Metropop Star Search standouts reunite for ‘Stars Reignited’ concert

MANILA, Philippines — Seven singers who first crossed paths as contestants in the Metropop Star Search reunited onstage decades later for a night of music, memories and stories about the careers they built after the competition.

Miles Poblete, Faith Cuneta, Roxanne Barcelo, Anna Katrina Lara, Champagne Morales, Camille Velasco and Xaxa Manalo came together for the sold-out “Stars Reignited: The Metropop Star Search Concert Reunion” on September 5 at Teatrino Promenade in Greenhills, San Juan City.

The concert featured OPM favorites, timeless classics and songs that became part of the singers’ individual musical journeys. Cye Soriano, who helped make the reunion possible, also joined the performers as a special guest.

The seven singers opened the show with a mashup of Whitney Houston’s “I’m Every Woman” and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.”

During the concert’s “Bonding Moments,” the performers looked back on their Metropop Star Search experiences and shared how the competition influenced their lives and careers.

Barcelo, who is now based in Taiwan, performed “I Think I’m in Love,” while Lara serenaded the audience with “Inseparable” and shared a story of perseverance. Lara was the grand winner of the Metropop Star Search in 2000.

The reunion also highlighted the different paths taken by the singers after the competition.

Manalo talked about her transition from singing to becoming a flight attendant and eventually a pilot. She later returned to the stage to perform “Get Here.”

Velasco reflected on family and faith and how these eventually led her back to music, while Poblete recalled her experiences performing abroad before becoming the female lead vocalist of the legendary band Hotdog.

Poblete also made a visual statement during the concert with an avant-garde gown designed and crafted by fellow Bicolano artist Dawn Henson.

The high-low gown drew inspiration from two places significant to Poblete: Pasig, which was the subject of her iconic winning song, and Bicol, where she was born and raised.

According to the concept behind the creation, the gown represents environmental destruction, survival and resilience.

Its fiery textures and dramatic pleats were inspired by Mayon Volcano, while the flowers represented the resilience of the Bicolano people following natural disasters and other challenges.

The gown’s flowing, translucent skirt, meanwhile, was designed to evoke the plastic waste and garbage associated with the Pasig River.

The contrasting elements were meant to connect Poblete’s musical history with her roots and the environmental themes reflected in her winning song “Anak ng Pasig.”

Following the sold-out September 5 concert, “Stars Reignited: The Metropop Star Search Concert Reunion” will have a repeat performance due to public demand.

The reunion concert is scheduled for November 28, Saturday, at 7 p.m. at the Music Museum in Greenhills, San Juan City.

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