For the young and young at heart

Viewers see Gary Valenciano and Zsa Zsa Padilla regularly on ABS-CBN’s Sunday noontime show, ASAP ’06, where they dish out different songs in their perfect blending of voices. The same impressive blending was taken at length in the recent concert Faces of Love 2 at NBC Tent at The Fort.

It was indeed a delight watching the two seasoned performers with such remarkable musical chemistry onstage. Their duets seemed effortless. Their spiels came out so naturally, even when they’re simply talking about their respective partners, their children or their songs.

Faces of Love 2 was actually a "sequel" to last year’s Gary-Zsa Zsa’s Valentine show of the same title. This time, the concert was not on Valentine’s Day itself, but on Valentine’s weekend. Not surprisingly, the NBC Tent had a full-house crowd, despite the slew of shows for the season, with both foreign and local artists.

Individually, Gary and Zsa Zsa have done countless concerts to date. Together, they’ve shared the stage in over 50 shows. Hence, their chemistry onstage was undeniable. They do not only harmonize beautifully with their vocal prowess, they also complement each other when they perform.

The show opened with Barry Manilow’s saccharine ballad, Ready To Take a Chance Again, rendered as a beautiful duet. From then, we knew we were in for a really sentimental night, as Gary had assured they loaded their repertoire with mostly love songs for the audience who are either falling in love, being in love, falling out of love and falling back in love.

Then came the stream of medleys – Baby It’s Cold Outside, They Can’t Take That Away from You, Cheek to Cheek and Love Was Made for You and Me. This was followed by Tears on My Pillow, Earth Angel, In the Still of the Night, Put Your Head on My Shoulders; and romantic OPM ballads – Sana ay Ikaw na Nga, Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw, Di Na Natuto and Ikaw Lamang.

But what Gary V show would take off without his dance hits? He sashayed onstage in his inimitable moves as he sang Di Bale na Lang, Eto na Naman and Shout for Joy – all too familiar tunes with the audience, but nonetheless still a welcome sound for all his loyal fans.

Naturally, Zsa Zsa also did her share of singing her signature ditties like Kahit Na and Hiram, proving she is every inch the diva that she is. She did a soap opera medley with Mula sa Puso, Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay and Hanggang sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan.

Highlight of the concert was when Gary’s eldest son, Paolo, and Zsa Zsa’s eldest daughter, Karylle, joined their parents onstage for an entertaining OPM band medley – Kung Wala Ka, Jopay, Just a Smile, Bulong and Posible. The younger ones proved they are indeed chips off the old block by displaying their inherent musical genes.

Although their names will inevitably be hitched with their famous parents, Paolo and Karylle have managed to carve their own niche in local showbiz. Paolo sings with his own band, Salamin, and has a couple of theater productions to his credit. Karylle, meanwhile, has gained her own following as a singer and actress.

Paolo and Karylle catered to the younger crowd into the show. In fact, when Paolo emerged onstage, he had more screaming fans than his dad – something that Gary obviously did not mind.

We particularly enjoyed, too, the ’80s dance medley of Every Breath You Take, Sweet Dreams, Always Something There To Remind Me, Mickey, Take On Me, 99 Red Balloons, Footloose and Head Over Heels. Given the rather formal atmosphere of the venue, the audience was visibly restrained from dancing. But it would have been a blast to dance to those dance hits of the ’80s, at the time when Gary and Zsa Zsa’s respective careers started to soar in the local music scene.

Expectedly, they did the duet they recorded, Could We, minus the Tagalog version which is really hauntingly sentimental, too.

For the finale, Gary and Zsa Zsa gave the audience a love songs medley that really tugs the heart – I’ll Never Say Goodbye, Just Once, I Know I’ll Never Love This Way Again, If Ever You’re in My Arms Again, Get Here and Weekend in New England.

Faces of Love 2 clearly managed to inspire perhaps even the most jaded romantic in the audience with the line-up of songs in the repertoire that appealed to the young and old alike. It was a show that can be restaged over and over again, given a new set of romantic tunes to render. As Gary promised, there’ll be Faces of Love 3, 4 and 5. That’s definitely something to look forward to.