A Night of Mariah

I know a couple of friends who are fanatics of Mariah Carey and for good reason. She's got multiple hit songs (more than Elvis Presley) and was recently one of the artists to be featured in the American Idol. Her latest album, E=MC2 ("squared"), hit gold within 8 days of release here in the Philippines and garnered awards too in other countries.

MCA quickly put together an "E=MC2 Victory Party" which was promoted through word-of-mouth and the internet (yup no tri-media ads!). The party was packed!

Anyway, I was feeling sheepish with my Blogger t-shirt and jeans outfit since I did not expect that there would be a red carpet thingy (beauty angst alert!) and that everyone seemed to be dressed up and all dolled-up. Anyway, good thing Sweetie and I found seats, so I just kept myself invisible the rest of the night.

MCA artists performed the whole evening, starting off with Zoo (the band which Arnel Pineda was part of) and they sang "Always Be My Baby". Miguel Escueta looking a bit peeved followed, and then came Diane Elise, Pedicab, Chicosci and Richard Poon. Each gave their own rendition of a Mariah Carey song. (I'd like to add that I think singing her songs is really difficult, much more when one sings it in a different version).

Chicosci's "jam-like" rendition of Hero was notable (they were just actually playing around). It was extremely hard to take photos of Chicosci since the lead singer moved around a LOT. It was a good thing I thought of putting my cam on "sports mode" and it worked!

t was Richard Poon though who sang the best Mariah Carey song. He did his own version of "My All" and I would like to believe he floored the audience. He's come a long way since he launched his album last February and is just getting better and better. Here's his version of Mariah Carey's "My All".

MYMP and an Engagement

I was clueless about how we were going to celebrate V-day (a belated one). All I knew was we were going to Megamall to meet a friend and drop by an expo. By Friday night I was already going crazy over the surprise (OC ako eh!) and was trying to wheedle it out of Sweetie all night, to no avail. So, I had to wait!

After the meet-up, surprising Richard Poon (I bet he never expected us to show up in that event), and hyperventilating at the expo (thank God for the huge electric fan at the Megatrade Hall), I was whisked away to the Metrowalk area, still clueless about where we were going. I was just told we had to eat dinner and then we had to go and "claim" the gift.

I was then given an envelop and in it were 2 tickets to MYMP's "A Valentine... So Perfect" concert at the Meralco Theater. I did not realize immediately that the concert was about to start in 30 minutes and that Meralco Theater was just a stone's throw away. I had to ask, "Kelan ang Feb 16?". Me, the dodo. I finished my dinner in no time.

I love OPM. I've said that time and time again and I just cannot help but feel starstruck whenever I meet an artist and I don't think I will move past being a fan. Anyway, I couldn't help but giggle last night when we arrived at the Meralco Theater. Why? Because the whole place was filled with lovers! Mag-jowa! Magkasintahan! Good thing I have Sweetie because if I didn't and attended that concert I would've ended up depressed over the lovey-dovey feeling in the whole place.

Juris and Thor

The last time I watched MYMP was back in 2006 at the Araneta Coliseum with my friend Mabel (and we sat at the bleachers!) and I truly enjoyed watching them. Juris gave a heartfelt rendition of "Bukas na lang Kita Mamahalin" and Chin gave a powerful performance of "Kisapmata". They also introduced what I'd say would be the Philippines' version of "Rod Stewart" - Tata (hope I got that right). Thor also graced the occasion and did a duet with Juris, "Be My Number Two" (check out his album "Soul Obsessions" it's really good).

I've heard of surprise proposals - done in concerts, with famous authors, or even as scavenger hunts - but I've never witnessed one (planned some yeah, but not I have not witnessed one). Juris announced that they were going to name someone "couple of the night" and while she was singing, photos of different couples were flashed in the screen. The couple in the final photo was called down to the stage and were given some flowers and gifts.

Juris asked the girl to give a message and she just said, "Thanks sa treat, happy valentine's and... I love you." The crowd cheered! Sino ba naman di kikiligin nun? Then the microphone was passed on to the guy and he was quite formal at first, greeted Juris and Chin, the audience and then he said, "Juris I hope you don't mind if I say a few words." The audience suddenly became silent. And then the guy said, "Hon I spoke with your brother 3 nights ago..., " the audience started going wild here, "and I told him `ang kapatid mo ay mahal na mahal ko at siya lang ang mamahalin ko buong buhay' and then I told him that I want to take care of you," then the guy kneels down , "Hon, will you marry me?"

Of course the girl said "Yes" and after the guy placed the ring on her finger she started pounding his chest (and was probably crying already). And then Juris sang "Love Moves in Mysterious Ways". Awww...



Check out photos of the concert at the MYMP Band Multiply account.

It was a great day. I definitely made the right choice =)

I'll Take Care of You - Richard Poon

When Sweetie said we were going to attend an album launch I was quite excited since it's been awhile since we attended one. I got more excited when I was told that Richard used to be with U-Turn (remember their hit single "It's You") and when I watched the music video "I'll Take Care of You" on Myx.

I have become a fan! (Photo by JayDJ)

I had no idea that his album would be very much different from all the other album launches I've attended. His music genre is that of the "standards". (Gulp! Standards! I thought it was my Mom who should've gone but... but... read on...). He said that he never dreamed that he would go into that genre. A lot of people actually doubted that he could pull it off. BUT! Richard who used to be a chef for their family business is a very talented singer, musical arranger and you'd know it's true when you listen to his songs. He started doing the standards (forced by his manager) for a charity event, and let's say the rest is history. Here's Richard talking about why he tried out the genre -



Richard believes and hopes that his music would bridge the gap between the young and old generation. I know the feeling because my Mom forces me to listen to her favorite singers - Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett etc. - and these are Richard's influencers for his music. I'd say I truly appreciated the way he sang old and new songs in his unique "standard" way.

Check out how Richard turned pop music into the standards (really cool!) -



You may want to check him out in some videos I took during his album launch -

I'll Take Care of You (carrier single)
Goodbye (para sa mga emo)
The Last Time (for those in love)
Way Back into Love (feel good!)
Dance with Me and Kahit Maputi ang Buhok Ko
Quando Quando (duet with his sister)
Moon River

I certainly enjoyed Richard Poon's album "I'll Take Care of You". A must buy! Bili na!

For more information about Richard poon check this out.