Viva’s rising stars in concert

A group of song artists from the Viva/Vicor Music label will get the chance to show off talents in the Viva Rising Star Concert Series. The shows will be held at the Teatrino on the Greenhills Promenade within the coming weeks and is expected to kick-start the careers of these deserving young singers off to stardom.

Starting off the series will be Miguel Aguila on April 12. He will have the lovely Rachelle Ann Go for his special guest. Only 17 years old, Miguel has been impressing audiences with his singing since he was only two years old and singing opera, Spolarium, since he was seven years old. He has since then modeled, acted on television and in the movies and won the National Music Competition for the Young Artist (NAMCYA). He has also performed extensively abroad and even sang at the birthday celebration of the former US Pres. Jimmy Carter. He has recently released his debut album. Also titled Miguel Aguila, the CD features Baby I’m Yours, Binibini Ko, Simple Lang, Sobra Kitang Mahal and Until You Forgive Me with music minus ones of all the tracks as bonus cuts.

The most exciting singer/songwriter of the moment, Marvin Ong takes the Teatrino stage on April 26. The most experienced of the batch, the golden-voiced Marvin, recently graduated with a degree in Communication Arts from the Ateneo University and is already an award-winning theater actor, the musical Si Juan Tamad, Ang Diablo At Ang Limang Milyong Boto. He has already released two albums, Marvin Ong, which earned him his first Gold Record Award and Sigaw Ng Puso Ko, which features his own compositions, You Can Never Be Mine, Sigaw Ng Puso and the hit single about giving up an unrequited love, Ayoko Na. The CD also includes songs by artists whom Marvin admires a lot like Labis Kitang Mahal, a new work by the prolific Vehnee Saturno; The CompanY’s Pakisabi Na Lang, a composition by Moy Ortiz and Edith Gallardo; and Sa Iyo, by Jun Murillo, which was one of Sarah Geronimo’s early hits.

The 16-year-old Yssa Alvarez will take her turn on May 17. The daughter of actress Almira Muhlach and cage star Bong Alvarez is a senior at the GCF International Christian School. She idolizes Taylor Swift and she plays the guitar, writes songs and has a sweet singing voice. Her first album was Addicted To Acoustic 3 Yssa, where she sang covers of current hits like Billionaire, Break Your Heart, Telephone, Eenie Meenie, Alejandro, Hate That I Love You plus her own composition and the first single release, All I Need Is You. She is now busy finishing her second CD and getting ready for her first solo show at the Teatrino.

Pretty rocker Paula Bianca will get her chance to perform on May 18. Paula is surnamed Cuneta but her singing is not anything like her cousin, the legendary Sharon. She actually loves rock music and has the vocal chops to sing rock. In fact, she sounds like a female Jon Bon Jovi or a young Aegis vocalist. Paula shows off her powerful vocals in her debut album also titled Paula Bianca. Check out her rendition of classic Pinoy rockers like Problemang Puso originally by Jude Michael, Miss Na Miss Kita by Father and Sons and Parting Time, which was popularized by Rockstar. Also included are two new originals Napapaluha and Napakasakit Naman, and the music minus ones of all the tracks to sing along with.

Reality-show discovery Ronnie Liang will close the Rising Star series on June 14. The model, actor and singer was almost the top winner in the talent shows Pinoy Pop Superstar and Pinoy Dream Academy. He may not have won in any of those contests but Ronnie is still a winner as a singing star. He has already made two hit singles — Ngiti from his first album and a cover of Aiza Seguerra’s Akala Mo from his second CD titled May Minamahal. This one is made up entirely of covers of Filipino pop hits. The other songs are Mangarap Ka by Wency Cornejo, Beginning Today by Agot Isidro, Kaputol Ng Isang Awit by Sharon Cuneta and the title track by Hajji Alejandro. Ronnie sings with a soft, crooning style that should go big with his many female fans when he performs live at the Teatrino.

Catch Miguel, Marvin, Yssa, Paula Bianca and Ronnie in their respective shows at Teatrino. For all you know you might be getting a very good introduction to the upcoming stars, who will shape the future of Filipino pop music.