It’s primetime for Pops

From all discernible indications, you could very well say that Concert Queen Pops Fernandez has reached the prime of her life. It’s primetime for Pops, in more ways than one.

"Actually, it will be a very busy last two quarters of the year for me," Pops reveals. "We have scheduled a lot of concerts before the end of the year." Of course, the concert stage is where Pops reigns supreme.

The versatile singer-actress, in fact, flew to Canada recently to do not just one but two big concerts for the Filipino community there. Also in the works is a series of shows with Concert King Martin Nievera, Pops adds.

"We are going to take the Martin and Pops reunion concert on tour," she relates. "We’ll take it out of the country. So after Canada, we will be leaving again for the US." Aside from these whirlwind concert tours, Pops is also busying herself back home, with myriad endorsement deals. She was recently chosen to launch the new women’s product, Confidence.

"I’m their pitchperson for the complete line, from feminine napkins to panty liners. I think they picked me because I am a very confident person," she remarks, half earnest, half in jest.

She has also signed up with the upscale Shangri-La Mall in Ortigas as its new celebrity endorser. After all, Pops is one world-class shopper, a style icon.

Meanwhile, international label Louis Vuitton handpicked Pops as its "woman of style and fashion" and gifted her with its new Butterfly bag. "Louis Vuitton chose a celebrity in every country," Pops says enthusiastically.

While Pops represented the Philippines, other countries had the likes of Nicole Kidman and Gwyneth Paltrow in the Vuitton roster.

"When they told me that I was their ‘woman of style and fashion,’" Pops recalls, "my initial reaction was: ‘Really?’ But I really love fashion." Pops’ unique sense of style has evolved through the years, polished by her keen observational powers.

"When I travel, I look at everyone," she explains. "I look at what people, especially the kids, are wearing. While I was in Australia, I noticed that teenagers were wearing waistbands. Now, I am introducing it here."

Recently, Pops put her passion for fashion to work by launching her Pipay collection, available in Anonymous stores nationwide.

"That’s my baby," Pops says of Pipay. "I personally choose the designs, the colors, the materials." She’s very hands-on as a budding entrepreneur. "It started as a hobby and all of a sudden it became a business," she shares. "We constantly meet to come up with new lines, new stuff." From T-shirts, the Pipay line has expanded to include bags and acceories.

"Eventually, we hope to have the whole line," she elaborates on plans for Pipay. "Aside from tops, we’ll also have bottoms, night wear, and little things for vanity."

Pipay is growing steadily because Pops is genuinely having fun in this new undertaking. "As far as I’m concerned, it’s not work. I really love it." By the end of the year, she hopes to open a free-standing Pipay store.

"We are planning to put our own store soon," she crosses her fingers. "That has always been my dream."

Although she is now making waves in the fashion biz, Pops is not about to forget her original line of business – showbiz. She is putting the finishing touches on her latest album, her follow-up to her successful collaboration with Pop Art Music, The Way I Feel Inside.

"I’m now working with Edith and Margot Gallardo and Moy Ortiz," Pops says. "We have the same ideas. We want it to be a spin-off of the same concept we had in the last one."

If the last album talked about what she feels inside, what will the new album focus on?

"Who knows?" Pops says, smiling playfully. "It’s really about moving on. There is so much to explore in life."

Speaking of which, Pops recently made the big move, from her decade-old home ABS CBN 2 to GMA 7. In fact, her switch to GMA 7 is a homecoming of sorts for Pops who started hosting in the station’s ’80s top-rater Penthouse Live.

It was a sentimental journey for Pops. It was like coming full circle.

There are various reports (and speculations) about Pops’ next move on television. In the pipeline is a brand-new soap opera. Also being considered is a musical-variety show. Whatever the future may bring, one thing is definite: Pops is going primetime.

After being caught in the same grind for 10 years, after working in the same time slot (the Sunday noontime slot) for years, Pops feels she is more than ripe for something new.

Pops would like to reiterate that her latest career move is but a "professional decision. It’s really just about trying something new with a different station," she explains. "It’s really nothing personal. As a matter of fact, I still get together and text my friends from ABS-CBN. Even though I am no longer with them, we could all still be friends, right?"

And that precisely is the state of Pops, circa 2003.

"Very peaceful," she states adamantly. "Very quiet."

Intrigues and hectic skeds, notwithstanding.