Jomari Yllana: From Actor to Concert Producer

CEBU, Philippines - Just because you’re an actor, it doesn’t mean you can easily wear other showbiz hats. Yet, even with this self-realization, actor Jomari Yllana went ahead and plunged into producing live concerts.

But years in the industry, which resulted in countless close encounters with fans, made things easier for him than any other greenhorn in the concert production circuit. An actor since he was 13, the 33-year-old Jomari, who first made a name via the popular ‘90s teen group Gwapings, believes he has had his fair of exposure to the inner workings of mounting shows, and has his pulse on what qualifies as entertaining to the audience.

Fearless Productions is what he calls the production outfit he formed with a young politico (and a friend to many in showbiz) by the name of Ronald Singson. It was exactly a year ago when he had the ball rolling, so to speak, with the unforgettable reunion concert of erstwhile husband-and-wife Martin Nievera and Pops Fernandez.

People heralded it as a miracle of sorts to be able to bring the Concert King and Queen on the same stage again, given their history of bitter parting and very public squabbling. What kind of convincing powers did he wield just to make it possible? “I simply broached the idea to Pops, and Pops was the one who convinced Martin. It was a just of matter of good timing,” he puts it simply, and it probably helped, too, that he and Pops were a romantic item back then.

The concert was so big a hit that even if it signaled the end of Jomari’s relationship with Pops—details of which we decided to skip during our interview at Formo—it promised new beginnings for him as a producer.

From that Pops-Martin concert, Jomari went international, flying in YouTube sensation Marie Digby before staging the monumental concert of David Cook and David Archuleta, still very fresh then from their “American Idol” success.

“So far, our ventures are making money, and the audiences loved our concerts. The risks were all worth it,” he says despite the multi-million budget that goes into each production.

Now as his company marks its first anniversary, they’re venturing anew into unchartered territory—Cebu.

It’s a reality that Cebu is like an afterthought, or worse, a non-entity to outfits producing concerts for top international acts. We have had our share of international artists, but a number of them are past their prime.

Jomari hopes to change that by bringing in Kris Allen, who just happens to be the reigning champ of “American Idol,” the fanbase of which has phenomenally reached all corners of the world, including the Philippines.

Dubbed as Metrocardclub.com MUSICFEST 2010, the show is happening in Cebu on Feb. 5 at SM City Cebu North Open Parking Lot 2, and in Manila the next day.

Allen will be joined by Boyce Avenue, a YouTube hit acoustic band that also came to Cebu last year, and Jabbawockeez, an all-male hiphop crew that gained fame after appearing on the first season of America’s Got Talent. MUSCIFEST 2010 is also sponsored by Channel [V] Philippines, GMA 7, and PLDT MyDSL.  

So, why isn’t he bringing in Adam Lambert, the runner-up to Allen who’s hogging the spotlight right now but more for his outrageous antics than his unequivocal talent, and doing something like the David & David concert of last year? “I don’t think we’re ready for someone like Adam Lambert, and Kris Allen is easier to sell to an audience,” says Jomari. 

And if this clicks, he’s going to bring another international artist to Cebu, an R&B superstar, whose identity shall remain off-the-record as of this writing.

Knowing that Cebuanos are a hard-to-please audience, particularly selective with the kind of entertainment that they shell out their money for, isn’t he experiencing first-time jitters?

With a smile that must had girls during his “Gwapings” heyday declaring him the love of their lives, he says: “That’s why we’re called Fearless.”

Special thanks to Formo’s Jaja Chiongbian-Rama, Meyen Baguio and Joseph Bontilao for arranging this interview. - NMT