M.Y.M.P.  BREAK-UP  BOOSTS  TICKET  SALES  IN  U.S.  CONCERT

[PHOTO AT LEFT -  The Sessionistas during their Big Dome show (from left): M.Y.M.P. duo Chin Alcantara and Juris Fernandez, Richard Poon, Nina, Sitti and Aiza Seguerra]

MANILA, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 (STAR) FUNFARE By Ricardo F. Lo - Curtain-raiser:

• Barely a week after Edu Manzano broke the happy news that he has accepted the offer to be Gibo Teodoro’s running-mate in the 2010 elections came the sad news that he and Pinky Webb, his girlfriend of five years, have broken up. Has Edu’s change-of-heart decision to run for vice president instead of (originally) senator anything to do with the split-up? “No,” said the DPA code-named Juicy Tongue, “politics has nothing to do with it. Very private ang dahilan.” No “third party” involved daw on either side as in the case of most showbiz break-ups. And to think that Edu and Pinky have been reported to be already talking about getting married. Sayang naman! Stay tuned for more details.

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The last leg of the Sessionistas US concert tour, held last Sunday, Nov. 15, at the Colden Auditorium of Queens College in Flushing, New York, went on without any hitch.

You see, East Coast fans of M.Y.M.P. were worried that Juris Fernandez and Chin Alcantara might not show up because of their recent break-up which Funfare reported in a “scoop.” The duo topbilled the concert (earlier mounted in California, Las Vegas and Washington D.C.) together with Aiza Seguerra, Sitti, Duncan Ramos, Nina and Richard Poon.

Reported Funfare’s Big Apple correspondent Edmund Silvestre, “M.Y.M.P. is extremely popular in the US. To appease their fans, the concert’s producer, Jason Purino of NOSAJ Entertainment, immediately issued press releases announcing that Juris and Chin would, as they promised, honor their commitments until end of the year.”

Edmund said that the dissolution of M.Y.M.P. definitely drummed up more interest in the NY show dubbed as “the biggest jamming affair of the year” for Fil-Am music lovers.

And this translates, of course, to bigger ticket sales.

“We can’t say if it’s because of the interest in the M.Y.M.P. split-up or because of the star power of the Sessionistas,” Edmund quoted a concert insider as saying.

Edmund noted that M.Y.M.P., formed in 2003 and which became one of the top acoustic bands in the Philippines, will forever be part of the Philippine pop music history, along with their hit songs Especially For You, Tell Me Where It Hurts, Kailan, Huwag Mo Nang Itanong, to mention some.

The Funfare source said that Juris cited “irreconcilable professional differences” as the reason for the break-up and at the same time announced that she’s going solo having signed an album contract with Star Records. Meanwhile, Chin is reportedly searching for a new partner to continue with M.Y.M.P.

Here are Edmund’s thumbnail sketches of the other Sessionistas:

• Aiza Seguerra is a suki in the US concert scene. The former child wonder turned into an acoustic superstar with a certified platinum record in Asia (and quintuple platinum in the Philippines), “Sobrang ganda at linis ng boses,” said Albert Ignacio of The Filipino Reporter, the best-selling Filipino newspaper in the East Coast. “Effortless yet amazing. Ang sarap niyang pakinggan, parang lagi kang idinuduyan.”

• Sitti, whose NY debut concert last year filled a trendy Manhattan club, keeps getting more popular by the day since Boy Abunda’s Backroom, Inc. managed her career. She’s known as RP’s Bossa Nova Queen. Fil-Am fans adore not only her soothing voice and sweet personality, but also her flawless beauty and charm.

• Duncan Ramos, former vocalist of South Border and once linked to Rufa Mae Quinto, front-acted for Alicia Keys in her concert in Manila last year. “He’s a brilliant singer,” said Ma. Kristina Salcedo Go of Long Island, N.Y. “Cute at malakas ang appeal.”

• Richard Poon, said to be the new generation’s Jose Mari Chan, is gifted with a calming, classy voice. No wonder various commercial airlines have been featuring his songs in their selection of Asian artists.

• Nina, known as the Soul Siren of the Philippines, is the first Filipino female singer to have received the Diamond Record Award for her album Nina Live! the biggest selling album by a female OPM artist, and the fourth biggest selling album in OPM history. She may not possess the pipes of a Mariah Carey or a Regine Velasquez, but there’s something magical about her that continues to attract followers.

Standing ovation for Stephanie

Several issues ago, Funfare reported that Stephanie Reese was performing at the Carnegie Hall in New York City after her concert at the Music Museum last October.

“She gave an outstanding performance before some 600 people,” reported Manny Caballero, Funfare’s other New York correspondent also connected with The Filipino Reporter (one of the event’s media partners). “After giving her a standing ovation, the audience demanded for an encore.”

Stephanie is dubbed as the Standing Ovation Queen and she did live up to her “title.”

Manny said that proceeds from the concert would go to Reese’s philanthropic project of building a Gawad Kalinga village for poor families and to the victims of the recent destructive typhoons, both in the Philippines.

In a pre-concert note in the November 2009 Carnegie Hall Playbill where 12 pages were devoted to the Reese concert, Stephanie wrote, “By the end of tonight, 30 families will have homes, many more will receive relief goods to help them survive after the tragic flooding in the Philippines.”

Discussing her career as a performer, Stephanie added, “I came to realize through many life challenging events that I wanted to not only be a thriving singer and actress, but also someone that would be able to use my artistic gifts from God for a higher purpose beyond all the Hollywood lights and curtain calls.”

Here’s the rest of Manny’s report:

For more than two hours, the former Miss Saigon star in Germany and London’s West End actress entertained the audience composed mostly of Fil-Ams, including her parents who flew in from the West Coast, GK’s Tony Meloto and New York Consul General Cecilia B. Rebong.

With empathic ability, Stephanie alternately made her audience extremely quiet, applaud, laugh and even cry at one point when she shared a sad personal experience prior to belting a love song.

Despite nagging colds, Stephanie wowed the audience with her powerful voice. Her repertoire included some of her own compositions, like the now well-liked Chaka Laka Boom Boom. She made difficult songs seem easy to sing with her flawless voice.

Stephanie was accompanied on the piano by the Paris-based Fil-Am John Florencio. In the popular Tagalog song Ikaw, Filipino pianist and music director Glenn Lemen accompanied the singer. Guest performers were singer Calvin Keen and Flamenco dancer Sergio Viglini.