German pop idol performs with Westlife - SOUNDS FAMILIAR by Baby A. Gil

Pop music fans who will watch Westlife Live in Manila tomorrow, Tuesday, May 29 at the Araneta Coliseum, will be getting an added treat with the appearance of German pop idol Christian Wunderlich as support act. The name may not yet be familiar to some of you, but regular radio listeners must have already heard a lot of the 21-year-old singer as far as his music is concerned. This is because his single, the sweet ballad Why Goodbye has been getting very good airplay lately and shows the making of a big hit.

Wunderlich, which by the way, is pronounced "wun-derlish," is a well-known TV actor and singer in Germany. He made his mark with the series Verboteno Liebe and then followed it up with the even more successful Nesthocker. Alongside these shows he also ventured into singing and came up with two hit albums in a row, Real Good Moments and Reflection. Response to both was so enthusiastic that it was decided to compile the best cuts out of these two albums to come up with one great one, which will introduce him to the Asian market.

Simply titled Christian Wunderlich this album was released last month in Asia, including the Philippines. Christian visited Manila in the course of his promo tour last May 10 to 16 and he is back again today for the Big Dome performance with Westlife. That first visit combined with the massive radio airplay being generated by Why Goodbye should give Christian the assurance that although focus during the show will be primarily on Westlife, which has a huge local following, he already has a solid fan base among Pinoy pop music fans.

Christian is a pop star in every sense of the word. This is not just because of his good looks. He is lean, tall, very blond and has the features that should make him a natural for the likes on Dawson’s Creek should they need somebody who looks quite cosmopolitan. His singing echoes those of the singing idols of old. Think Rick Nelson or Bobby Yee. It is light and easy but filled with youthful angst. What makes him different is that instead of the pared down guitar based accompaniment usually expected from young singing idols, he uses lush orchestral arrangements that heighten the drama in his songs.

He also has a good ear for commercial love songs and his album is made up of radio-friendly ballads that most people can relate to. Some old, some new and some that he wrote himself. Christian wrote the melodies for the songs In Heaven, So In Love, Tell Me Who You Are, For My Family, Two Hearts Can Beat as One, and That’s My Way to Say Goodbye. As for the oldies parts of the album, he chose to include Barry Manilow’s first big hit Mandy plus Ricky Astley’s I Don’t Have the Heart and Eric Carmen’s Forever Tonight.

Christian will be performing some of these songs tomorrow and sure to be one of the highlights of the concert will be his Two Hearts Can Beat as One, which he will do as a duet with the fast-rising Anna Fegi. Anna, who was formerly with Smokey Mountain, sings the song in Christian’s album and in turn, this same duet will be one of the cuts in her debut album Every Step of the Way, which is due for release soon.

Meanwhile I am sure that a lot of you out there are looking forward to watching Westlife perform their big hits like Uptown Girl, I Lay My Love on You, Swear It Again, Fool Again, Seasons in the Sun, If I Let You Go and others live at the Araneta Coliseum. Be there early to avoid the rush of the many, many fans of this Irish boy band.

The Westlife Live in Manila concert with Christian Wunderlich and Anna Fegi is sponsored by Nestle La Cremeria, Totally Cool Skechers USA, No Fear USA and Young Star, which I am happy to say is the Friday Lifestyle section of this paper, in cooperation with BMG Records, MTV Asia and the Manila Galleria Suites. Official concert stations are dwKC 93.9, dwTM 89.9, Yes FM 101.1, Star FM 102.7, dwRX 93.1 and Kool 106.

Tickets are available at SM Ticketnet outlets located at SM Department Stores and of course at the Araneta Coliseum.