Jessica Sanchez basks in gratitude at 'homecoming, reunion' concert
MANILA, Philippines — Gratitude filled the air inside the Araneta Coliseum as Jessica Sanchez repaid years of love and support for her Filipino fans.
The concert on May 16 was Jessica's first solo show in the Philippines since her "America's Got Talent" win last year, during which she competed while carrying her first child with husband Rickie Gallardo.
Hosting the show at the Big Dome was an auspicious decision as it held one of her first concerts in the country.
An early hiccup occurred before the event even took place when Vice Ganda, a late addition to the star-studded guest line-up, announced he could not attend.
Jessica carried on, opening the show with "Golden Hour" and "Beautiful Things" — two songs she performed on "America's Got Talent," the latter earned her a Golden Buzzer.
"I cannot wait to give you guys everything," the singer told her audience. "I am so grateful because you guys came out to see me."
She then performed original tracks "This Love," "Electric Honey," and "What's Your 20," the latter two from her new album "Szn."
Morissette Amon then joined her onstage for their new collaboration, "Stronger Than Before."
Morissette took a moment to fangirl over her fellow artist who also competed on "American Idol" and finished as a runner-up, saying, "I speak on behalf of everyone in the Philippines, you were already a champion to us."
Jessica stepped away momentarily so that Morissette could perform "Will You Stay," returning to the stage for a cover of Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey's "When You Believe" with Regine Velasquez.
The Filipino-American said it was an honor to sing with Regine, who quickly quipped about the sparks that went off during their duet.
"I was in awe of you, you were amazing then and you're incredible now," Regine told Jessica, before taking the stage alone for an intimate cover of Ben&Ben's "Leaves."
After performing Alicia Keys' "Fallin'" from her "Idol" stint, her original song "Rest of the Night," and thanking her sponsors, Jessica brought out Martin Nievera.
Jessica admitted feeling giddy each time they perform together, especially Martin's song "Ikaw," which was the first Filipino song her grandmother taught her.
"She now knows what a Filipino audience is like, what she doesn't know is that the audience sings better than us," Martin shared with the Big Dome crowd.
To prove his point the Concert King rallied the crowd to sing "Be My Lady," "Say That You Love Me," and "You Are My Song." He humorously scolded those not singing and asked everyone to turn on their phone lights.
James Reid surprised everyone by emerging from the crowd to cover Justin Bieber's "Daisies," then sat down with Jessica to cover Filipino-American Bruno Mars' "Risk It All."
At a press conference earlier in the week, Jessica shared that she sings that song to her infant daughter Eliana.
Jessica introduced her band then performed another original song "Two Lines," which she wrote for Eliana. To everyone's surprise, Rickie brought their baby girl out so Jessica could perform while holding her small hands.
"I've had a lot of love especially from you guys throughout my life, but I've also had a lot of faith," Jessica said, citing her faith as the reason she continued pursuing music.
She went on to cover Hillsong Worship's "Oceans," and the audience responded in kind by opening their phone lights again.
"I'm proud of my Filipino roots, this feels like a reunion show. My roots run deep," Jessica said before bringing out Gary Valenciano, another of her lola's favorite singers, to perform his song "Take Me Out of the Dark."
Speaking onstage alone, Gary related to Jessica's thoughts about the Araneta Coliseum, sharing that his first major concert there was 42 years ago.
"The journeys that we artists go through may look like roses... but we are not disconnected from what people are going through," Gary said.
Gary sang a medley of tracks he believes penetrates people's hearts: "Sana Maulit Muli," "Kailangan Kita," "Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin," and "How Did You Know."
Jessica returned to the stage and dedicated a performance of Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" to the fans, another popular cover she performed on "Idol."
She expressed her gratitude again to everyone watching before taking a group picture with the crowd, ending the night with "Tonight" with Darren Espanto and a cover of Zedd's "Clarity."
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