After all, she is Verni the Vamp — temptress extraordinaire, Venus personified — whose full, luscious lips, undulating hips and to- die -for figure never fail to bring life to all things limp and flaccid. For the longest time, she was Verni "Viagra," even long before the drug became fashionable — the object of many a man’s fantasy and the woman that other women love to hate.
But nowadays, even if she can still flaunt her beguiling charms onstage or off, Verni would rather swear by the more lasting seduction of faith — a radical change, she says, that has brought her a more enduring sense of fulfillment and happiness.
For Verni, her newfound spirituality has given her a fuller understanding of life — an outlook that has taught her to grasp the essence of God. Unlike some of her kind who adopt that "holier-than-thou" stance, however, Verni doesn’t preach.
"I’m not like that," she exclaims. "Deep inside, I know that I’m still a sinner. Remember the Biblical saying about casting the first stone? Well, only God knows what’s in your heart."
Like most of God’s prodigal daughters, Verni used to live her life to the hilt — a lifestyle marked by profligate excess and hedonistic abandon. After all, time was when the world was hers for the taking. She was the toast of the music industry — the jazz diva who scatted her way in and out of many a tumultuous and short-lived romance.
"I was a party animal," she recalls. "That was during the late ’80s. Despite the temporary highs, I would always go home crying, feeling unfulfilled. Back then, people would give you anything… ANYTHING!! But when I look back now, I realized that I was never really satisfied with any of it. Maybe that’s why I was ‘searching’for that ‘deeper satisfaction’ even way back then, but didn’t really admit it."
"You must remember that I didn’t get married until I was 35. For someone like me who’s in this business, that’s a long time overdue, don’t you think," Verni quips.
Eventually, she hit rock bottom. "One day, I really prayed and asked God to send me a husband. I kept at it until my prayers were answered," she confessed. "This was around 1990. I got married in 1995, but I met him in 1992."
The lucky guy, as most showbiz denizens know by now, is none other than Ric Oledan, the anchor in her life and doting father to Gianna Maria, 2; Gianfranco, 5; and eldest daughter Katrina, who turns 18 this September.
"At first, I didn’t realize that he was the one," she continues. "But we kinda started off on the right track. My prayer then was, ‘Lord, I wish the guy You would send me… I wish that on our first date, we would talk about You.’ And you know that, that’s exactly what happened during our first date!!!"
God’s unseen hand has also manifested itself through Verni’s newfound musical palette: composition. "Imagine that! Me, a composer?!," she guffaws. "It was all an accident, really. You see, I had this habit of writing out my thoughts regularly before. One day, as I was jotting down my daily ramblings, I suddenly had this flash of insight and told myself, ‘Hmmm… I think these words would sound good when set to music.’ And what do you know?"
"The next thing I knew, I was sitting down at the piano, furiously tinkering with the melody. And to think that I don’t even play the piano!," Verni asserts. "I taped the whole thing, words and all, and sent the rough copy to (arranger) Homer Flores, who turned it into a full-blown masterpiece."
The song, You Are The One, made its debut during her stint at Country Waffles early this year. "Looking back, I realized that it was clear evidence that it was the Holy Spirit working through me," she gushes. "I don’t really care if people like the song or not. All that matters to me is the divine intervention."
Her second composition, Ikaw, was written when she was still pregnant with Gianna, while her third song, I Will, was a collaborative effort between husband and wife.
Does this mean that Verni has totally abandoned her big dream as a singer? "I hate to admit it, but it’s true. I’ve been singing for a long time … more than half of my life now, and I’m very satisfied with what I have," she ponders.
As a fitting acknowledgement of her faith, Verni makes it a point to include "spiritual songs" in her repertoire. "Nothing heavy, really," the ultra-slim vixen adds. "I like Follow Your Road, and for more intimate occasions, I do my compositions."
The jazzhound in her, however, hasn’t waned. "I still love jazz. Everytime I go onstage, that’s the only real fulfillment that I have. You must remember that I was singing jazz since I was 18," Verni avers, "even if I wasn’t really deep into the genre then. Nowadays, I still love doing the standards, The Very Thought of You, Stardust, and the jazz classics."
Asked to name her favorites, she cites Anastassia as one of her foreign favorites. Among the locals, she has nothing but high praises for the likes of Bituin Escalante, Carol Banawa and Dessa. "They are our future divas," Verni declares.
Does she still do her "vocal acrobatics"?
"Oo naman. When people ask for it," she teases. GenXers very well remember her for her remarkable renditions from way back. As her way of adding life to an extended jam, Verni would go through her amazing arsenal of sounds – at times scatting, at times coaxing unimaginable sounds ranging from bird chirps to jungle cries.
For her Hard Rock Café concert, Verni will be working with top session artists including pianist Bond Samson, drummer Michael Alba and guitarist Ric Mercado. "Surprisingly, I’ll be doing some pop, like Janet Jackson," Verni divulges. "But don’t worry, I’ll be doing my jazz numbers still." The rare musical treat, dubbed City Lite 88.3 Jazz & Grooves Presents Verni Varga is Verni’s first solo, full-length concert at the Hard Rock Café. Her last time at the venue was an SRO back-to-back concert with Richard Merk last March.
Verni’s inspiring testament of faith has once again proven the adage: be careful what you wish for, because you might get it. Moreover, be careful what you pray for . . . because chances are, you will get it.