Sarah sings pre-Manila sound hits in Miss Granny

Before the Manila Sound era of Hotdog and Rico Puno came along, there were already Filipino songwriters who were creating pop originals during the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, that turned out to be very well-received by the public. Among these were Alice Doria Gamilla’s A Million Thanks To You popularized by Pilita Corrales, Tony Maiquez and Levi Celerio’s Pitong Gatang by Fred Panopio, Jose Mari Gonzales’ I Miss You So by The Electromaniacs and George Canseco’s Forever Loving You by Nora Aunor. 

It was during that time when two young singers found themselves engaged in a chart rivalry of huge proportions. If you are among those who remember taking a walk along Raon Street, or Manila’s Tin Pan Alley during that time, chances are you would have heard these songs booming out of the huge speakers of the surrounding record bars.

One was the perky child actor Efren Montes who had Kiss Me Kiss Me, a cute, danceable ditty penned by Jessie Saclo, who was also responsible for Pauline Sevilla’s big selling Ting-a-ling, A-ling Ding Dong for the Dyna Records label. The other one was singing champion Boy Mondragon who had Canseco’s sentimental ballad and future classic Rain for the then fledgling Vicor Music. 

By a strange happy coincidence, both songs are now in the soundtrack of one of the year’s most awaited films, the romantic fantasy Miss Granny which stars the pop princess Sarah Geronimo and which is directed by Bb. Joyce Bernal.

Miss Granny is one of the most successful titles to emerge out of the Asian film industry. A heartwarming tale of love and sacrifice, it tells the story of a cantankerous old woman who is unhappily living with her relatives. Believing she has become a burden to her family, she starts roaming the streets. One day, though she is transformed by a photographer with a magic camera back to her beautiful, 20-year-old self and becomes a popular singing star. Problems ensue with her unexplained metamorphosis but she eventually learns to understand the people she loves and to cope with the changes that have happened over the years. 

Produced by CJ E&M, one of South Korea’s biggest entertainment firms, Miss Granny originated in 2014 with Eun Kyung Shim and Moon He Na in the lead roles. A massive box-office smash that also won a lot of prestigious awards, the picture has since then been remade in several countries and is now considered one of Korea’s successful exports.  

Miss Granny was filmed as 20 Once Again in China, as Sing My Life in Japanese, as Back to 20 in Taiwan. There are also versions in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Germany and other countries. Now also in the works are English and Spanish language versions from Hollywood. And so, here is the Philippine version, Miss Granny starring Sarah with James Reid and Xian Lim from Viva Films.

And because Sarah as Miss Granny is also a singing star, Viva has released a soundtrack album featuring tunes from Miss Granny’s younger days, which is over 50 years ago. And that is why Sarah, in full retro mode, got to do her own takes on Kiss Me Kiss Me and Rain. Sarah also gets to do her own version of another Canseco work, the torchy Forbidden, which was first recorded by Norma Ledesma and which was later covered by Pilita Corrales and Vina Morales. 

The up-and-coming actress and singer Atashka, who has a featured role in Miss Granny, gets to sing the diva annointment song Pangarap Na Bituin by Willy Cruz in the soundtrack. This one was written for Megastar Sharon Cuneta in the movie Bukas Luluhod Ang Mga Tala and was later also recorded by Regine Velasquez and Sarah herself. 

Rounding out the album is the Miss Granny theme song, the power ballad titled Isa Pang Araw. This is a new composition by Miguel Mendoza, who also did Regine’s latest hit single, Hugot. Now as for those of you out there who are wondering why there is no song by James in the soundtrack, I say watch the movie to find out the reason why. James actually sings and plays the guitar as the member of a rock band until Miss Granny comes along and changes the music.