3 shows to choose from

The tour is titled Set The World On Fire and is in support of her latest album, Girl On Fire. So, you can expect to hear the new hits of Alicia Keys like Girl On Fire and Brand New Me in the show. But I am sure that the song that will bring the house down will be Empire State Of Mind, her wonderful collaboration with rapper Jay-Z that pays homage to the city of New York. The soul diva performs on Nov. 25 at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena in Parañaque and I can almost hear the buzz, followed by the hush and then cheers as she goes into New York, New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made up…

Of course, it will not be just the song; it will also be Alicia’s singing with her gorgeous, rich and full contralto and her songs that sound like classic jazz but with a tinge of R&B. The unique combination was what caught the attention of music lovers when the then 20-year-old pianist, singer and songwriter took the world by storm with Songs In A Minor over a decade ago. She was sensational — also very attractive and an able songwriter to boot. On her first time out, she had big sellers like Fallin’, Girlfriend, A Woman’s Worth and How Come You Don’t Call Me. A Minor went on to sell over 12 million copies and gave her five Grammy trophies.

More hits and more awards followed in the ensuing years. One that I like very much is My Boo, a duet with Chris Brown. Others that her fans are looking forward to hearing live are If I Ain’t Got You, You Don’t Know My Name, Karma, Diary, As I Am, No One, Superwoman, Teenage Love Affair, Like You’ll Never See Me Again, Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart, Put It In A Love Song, Wait Till You See My Smile and others.

Alicia Keys: Set The World On Fire Tour is produced by Ovation Productions and presented by Blackberry and co-presented by Fibr with Energizer and Federal Land. Tickets are priced at P13,200, P10,560, P8,976, P5,808, P4,752, P3,696 and P1,056 and are available at all SM Tickets outlets or online at www.smtickets.com.

More great girl sounds in concert. Viva Live, Concerts and Events is taking Sarah Geronimo’s blockbuster Perfect 10 show to the MOA Arena on Nov. 30. The concert series opened to a packed Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City last Nov. 15, and in an unprecedented move will now go to the other side of Metro Manila — at the MOA. This gesture will give fans in Parañaque and nearby areas a chance to watch Sarah perform live without battling  with the horrific vehicle traffic situation in the Metro Manila area. Diehard Sarah fans, of course, are most welcome to enjoy the show again.

Perfect 10 celebrates the 10th anniversary of the start of Sarah’s singing career. That was when she won in the talent show Star For A Night in 2003 and later embarked on one of the most successful showbiz careers ever witnessed in the Philippines. Perfect 10 is directed by Paul Basinillo with Louie Ocampo as musical director and Georcelle Dapat-Sy of G-Force as choreographer. This is the same production team behind Sarah’s successful 24SG concert in 2012. Ticket prices are  (Patron VIP) P4,500; (Patron) P4,000; (Lower Box A) P3,500; (Lower Box B) P2,500; (Upper Box) P1,000; and (General Admission) P500.

Now come Dec. 6 and 7, it will be the turn of Lea Salonga to strut her concert stuff at the Plenary Hall of the Philippine International Convention Center at the CCP Complex in Pasay City. The Tony and Oliver award-winning original Kim of the musical Miss Saigon, who is now an internationally famous singing star, will celebrate her 35 years in the entertainment industry with the concert titled Playlist. The show promises to be very special, as it will feature Lea’s favorite songs and the most memorable events of her career. Truth to tell, I already know of fans who are already looking forward to hearing her do those Miss Saigon songs live again.  

Tapped to direct Playlist is Bobby Garcia with Gerard Salonga as musical director. The special guest will be Mitoy Yonting, the winner of the first Philippine edition of The Voice of the Philippines, where Lea appeared as coach. And playing the music for the beautiful songs will be the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Gerard. Tickets to the show are now available at Ticketworld via www.ticketworld.com or call 891-9999 and at the PICC Box Office.

Just think, where in the world could you have big stars in the likes of Alicia, Sarah and Lea performing in concert one after the other, with only a few days in between? We Pinoys can also be very lucky in some aspects.