MANILA, Philippines - In his recently piloted teleseries, Mulawin Versus Ravena where he plays Panabon, the kind and brave if rebellious member of the Mortals, Ariel Rivera departs from good father/husband roles, the diversification disallowing burnout. He, wife Gelli de Belen, their brood and avid followers must be brimming broadly.
Concert director Calvin Neria had always talked about bringing back Ariel Rivera to singing whose career has been sidetracked by television acting. Calvin did just that in Royale Chimes Concerts and Events, Inc. Valentine offering this year, #LoveThrowback2 at the Plenary Hall of the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).
Calvin proved correct as the combination of Ariel, Hajji Alejandro, Christian Bautista, Joey G., Jinky Vidal and Nina, their Original Pilipino Music (OPM) menu given a hugot treatment, and correct timing proved the right mix and it ended highest grosser among the four mid-priced shows of the five shows featuring the country’s best and most viable concert performers.
“Mahirap kasing pagsabayin kapag may teleserye ka. Ang kadalasang taping namin, four times a week. Mahirap isabay yung pagkanta sa serye,” he said when quizzed by this writer why he seemed to display partiality to acting over singing.
“It was my choice obviously na to accept it, but it’s been one teleserye after another. So, mahirap namang tanggihan ‘yung mga ganoon. Right now, in this business, iyon ang bumubuhay sa amin, iyong TV. Teleseryes, specifically, so it wasn’t a conscious effort to stay away from music, it’s just an evolution I guess,” explained Ariel.
Foremost a balladeer known for his Sana platinum sellers (Sana Kahit Minsan, Ayoko Na Sana, Sana Ngayong Pasko), he diversified when his record company, BMG Records, closed. “Hindi ako naghanap ng new recording company dahil alam kong karamihan sa mga ito ay mas gustong ipag-produce ang mas batang singers.”
A natural progression, Ariel ventured into acting and discovered a new lucrative niche — teleseries acting — that allows him to accept less frequent projects such as live singing, musicals and foreign shows. And he got good roles from the networks, bringing out the actor in him that he believes all singers possess as they express emotion on stage.
And then he got the offer from Royale Chimes and Concerts managing director Beth Mercado to sing in #LoveThrowback2 that allowed him to return to his outstanding genius.
Welcome back Ariel warmly by watching #LoveThrowback2 The Repeat tomorrow, May 27, 8:30 p.m. at PICC.