Sharon in Sharon No front acts, no introductions
MANILA, Philippines – When Sharon Cuneta mounted the stage at The Theatre of Solaire for her recent concert eponymously titled Sharon, it was the Megastar immediately seen onstage. No front acts, no introductions.
With the familiar overture of Bituing Walang Ningning played by musical director Louie Ocampo on the keyboards, Sharon was dramatically hoisted up onstage into a mechanical platform. Except for the band, the stage was devoid of any high-tech contraptions or larger-than-life backdrop.
Wearing a long, black gown, accentuated by a bright green ribbon (created by her long-time fashion designer and beauty consultant, Fanny Serrano), Sharon opened up the show with Something’s Coming from West Side Story and subsequently launched into a standard tune, Bette Midler’s Do You Want To Dance? The song was included in Sharon’s Isn’t It Romantic 2 album.
A highlight of the first part of the show was Sharon’s duet with her 15-year-old daughter. “Frankie is 15, going on 26,” Sharon teased. It was the first time for mother and daughter to share the stage and perform live, with Frankie even playing the guitar.
The song, which turned out to be a much-applauded OPM number, is close to Sharon’s heart since Mr. DJ was her first hit when she was only 12. Mother and daughter also did another duet, Rihanna’s No Place I’d Rather Be.
Sharon opened the second part with Yeng Constatino’s hit single, Ikaw, which the Megastar segued into one of her memorable hits, Ikaw, recorded in 1993. The song is the only collaboration of Louie Ocampo, who created the music and the late George Canseco, who penned the lyrics.
There were not too many songs in the repertoire that night. If at all, Sharon’s repertoire had, more or less, the same time as her lengthy spiels. To begin with, there wasn’t even a script to follow. “I don’t really like scripts when I do concerts,” Sharon told The STAR in the post-concert party at the Solaire lobby.
She was obviously ready to go up again onstage. Even her range, when she was belting out the high notes, it was admirably impeccable. She renewed her ties with her audience by performing for them again.
Included in her repertoire were The Carpenters’ You (which she recorded for the commemorative album, Desiderata, for Maalaala Mo Kaya’s 25th anniversary), Something New in My Life (Barbra Streisand version), Greatest Love of All and even the Aegis’ hits — Basang Basa sa Ulan and Halik.
She was in tears when she sang Losing My Mind from the musical, Follies. Louie Ocampo’s songs — Tell Me and Ikaw Lang ang Mamahalin — “which he gave to other singers,” made it to the line-up.
Sharon ranted everything that she wanted to share with the crowd that night, which was also a celebration of her 50 years (she turned 50 last January). From her past relationships to her heartbreaks, her career and her children to her battle with the bulge and her weight loss, She was candid and honest.
“Look, no more girdle,” she smilingly enthused.
She particularly took pride in mentoring the young talents in The Voice Kids, so that the children were made to take part in her concert at Solaire. The 24 talents were featured in two batches, with the three finalists – Antonetthe Tismo, JC Tan and Alvin Dahan. Sharon reportedly shouldered the talent fees of the young singers for the concert, with the budget apparently culled from her professional fee.
The kids initially rendered a medley of Michael Jackson hits – They Don’t Really Care About Us and Heal the World. Then, the three finalists all had their spot numbers, which brought the house down. JC did his hair-raising version of Josh Groban’s You Raised Me Up. Alvin sang Regine Velasquez’s Pangarap Ko ang Ibigin Ka and Antonetthe belted out Basil Valdez’s Paano Ba ang Mangarap.
In “passing the torch to the next generation,” the kids shared the stage with the Megastar and sang a medley of her signature hits – Bituing Walang Ningning and Pangarap na Bituin. There was perhaps no one prouder about those kids performing live onstage that night than Sharon. After all, she helped hone the talent and confidence of those young singers.
If the audience missed Sharon, the megastar more than showed the feeling was mutual. She went down onstage and literally reached out to the crowd, shaking the hands of her fans, hugging and kissing her friends, posing for selfies. Never mind if she lost track of her Kahit Maputi Na ang Buhok Ko number, one of her classic hits. Everyone wanted a moment with Sharon and a “piece” of her that night.
There was also no need for a star-studded line-up of guests onstage. No less than Vice President Leni Robredo led the celebrities watching in the audience. She made a very low-key entrance into the venue. Had Sharon not acknowledged the VP’s presence, the latter would hardly have been noticed.
Robin Padilla came with his daughter, Camille, with former actress Leah Orosa. Sharon shared how she nearly became Robin’s wife before and dedicated Maging Sino Ka Man to her Binoe.
There was also Zsa Zsa Padilla who came not with her significant other Conrad Onglao, but with her manager Nene Atillano. Then there were actresses Sylvia Sanchez, Ara Mina, mother and daughter Annabelle Rama and Ruffa Gutierrez. There was actor-director Rowell Santiago who, once upon a time, came into Sharon’s life.
Audie Gemora, entertainment director of The Theater at Solaire, cannot be any happier with the full-house crowd that night. Solaire even tendered a post-concert party after midnight, when Sharon got to casually interact with some her guests.
Young director Paolo Valenciano was at the helm of the concert and Sharon proudly commended him for doing a great job. He swore he already trimmed down the three-and-a-half hour concert that ended at nearly midnight.
- Latest
- Trending
