Richard Poon earns Gold with ‘Legends’

CEBU, Philippines - Crooner Richard Poon’s bold move to revisit his pop roots proved rewarding. “Legends,” his latest album under new label Universal Records, had been certified gold.

Making the decision to go back to doing pop music was not easy for Richard and the award is a big vindication for him. “I am happy that the fans supported me in this new direction in my career,” he said.

Richard expressed his gratitude as well to longtime friend, mentor and manager Erickson Raymundo, whose support and encouragement has fueled him since the beginning of his career — even back in the days when he was playing near-empty clubs.

“To the man God used to make me believe I can go solo when I always hid behind a guitar or a band…to the visionary who saw my future as the ‘Big-Band Crooner’ when it wasn’t popular or accepted then…to my manager and life-long friend Erickson Raymundo, you are worth more than all the gold awards we have received together,” Richard said.

“Legends” includes Richard’s covers of pop classics by Stevie Wonder (“All In Love Is Fair”), The Beatles (“And I Love Her”), Barry Manilow (“Ready To Take A Chance Again”), Whitney Houston (“All At Once”), Barbra Streisand (“Evergreen”), Madonna (“Borderline”), and Michael Jackson (“The Girl Is Mine” featuring Christian Bautista), among others.

The album’s first single is Richard’s take on Lionel Richie’s “Truly,” with his real-life sweetheart Maricar Reyes gracing the music video. The sophomore single “Crazy” originally by Kenny Rogers is also enjoying good airplay. (FREEMAN)