Sarah: Regine’s heiress apparent

The first time I heard Sarah Geronimo sing, I was floored. That was late last year during the elimination round of Star For a Night, the talent search produced by Viva Television (for IBC l3 then and which has since been reformatted and retitled Search For a Star, still hosted by Regine Velasquez, Saturday nights on GMA), where I sat as one of the judges. When the petite Sarah launched into an emotion-charged version of Celine Dion’s To Love You More, I knew she would win, a feeling that was, I was sure, shared by Regine herself and the three other judges (we didn’t compare notes, though, not until after the taping of the show, anyway).

Sarah did win that elimination round and the succeeding rounds, too, running home with the grand prize last March for the same song which eventually became the carrier single of her debut album, Popstar... A Dream Come True (released by Viva Records of which she’s under contract), which also includes the cuts Just Believe, If Only, Ibulong Sa Hangin, Forever’s Not Enough, It’s All Coming Back to Me Now, Sa Iyo, Narito and I Will Do Anything For Love.

What I told myself as we applauded the tear-drenched Sarah proved to be prophetic: "She’ll go far; she’ll go places." I should have told Regine then but I did not: "Your heiress apparent has come!"

Her mother, Divina Asher, must have been playing non-stop Regine Velasquez CDs when she was conceiving Sarah (who has two older sisters and a younger brother). For how else could Sarah sound so much like Regine... where else could she have inherited that powerful voice that could shake more than just the emotion of her listeners?

"Yes," Sarah confirmed with a big smile, "Ate Regine is my idol; she’s my favorite. My big dream is to be like her, to follow in her footsteps. I want to be an international artist like her. She’s also very humble, very down-to-earth, willing to help newcomers like me."

After that elimination round, I asked Sarah how she felt being side by side with the other equally talented contestants and she said, "I simply looked at Ate Regine, who was standing behind the camera, and I told myself, ‘Someday, you would be like her!’ That was encouragement enough for me."

When she recorded her debut album, recalled Sarah, Regine gave her pointers on voice projection and how to hit high notes without straining her vocal chords too much.

As I was saying, Sarah is going far, indeed, going places. Her first solo concert (also called Pop Star... A Dream Come True), slated tomorrow night (Oct. 4) at the Music Museum, is sold out, already with a repeat on Oct. 24 (Friday, same venue). She has been doing concerts here and there, and is being introduced as an actress in Filipinas (directed by Joel Lamangan), Viva Films’ entry to this December’s Metro Manila Filmfest, in which she plays the daughter of Richard Gomez.

"I can’t believe all this is happening," gushed Sarah who should, you know, just believe (as her song says) that dreams do come true if you wished upon a star.

Turning 15 last July 25, Sarah hasn’t allowed "all this" to sweep her off her feet (still firmly planted on the ground).

"I’m the same," said Sarah, "nothing has changed (in me), except that now I have more things to do aside from my studies (a junior at UST High School). I will finish my studies. I want to have a college degree."

Her parents (father is Delfin Geronimo) run a small parlor in their residence in Sta. Cruz, Manila, and their earnings were simply not enough to make ends meet. Before, according to Sarah’s mother, she would borrow money for Sarah and her siblings’ tuition fee. "Her cash prize in Star For a Night was a big help," said Divina. "This schoolyear, hindi na kami nangutang ng pang-tuition ng mga bata."

In her moment of triumph during the grand finals of Star For a Night, Sarah shared the spotlight with her parents; they melted in tears into each others’ arms. But even when she was choked with emotion, Sarah didn’t miss a beat when, during the show’s finale, she sang her winning song again, this time not thinking of winning (winner na, e!) but savoring her own "moment in time."

Sarah’s dream come true started when, at four years old, she appeared as a regular member of the cast of the kiddie TV show Pen-Pen de Sarapen. At 6, she did a mini-concert at Isetann Cinema Complex on Recto Avenue, a few blocks way from their house. At 8 (already enrolled at the Center for Pop Music Philippines), she was performing in hotel lounges, on campuses and in shopping malls while guesting in various TV shows. It was around this time when she was cast in the ABS-CBN landmark kiddie show Ang TV (where the likes of Victor Neri, Rica Peralejo and many of the ABS-CBN Talent Center members had their so-called "baptism of fire"). She also played a cameo role in Star Cinema’s Sarah, Ang Munting Prinsesa (the title character could have referred to Sarah Geronimo who thinks of herself as a "little princess"), with Camille Prats in the title role. She briefly appeared in some GMA shows.

And then came the Star For a Night competition which turned Sarah into a millionaire overnight. (The grand prize included a trophy and a management contract with Viva Television/Viva Films and, yes, P1 million.)

Today, Sarah stands beside her idol (Regine, who else?) as co-host of the same search that catapulted her to stardom. (Regine is appearing as guest in Sarah’s concert, along with the new "imported from L.A." band Devotion and Sarah’s Star For a Night co-finalists, including Mark Bautista who’s being groomed as her loveteam-mate.)

"Through it all," said Veronique del Rosario-Corpus, her manager, "Sarah has remained level-headed."

(Note: For tickets to the repeat of Sarah’s concert, call National Bookstore outlets at 891-5610 to 12; Music Museum at 721-6726 or 721-0635; or Viva Concerts at 687-5853, 687-1125 or 687-6181 local 715 or 620. Tickets are priced at P800 and P600.)

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