All-4-One in Resorts World show

Brace yourselves for a Valentine’s Day treat in October. After only a few days since Pinoys treated themselves to the music of two of their favorite bands, Michael Learns To Rock and Spandau Ballet, we get this most welcome piece of news.

All-4-One will be coming to town. Acclaimed as one of the greatest boy bands of all time, All-4-One will be headlining at the Newport Performing Arts Theater of Resorts World Manila for one night only on Oct.  28.

All-4-One is made up of Jamie Jones, Delious Kennedy, Alfred Nevarez and Tony Borowiak. They were boyhood friends who Ioved to sing and early on discovered they could do excellent four-part harmonies. It did not take long for them to be discovered. Their singing resembled Boyz II Men but younger and more pop. At a time when the New Kids On The Block were in hiatus and the Backstreet Boys still had to be born, they became the teen-aged crowd’s favorite slow-dancing boy sound. Do you know of anybody who did not dance to I Swear in 1995?

I know that happened over 20 years ago but just as their songs continue to create romance for their listeners, not much has changed about the group. They still do their big-selling, smooth ballads and the occasional soul grooves. And note this, because the membership of All-4-One has not changed at all in two decades, fans are assured of getting the same sound they had been in love with all these years in the coming show.

Foremost among these is, of course, I Swear. Picked and produced by the famous David Foster, the cover of a John Michael Montgomery country hit was No. 1 in the Hot 100 chart for a record 11 weeks and was later named the biggest-selling single of 1994. I Swear later on won for All-4-One the Grammy for Best Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. It is now acknowledged as one of the greatest love songs of the 20th century.

It was also the first of many hits for the boys. There followed I Can Love You Like That, I’m Your Man; I Turn To You; These Arms; Beautiful As You, Could This Be Magic; So Much In Love; She’s Got Skillz; I Will Be Right Here; Someday; A Better Man; Here For You; I Cross My Heart and others. The albums are All-4-One, As The Music Speaks, No Regrets, S.O.U.L., On And On and Twenty.

Now, I do not know how All-4-One feels about early Christmas celebrating like we usually do. These guys have a fantastic Christmas album and it would be really nice if they could include a Christmas song or two in their Newport show. I also do not know if the An All-4-One Christmas album is available locally but even if you have not yet listened to it, you can bet your life that given the way they sound, they do both the pop and traditional holiday songs beautifully.

Included are Silent Night, This Christmas, The First Noel, The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire), Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, Mary’s Boy Child, What Child Is This, Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, O Come All Ye Faithful, Christmas With My Baby, We Wish You A Merry Christmas and a killer medley of When You Wish Upon A Star and Let There Be Peace On Earth. When you get to this cut, you will surely think All-4-One is indeed one of the greatest groups of all time.

Incidentally, joining All-4-One in the show will be the world-renowned Jamaican artist, Diana King. Known for her powerful vocals, diverse style and exotic beauty, King gained fame with her reggae-flavored covers of popular tunes like Ain’t Nobody, Do You Really Wanna Hurt Me, Hey Jude, Piece Of My Heart and others. She was also the voice behind the hit version of I Say A Little Prayer For You that was used in the movie My Best Friend’s Wedding.

King though, is more than a covers artist. Also known to her fans as Kingsinga, she expresses herself with original songs that not only showcase her vocal styling but highlights her skills as a lyrical storyteller as well. I am sure she will do well in the concert.

Tickets are now available at Ticketworld, Ticketnet and SM Tickets.