Nicole turns on the charm

There had been a lot of foreign acts spilling into the country in the last couple of years. (Does that mean foreigners now feel safer about visiting the Philippines?) The last big one was just last May — when the two Davids, Cook and Archuleta of American Idol fame, performed in Manila and they kept themselves busy on the side visiting the studios of GMA 7.

The Pussycat Dolls show last week, however, was particularly special for Pinoys because its group leader or Queen Doll, Nicole Scherzinger, is Filipina. Okay, half-Filipina because though her father is Pinoy (a musician raised in Hawaii), her mother is Russian-Hawaiian (the Scherzinger is from her German stepfather who eventually adopted her). But then, how many among us even here in the Philippines can claim to be pure Filipino? Besides, even Nicole herself says she’s Pinay and so in return the Filipinos came in droves to the Pussycat Dolls concert proud to be of one race with the lead performer. And wasn’t it just fitting that the show had to be staged on the eve of Philippine Independence Day?

Sponsored by MTV Philippines and Clear, that was the second time the Pussycat Dolls performed in the Philippines (the first was in 2006). This second show, however, was expected to be bigger and more exciting — and it was. Held at the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds last June 11, the Pussycat Dolls show started at 8 p.m. as stated on the ticket. But there were no Pussycat Dolls yet. Instead the crowd who were all on their feet (no seats were provided — in case they wanted to dance) were treated to a spectacle of what I presume were Fil-Am rappers (was it the Philippine All-Stars?) who also proudly laid claim to their Filipino heritage. Never mind if they seemed to have been more comfortable in the King’s language. But much appreciated was their effort to intersperse Tagalog words into their English songs. In fact, they had a cute number about the Philippines’ humid climate — all the while rapping around the word mainit.

After the front-act came a 20-minute lull. And finally, we had the Pussycat Dolls: Nicole, Melody Thornton, Kimberly Wyatt and Ashley Roberts. One member, Jessica Sutta, was missing because she broke a hip while the group was performing in Australia and had to return to the US to recuperate.

Although it would have been wonderful to see them complete, the rest of the Pussycat Dolls more than made up for Jessica’s absence. Kimberly — with her long blonde hair — was oozing with sexiness. Ashley, also blonde, but with spiky hair, had her own kind of appeal and apparently also has her own following and they cheered that night as she and the other Pussycat Dolls did their second Manila concert.

And Melody — oh, her singing (screechy) voice may be better suited to Merry Melodies, the cartoons, but I loved her just as well because people could see how she really tries to please the crowd with her performance by giving all of herself to them. If there is something you can say about the Pussycat Dolls — they’re very sincere and warm toward their audiences. The smiles are not pasted. You can tell that they truly enjoy what they are doing and that they appreciated the applause and the cheers from the audience.

Of course, the most effusive of praises are reserved for Nicole. She warmed up the crowd by calling them kababayan. But you don’t applaud her just because she’s Pinay. You cheer and enjoy the show because here was one remarkable performer who could really sing and dance well (and with even great body and looks). Either all alone on stage or with the group, she had everyone enthralled with her presence dishing out number after number.

Of course, the crowd expected the group to sing all their hits, which they did — starting with Beep, I Don’t Need a Man and the breakup anthem I Hate this Part. Nicole would sing, while the three others showed their dancing skills — but without them upstaging each other. The stage was big enough for all four of them brimming with talent. But oh, there was so much energy emanating from this group and that made the evening all worth it. It’s just too bad that the sound system was a little problematic because otherwise that would have been the perfect show.

At one point, the group brought in three pre-selected female contestants to compete in an informal Pussycat Dolls dance contest. All three knew the moves (and so did a lot of people in the crowd) and that only proves the fact that the Pussycat Dolls are such a big hit in the Philippines. You check YouTube and you see how one local group has called themselves Pusakal Dolls. There’s even an all-male version — as in straight men — dancing to the tune of the Pussycat Dolls and they are called The Cardio Boys.

The crowd at the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds obviously also knows by heart each and every Pussycat Dolls hit because they knew which songs were reserved for the encore. But while Don’t Cha was wildly received, Jai Ho was actually the most awaited song of the evening. Now, I’m sure it was only the song I liked when I watched Slumdog Millionaire and not the movie, which I now find utterly overrated.

After more than an hour of endless music, the Pussycat Dolls made their exit and as we leave the concert grounds, we don’t only feel entertained, but also proud of the fact that here was one Pinay, okay, half Pinay, whose talent is world class and we just spent one great musical evening with her. Nicole truly makes us proud to be Filipino.