Why Stephen Bishop & co. keep coming back to the Philippines

CEBU, Philippines — Cebuanos came to party at the IC3 Convention Center Friday night for the “Love Rocks” concert series as hitmakers Stephen Bishop, J Michaels, and Bobby Wilson performed their greatest hits that have become classics to the Filipino ear.

“Love Rocks” is an event by MGM Global Entertainment Productions directed by Maestro Danny Favis. An ongoing concert tour featuring a multi-platinum, Grammy Award winning artist and a Grammy nominee, Love Rocks has been gracing the country for years. Now a decade strong, the concert tour not only featured the blues, pop, and rock music, it also featured a tribute to The Beatles, one of Bishop’s greatest music influences.

Bishop, an American singer-songwriter who churned out timeless hits like “It Might Be You,” “On and On” and “Something New In My Life,” is a self-confessed Beatles fan. During the press conference at The Pyramid in I.T. Park for the tour’s Cebu leg, Bishop shared a dream he had when he was 15 years old. He recalled how two out of the four Beatles – John Lennon and Paul McCartney – came to his apartment, wrote a song with him and had asked him to be in the band afterwards.

He had been very excited for their Manila show at the Newport Performing Arts Theatre in Resorts World Manila on May 22, and as they put the show on the road outside of the capital, Bishop shares why he keeps coming back.

“There are many, many reasons,” Bishop says. “Chicken adobo for one. Another reason is fish eye soup. I like to eat something that’s looking back at me…and balut. Filipinos are very nice and friendly. I always have a nice time with them here, the people here are really good. We have a lot of fun.

There was also Manila-born J Michaels, the show’s mainstay performer and host. The “Love Rocks” showman and his quirky team of Bishop and Wilson are balls of energy on their own, and when put together for a one-night only show become a fabulous celebration of music, a force to be reckoned with, and a wonderful prelude to the weekend.

This year’s “Love Rocks” staging was diverse with Bishop’s inimitable charm, Michaels’ command of the stage, and Wilson’s fantastic gusto.

“It’s a little bit hotter here in Cebu than in Manila,” jokes Michaels, who brought forth the song “Wildflower” with the J Michaels Band.

“The last time I was in Cebu was probably in 2014 and I must say the lechon is better here in Cebu and the people are very friendly. What’s interesting about being on tour is you often get inspiration from your experiences while on the road. He [Bishop] might be thinking about balut but I’m definitely thinking about lechon,” says Michaels, who put up tracks like “I.O.U,” “Smoke from a Distant Fire” and “I Just Can’t Help Believing.”

Soul performer Bobby Wilson also has a Filipino connection: his wife is from Ilocos Norte. The son of R&B and soul singer Jackie Wilson, he is dubbed as Mr. Entertainment and has been balloted for the Grammys for his charting music.

“My son is half-Filipino. His mom was an Ilocano so I have a Filipino connection in Ilocos Norte. I have a huge family in Ilocos Norte. He speaks Ilocano and Tagalog and a little bit of Visayan too,” Wilson says.

The singer and all-around entertainer did as he promised: to make sure everybody sang and danced along throughout the night. People might find a hint of Bruno Mars in his performances, but he thinks it’s the other way around.

“His [Bruno Mars] dad was the one who pushed me into show business when Bruno was five or six years old,” says Wilson. “Some people see Bruno in me but it’s kind of the opposite because I’m 10 years older than Bruno. We worked together so it might seem like I’m doing Bruno but I’m really doing me.

Acknowledging that he got a portion of his talents from his father, Wilson, who performed “Your Love Has Lifted Me Higher,” “I Get The Sweetest Feeling” and  “Lonely Teardrops,” has assumed the job of keeping his father’s legacy alive, often doing his own rendition of his father’s work and adding his own spin to it.

When asked if the trio was up to performing a Filipino song, Wilson was quick to suggest “Be My Lady” by Martin Nievera.

“He always wanted me to sing his song. I didn’t know Martin was a superstar. We were singing in Hawaii karaoke bars all the time, and I heard ‘Be My Lady,’” he shares.

With the usual playful glint in his eyes, Bishop had another suggestion.

“Well I have a Filipino song!” he raises his hand and proceeds to sing “And it’s telling me it might be you...” referring to his song “It Might Be You,” much to the amusement of the press.

The song, alongside Michaels’ “Wildflower,” has become beloved hits, used as the theme song for Filipino teleseryes of the same title.

 “That’s become a Filipino song!” Bishop exclaims. “For real. No one in the world appreciates that song as much as the Philippines.”

“I’ve been everywhere. I’ve been to Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong. There’s nothing like here.”