Tirso Cruz III and Lyn Ynchausti, noted dermatologist Dr. Vicki Belo and Joey Santos, Andeng Bautista and hubby Jun-Jun Ynares, Julius and Tintin Babao, Erik Santos and Rufa Mae Quinto.

Also spotted were Helen Gamboa with daughters Ciara and Apples Sotto, Ai-Ai de las Alas, director Malu Sevilla, Beth Tamayo, Rep. Teddy Boy Locsin Jr., GMA 7 newscaster Rhea Santos, Gino Padilla (who’s reviving his singing career with an upcoming solo album that Sharon produced, Hands in Time) and Sony BMG Records executives Rudy Tee, Narciso Chan and Vic Valenciano.