MANILA, Philippines - Bryan White, the singer behind Eat, Bulaga’s Kalyeserye theme song God Gave Me You, was all praises for Alden Richards, the other half of the famous AlDub love team, when Bryan met Alden for the first time last Saturday.
“He’s very kind and really nice and it’s really unfortunate that we only had little time to talk because of our busy schedules,” Bryan told The Star during an interview.
The Grammy-winning singer breezed into town on Friday for a one-night-only concert at the Araneta Coliseum tonight at 8. Bryan said he has heard Alden’s rendition of God Gave Me You and was pleased with his style.
He has watched snippets of Kalyeserye on YouTube and would only see Alden lip-synch to his song, but when he came here, he finally heard Alden’s voice.
“I love Alden’s rendition because it’s him. It sounds authentic and heartfelt because he uses his style. Plus, he’s got a great voice,” Bryan said, adding that he’d like to record an album with him someday or compose a song for him and Maine Mendoza.
“It would be interesting to get in a room and collaborate with Alden and see what we could come up with. It’d be fun, I’m sure,” said Bryan, who added that he’s planning to spend a lot of time in the Philippines to tour and hold concerts in the provinces.
When asked about his impression of the AlDub love team, Bryan said he couldn’t help but admire the duo.
“They captivated me, for who they are and what they stand for, and they’re so talented. I’m impressed with their humility. (In spite of) their massive success, they’re very down-to-earth. I like them,” Bryan said.
He admitted that he didn’t expect his song to become a huge hit in the Philippines, 16 years after he first recorded the song in the US.
God Gave Me You was at the top of the Billboard charts in 1999 and today, it is currently enjoying a renaissance of sorts in the country after Kalyeserye used the ballad as its main theme song. In the popular Kalyeserye, Alden would lip-synch (dubsmash) the song whenever he professes his undying love for Maine or Yaya Dub.
Bryan said he’s both moved and overwhelmed about this development.
“I think it’s really beautiful that my song has become No. 1 again here in the Philippines, because this is a scenario that you don’t see much these days where a song becomes popular because a lot of people really love it. And that’s really the way it should be. In the US, there’s a lot of conglomerates and big stations that kind of manipulate the system and they don’t allow a lot of materials to be played on the radio. This is to me, is really beautiful and it’s all come about because it was just the power of the fans that made the song a hit and again, I’m extremely grateful,” Bryan said during the interview.
And that’s why for him, it is always important to do your best and put 100 percent in what you do, because you’ll never know whether your work will strike a goldmine in another time or place someday.
“God Gave Me You’s newfound popularity in this place is something I can never explain. It’s a total God thing and that’s why you should never underestimate the power of music. I just can’t believe how music can travel and you never know where it’s gonna end up and what’s gonna happen with it,” Bryan said.
He got wind of the song’s popularity through his fans on social media and his good friend, Filipino-American Neil McCoy.
“Neil is a good friend of mine and he was the one who introduced me to my wife, and one day, he texted me when all of this is happening in the Philippines. So I searched and started learning the AlDub phenomenon. Neil joked that I should call him if I need an opening act in my concert here,” Bryan said.
He expressed gratitude to Eat, Bulaga, specifically for Alden and Maine for singing and owning his song and sharing it to their multitude of fans.
“You know when I learned of the AlDub phenomenon, the first thing that I did was to tweet them and thanked them. The whole thing has been very emotional for me,” he said.
Bryan said that God Gave Me You is clearly one of his favorite songs because of its strong message on love. He likes the song’s timelessness, how it resonates for people who are in love, in this day and age of social media.
“God Gave Me You is a melody that never gets old. The song’s message is very powerful. It feels relevant today as it is before,” he said.
For his concert tonight, Bryan said fans can expect a high-energy show.
“It’s gonna be a lot of my music that were hits, but I’m gonna do some new material and maybe, a little bit of Christmas songs and From This Moment On, a duet that I did with Shania Twain in the ’90s. I will also sing new songs from my album Shine,” he said.
Will Alden and Maine watch his concert?
“Well, they are free to come. I don’t know their schedule so we’ll find out,” he said.
Bryan’s album Shine is now available on iTunes and in the Bryan White online store.
He said he wrote all the songs from the album and derive his inspiration from his life experiences.
"I’m now 41 and I have a great wife and two kids. Life is good,” he said.
Aside from God gave me you and From This Moment on, he also sang Much for Pretending and I’m Not Suppposed to Love you anymore which are big hits during the 90s.
He charted 17 no.1 singles on Billboard, two platinum and gold albums, several awards, including a Grammy and an ACM Top Male vocalist award. White was also named “50’s most beautiful people” by People magazine.
White started out his singing career early on his life, having grown into a musical family in Oklahoma. He counts Steve Wariner as one of his musical influences in life.
“I immediately gravitated toward his tone and phrasing. I knew right then, at the age of 14, that this is what I wanted to do my with my life, to be a musician,’ he said.
Armed with his guitar and $500 on his pocket, he set out to fulfill his dream in Nashville where he started his career as a country singer.