GMA Network produces first concert with 3 Stars, 1 Heart

MANILA, Philippines — GMA Network has started off 2018 on a high note by producing its first-ever concert series 3 Stars, 1 Heart. Headlined by top Kapuso performers and recording artists — Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, Asia’s Romantic Balladeer Christian Bautista and Asia’s Pop Sweetheart Julie Anne San Jose — the 3 Stars, 1 Heart tour kicked off during Cebu’s Sinulog Festival weekend at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino.

It will head next to Dagupan City on April 14 at the CSI Stadia during the Bangus Festival. Other regional legs are still being arranged. It will also go overseas within the year.

According to Oliver Amoroso, GMA Network VP for Regional TV, 3 Stars, 1 Heart marks several firsts for the Kapuso station.

For one, it’s a purely network-driven initiative — the first foray into concert production — made possible by the combined efforts of GMA Regional TV (RTV) and GMA Entertainment Content Group (ECG).

“From the very start, I always believe in synergy. I’m so happy and proud of our collaborative project. The groundbreaking Cebu leg was amazing,” Amoroso said.

He noted that audience attendance went beyond their expectations, considering a lot was happening all over the Queen City of the South because of the annual Sinulog.

“We are excited to begin the new year with this big event in collaboration with GMA Regional TV. We partnered with Regional TV to be able to reach more people in the regions through live concerts,” said GMA VP for Business Development Department III Darling de Jesus Bodegon in a press statement.

Regine has done many shows in Cebu, including those sponsored by her brand endorsements and GMA Regional TV. It isn’t hard to tell why she’s a favorite and ever the crowd drawer, not just because of her stature as an artist but also because she continues to endear herself to the Cebuano crowd by regaling them with her grasp of the local language and acknowledging her proudly Bisaya roots (her mother is from the neighboring province of Southern Leyte).

However, it was the first time to see the three of them on the concert stage -— three generations of performers, so to speak. Regine, who is used to commanding crowds as a top biller, acted like a proud mentor and appeared very happy to be sharing if not shifting the spotlight to Christian and Julie Anne.

Bodegon said, “We decided to put Regine, Christian and Julie Anne together because this combination has never been done before. They share the same experience, with all of them coming from different talent shows. This is an interesting mix as well since they can do different genres but also blend together.”

Of course, Christian is already a concert star in his own right, who continues to have a following in other ASEAN countries. Julie Anne, however, showed that she’s the next concert artist to watch out for, offering a preview of her solo show #Julie at the Music Museum last Jan. 27. GMA execs said that the solid fans of Julie Anne from Cebu and neighboring areas were among the first ones to buy tickets to the 3 Stars, 1 Heart event.

While each of them had their solo, shining moments, one of the best highlights of the concert was when the three sang each other’s contest pieces — Regine’s In Your Eyes, Christian’s You Raise Me Up and Julie Anne’s The Voice Within. The segment harked back to the time when they competed in singing contests, which eventually paved the way for them to make a name for themselves in the music business. There was a bit of a banter while they looked back on their humble beginnings: Christian recalling his second-place finish in a talent show at the rival network; Regine claiming to have joined hundreds of competitions and winning less than a half of them; and Julie Anne competing on GMA 7’s children’s show Pop Star Kids. Regine also announced that she will be hosting soon a new singing contest titled Clash.

For the duets, Christian and Julie Ann did Finally Found Someone; Regine and Christian performed the Jose Mari Chan classic Please Be Careful with My Heart (Regine sang in the original duet with Jo Mari while Christian recorded a revival of the love song); and Regine sang Tadhana with Julie Anne on the piano.

Julie Anne also performed her brand-new single Nothing Left.

Meanwhile, 3 Stars, 1 Heart featured Cebuano creative talents. Regine paid tribute to her friend, popular Cebuano designer Cary Santiago, during a song number that saw Miss Cebu contestants sashaying in his intricate designs. Christian, on the other hand, delivered a duet with Danielle May Ozaraga, a World Championship of Performing Arts (WCOPA) multi-medalist. Julie Anne dished out a medley of dance hits with the Disco Remix dance crew.

As a trio, they did a George Canseco tribute during the concert and an Eraserheads medley as encore.

From the audience turnout to the collective reactions, it wasn’t hard to notice that the Cebuano crowd enjoyed every bit of the concert.

Audience member and Regine fan Sherryl Abellanosa said, “I would have wanted to listen more to Regine’s original songs in the concert. But her duet with Christian was impressive! Their Be Careful With My Heart was the highlight of the show. It brings back memories of the past relived in the present. Julie Anne, on the other hand, brought in a new flavor, leaving a mark that people would remember after each of her songs.”

Balikbayan from Australia Sherwin Sulla said, “Super ka maayo gihapon si Regine (Regine’s still super good.) Power performances from Julie Anne and Christian was also superb. In short, we really enjoyed the show.”

Directed by Paolo Valenciano with Raul Mitra as musical director, 3 Stars, 1 Heart was for the benefit of the Children of Cebu Foundation, Inc.