Martin’s magic lives on

How time flies. It seems like only yesterday that I had my first meeting with a young and sassy but very talented young singer named Martin Nievera. I was to become his publicist.

The opportunity to work with Martin was one of the first few breaks I got as publicist. Martin was very young — only 19 or 20 at the time — but even then, everyone knew where he was headed. It all happened very fast, and eventually, the time came when it all started to fall apart. The breakup of his marriage to Pops Fernandez, the controversies (which affected sales of his CDs and tickets to his concerts) all hurt him, but Martin was smart, and it didn’t take him long to realize that admitting his mistakes was the first step to gaining back the public’s trust.

But before that could happen, he had to go through some really rough times. His star rose quickly, but it also fell just as fast. Formerly the darling of the pop music world, he suddenly found himself out in the cold. It was one of the worst times of his life. “They say the quicker you go up, the quicker you go down, and yes, I had moments in the past when I was very, very high, and there were also a lot of very, very low moments, moments of emotionally not liking myself and moments of loneliness, of crying, and of tears. There are people close to me who caught every single moment, so they know.”

Martin — who’s now celebrating 30 years in the industry (he’s having a big concert, 3D: Tatlong Dekada on Sept. 13 at the SMART Araneta Coliseum) — says that what is important is that he was able to survive those moments. He left the Philippines and went to the US — San Francisco, Las Vegas, Hawaii — for soul-searching and to “re-charge” his batteries. He told very few people what was going on. Even his family was in the dark. “My family did not know what I was up to,” confides Martin. “They didn’t know I was trying to gain some more momentum, strength, self-confidence and when I got that, I came back to the Philippines. I did everything I could to better myself.”

Those times are now past, and Martin has no regrets. “All of these things I feel have defined what I am today. I’m still employed, I’m still semi-sought after. I am fortunate to be surrounded by family and good people who tell me how it is.”

He continues to perform and do shows like ASAP for a reason. He also just released a CD commemorating his three decades in the business — and this forthcoming anniversary concert is obviously something special for him. But whether the show is in a big venue or a small one, he treats it the same.

And while he has already been in the industry for three decades, he plans to just keep on singing. “I see myself singing for the rest of my life. For as long as there’s an audience to sing for, big or small. For me, my motto has always been, from the time I started to this day, there is no such thing as a small gig. Every gig is a big show.”

He still has moments of disappointment sometimes, but for the most part Martin has learned to ride them out. What is important for him now is to be able to go on and maybe reach his 40th, even 50th year in the music business. He also wants to be able to give back, either by helping up-and-coming performers get their breaks, or by some other means, like doing shows in small venues, for lesser talent fees than usual or guesting in the concerts of other artists.

These things help keep him grounded. “I think every singer has to keep doing that,” he says. “To keep trying to increase the magic of the industry and at the same time, give back to those who gave you your magic.” After 30 years, Martin Nievera’s magic lives on.

Bravo to the Concert King!