Zsa Zsa sings about unchanging love

There is a new CD by Zsa Zsa Padilla in the stores. It is her first solo studio album after seven years. The last ones she did were mostly songs from the soundtracks of soap operas she appeared in. This one is titled Unchanging Love. It should be a big hit soon what with her heart-felt rendition of the Ronnie and Gigi Cordero composition, Hanggang, the same one first popularized by Wency Cornejo, getting very good airplay.

Now, as is usual with most hit albums during these difficult days, some of those who want to listen to Zsa Zsa will download from the Net, copy from somebody else’s CD or worse buy one from the vendors of pirated films and sounds. But those of you who are thinking of doing any of those had better think twice. You do that and you will miss out on the original packaging. Made out to resemble an old-fashioned photo album with corner frames, it has several of the most beautiful photographs taken of Zsa Zsa.

Life is unfair, would be the normal reaction to those pictures. Given the fact that she has been in the music business for over 25 years, not counting her Hotdog days, and that she has a very grown-up daughter in singer and actress Karylle, we can assume that Zsa Zsa is now on the far side of the big 40. But she looks positively gorgeous. Drool boys and get jealous girls. She looks so much better than many of you who are decades younger. And judging from the pics in the sleeve, it seems like she will remain that way for many more years.

Of course the lady sings, too. That, after all is what this piece is about, Zsa Zsa’s latest CD, Unchanging Love. It is a mixed bag of OPM love songs. Some new, Pagmamahal Na Walang Wakas, a Christine Bendebel composition. Some old, Muli by the departed Greg Caro. Most of the songs were written by Filipinos but two fall under the adaptation category. Not American or British but Asian, reworked by Filipinos, which in a way, also makes them Filipino originals.

One is Nais Ko, a Japanese hit tune in the late ’80s that was successfully adapted into Filipino by Vehnee Saturno and which became a big hit for Miguel Vera. is the other one. The title cut is another one. Unchanging Love was popularized by the Japanese/ Korean pop star Jyongri and given English lyrics by Martin Nievera. But that is not the song’s only claim to fame. It was also chosen to be the theme for the television special of the Judy Ann Santos and Ryan Agoncillo nuptials.

The other songs included are Memories originally recorded by Joey Albert and composed by Louie Ocampo and Freddie Santos; Iibigin Kang Muli by Diana Dayao that was first done by Vina Morales; Nasasaktan by Alvina Sy recorded by Reuben Laurente; Changes a big hit by Butch Monserrat for Carla Martinez; Kung another new song also by Diana Dayao; Ikaw Lang written by Barney Borja and Boojie Lim- Borja for Chad Borja; and Kung Alam Mo Lang by Dodjie Simon for Joanne Lorenzana.

Zsa Zsa is no stranger to OPM. Singing songs by Filipino composers was how she made her mark. Remember classics like Kahit Na by Willy Cruz and Hiram by George Canseco. She later did covers that also turned out to be hits like We’re All Alone, Don’t Give Up On Us by Boz Scaggs or Bridge Over Troubled Waters by Simon and Garfunkel. But her voice with its distinctive vibrato is always at its most affecting when she sings sentiments expressed by Pinoys.

Zsa Zsa’s singing has not lost its charm and its expressivenesss is what holds the album together. But there is something else. It is how most of the songs celebrate love, unchanging and true. Zsa Zsa also has that and she is sharing that with us with this CD.

Incidentally, Unchanging Love also comes with a free music minus one disc. That means that if you buy the CD you can also try singing like Zsa Zsa. That is also something that you definitely cannot do with the pirated copy.