Christian breaks the sophomore ‘jinx’

Curtain-raisers:

• FPJ’s favorite Christmas song (according to his widow, Susan Roces) is Secret of Christmas, especially the line "It’s not the thing you do on Christmas Day but the things you do the whole year through."

• Remember Amparo Muñoz, the Spanish girl who won the Miss Universe title at the pageant held here in 1974 (succeeding our very own Margie Moran)? A Funfare DPA said that she’s suffering from brain tumor. I’m asking the readers to pray for her recovery.

• The digital film Masahista (directed by Dante Mendoza) has been officially invited to the ASEAN Competition of the 2006 Bangkok International Film Festival on Feb. 17 to 27. The movie will also compete at the Melbourne Gay & Lesbian Film Festival in Australia and at the Turin Gay & Lesbian Film Festival in Italy in April next year.

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Singers, local and foreign, have this unfounded fear of the so-called sophomore "jinx" – you know, that their second album, especially if it’s coming after a successful "debut," would almost always turn out to be a flop.

Not in the case of Christian Bautista who has successfully broken that "jinx" with his new (second) album, Completely, also released by his home studio, Warner Music Philippines. The album turned "gold" the day it was released recently.

Asked how he did it, Christian simply said, "I prepared well for it, that’s why it took me more than a year to come up with a follow-up to my debut album."

The debut album, a triple platinum (more than 100,000 copies sold), was a big hit not only in the Philippines but also in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia where Christian did a sold-out concert. His first single, The Way You Look at Me, composed by Andrew Fromm, remains at the No. 1 spot in those three countries’ hit lists.

Funfare saw for itself what a superstar Christian is in Indonesia in December last year when he sang at an inter-collegiate fair. A drizzle didn’t stop the crowd that filled the open-air venue from cheering and singing along with Christian while swaying "glowing lights." It was heartwarming to see a kababayan conquer an audience on foreign soil.

Completely is expected to surpass, not just equal, the record of Christian’s first album, both here and in the three Asian countries where Christian is considered a superstar. Two of the 12 songs on the album, Now That You Are Here and Please Don’t Go, were composed by Christian; three (I Can Love You Easy, Everything You Do and the carrier single Completely) by Andrew Fromm; and two ballads by two of Indonesia’s top composers.

"I have a lot to be thankful for this year," said Christian.

This year, he did 12 concerts in the US with The Champions, two also in the US with the Star in a Million winners, one in Dubai, one in Canada and three in Indonesia. Also: Concerts at the Big Dome (Color Everywhere), Music Museum (Heartfelt), Heritage Hotel (All About Christian Bautista) and at the PICC (with Kuh Ledesma and Basil Valdez).

And more: A starring role in the ABS-CBN soap Kampanerang Kuba (his discomfort is forgivable because it’s his first TV-acting stint, although he has done a few stage plays; the latest, The Fantastiks, with Nikki Gil, to be mounted next year) and six endorsements (for Bench, Swatch, Greenwich, Smart, Skechers and Toni & Guy Salon).

"I hope things will be even better in 2006," said Christian, keeping his fingers crossed.

Reader’s reaction

From Jowana B. Bueser (no address given):

I am not really a big fan of "Body Talk" articles, but that changed when you featured Chiz Escudero. The best "Body Talk" ever. I most definitely agree with you that he would win a clean and honest presidential election. I would like to share a story about Chiz. During the height of the impeachment (of GMA) issue, the Ateneo Law School invited six congressmen (three from the administration and three from the opposition) to be a part of a debate. It was obvious that most of the audience were waiting for one person — Chiz. Most of the congressmen who were already there were wearing suits and barong. When Chiz arrived, wearing a simple white polo shirt, the audience stopped talking and fixed their eyes on Mr. Escudero’s direction.

During the debate, I couldn’t stop laughing because the administration congressmen could not elicit an affirmative response from the crowd. On the other hand, almost everybody would applaud Chiz every time he speaks (even if he’s answering a simple yes or no question). As everyone was leaving the hall, I overheard an administration congressman say, "Ayoko na. Lahat na lang kampi kay Chiz." And to think that the said congressman was an alumnus of Ateneo!

By the way, Chiz has a celebrity look-alike, Bamboo Mañalac of the band Bamboo.

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