Will Justin come with Usher?

Curtain-raisers:

• Did you know that the pair of glasses Pres. Noynoy “P-Noy” Aquino wore during his inauguration last Wednesday, June 30, at the Quirino Grandstand was designed by Vivian Sarabia who is known as the Eyewear Stylist of the Stars? “I initially did a design that was distinctly P-Noy but I had to change it para bumagay sa Barong Tagalog that Paul (Cabral) made for him,” Vivian told Funfare Update. Actually, Vivian also designed another pair for P-Noy to wear during the street party at the Elliptical Circle in Quezon City after the inauguration that same night. If you still don’t know, Sarabia Optical has been designing glasses for Philippine presidents, not to mention celebrities from all fields, in its one-century of existence. Last Sunday, I presumed during the fitting, Vivian and company dropped by P-Noy’s residence on Times Street. “We were dancing and singing with Pres. Noy,” gushed Vivian. “OMG, from 5 p.m. to 12 midnight, all of seven hours of fun with P-Noy. Just me, Francis my son, Paul (Cabral) and Liz (Uy). We had dinner there and then we went to his music room which is complete with laser effect at doon kami nag-party. Amazing music collection! All five of us enjoyed ourselves. What a cool, cool president we have. It’s going to be a happy Philippines for all of us!”

• When Leonardo DiCaprio comes next month to promote Albay Province, specifically Legazpi City, as an eco-tourism destination, he’d like to make a courtesy call on Pres. P-Noy to discuss environmental policies. His week-long visit, reported as a “scoop” in yesterday’s Funfare, is being made possible by Joyce Ramirez who is with PR Asia (not Asis as erroneously printed) Worldwide. DiCaprio will stay at the Misibis Bay, an ultra-luxurious resort in Albay.

• The action star and the TV host have been denying to death that there’s something deeper than friendship between them. But how come he often pays her a visit at her condo unit in Mandaluyong City, like he did last Sunday noon? No problem, though. He’s separated from his wife and she has just broken up with her (also)-actor-boyfriend. The Funfare DPA isn’t sure if the guy is “sleeping over” at the girl’s condo unit.

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Usher is coming for a concert on July 9, starting at 8 p.m., at the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds.

That’s good news for Usher fans.

The other good news is that he might bring along Justin Bieber, the international overnight YouTube star who is the first signee of Usher’s record label.

According to reports, Usher has beaten Justin Timberlake to the draw in signing up Bieber. There’s reportedly some “issue” between Usher and Timberlake because of that. It must be noted that Timberlake’s debut album was built from Usher’s blueprint.

“Justin Bieber usually travels with Usher on Usher’s world concert tour and there’s a possibility that Bieber might come with Usher to the Philippines,” said somebody in-the-know. “But it’s not sure if Usher will ask Bieber to do a number during his MOA concert. Sana nga pakantahin n’ya si Bieber maski isang song lang.”

It’s Usher’s first time to travel to Asia. His MOA concert is produced by Fearless Productions (headed by Jomari Yllana and the Singson brothers Ronald and Ryan who has just been elected mayor of a town in Ilocos Sur). Fearless was behind the concerts of David Cook and David Archuleta, Marie Digby, Kris Allen (also an American Idol discovery like the two Davids), and the Musicfest 2010 featuring Boyce Avenue and Jabbawockeez.

According to an article in a recent issue of London’s Sunday Morning Post, the past few years have been difficult for Usher (full name: Usher Raymond IV), “hailed as the best dancer in pop since Michael Jackson,” whose life has been marked by birth and death, severed relationships (both personal and professional), and “worries over a career that hasn’t returned to the stratospheric heights his globe-trotting, 20-million-selling Confessions album reached in 2004.”

More excerpt from Sunday Morning Post:

In 2007, Usher married his stylist, Tameka Foster; the couple have two sons. In February 2009, prior to a cosmetic surgery procedure, Foster suffered a heart attack and was put into a medically-induced coma. She recovered, but in June last year, the singer filed for divorce.

Usher is known to be a chickboy and, according to interviews, he doesn’t deny it.

In an interview published in a recent issue of Seventeen, Justin Bieber was asked, Who gives you the best love advice? His answer? “Usher! He’s a great example when it comes to girls because he’s dated a lot of girls in his lifetime. He’s smooth! He teaches me what girls like. And I’ve learned some dance moves from him.”

Incidentally, Channel [V] Philippines, presenter of Usher’s MOA concert, is offering a wonderful treat to its loyal viewers by giving a 20-percent discount to all ticket-buyers (for all sections) who will make their purchase until July 3.

(Note: Tickets to Usher’s concert are priced at P6,236 for gold, P4,157 for silver, P2,079 for bronze and P624 for general admission. Call Ticketnet at 911-5555.)

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