MANILA, Philippines — Martin Nievera, who is celebrating his 40th year in showbiz this year, has acknowledged that music fans continue to patronize and want to always hear his old hits despite efforts to reinvent himself. But it doesn’t stop him from writing new ones anyway.
“I’m trying so hard to reinvent myself. In all of my 40 years, every other year, I’m trying to reinvent myself, only to find out na ang hinahanap ng tao all over the world, not just in the Philippines, are the old songs and my past hits. (They’d tell me,) ‘You know, I grew up with your song, I proposed to my wife with Be My Lady. Ikaw ang Lahat sa Akin ang naging theme song namin nung high school,’” said Martin, also dubbed concert king, during the virtual presscon for his new single Smile Again.
He said even if there were times he’d get tired of singing his old songs, he has kept performing them again and again for the benefit of his audience.
“I’m realizing now how important whatever songs I’ve made. Even when hindi siya nagiging hit, I’m finding out that my songs have become the soundtrack of someone’s life. Even if it’s one life that I am inspiring, I have to sing that song.
“But many times, I scratch my head in frustration, Be My Lady, na naman?,” he shared, referring to his most requested song composed by Vehnee Saturno and recorded way back in 1983 for his debut album Take One. “I mean, how else can I sing Be My Lady? I can’t rap it or ‘reggae’ it. I mean, ang hinahanap ng tao, they want to hear Martin Nievera, they want to listen to the songs recorded in the last 40 years. They don’t care about the next 40 years. They want to hear the last 40 years. So, I have learned to embrace that,” he shared.
This may admittedly be hard for someone who wants to churn out new music. But it appears that he’s taken on the challenge to be creative and at the same time, give what his fans want.
Case in point is his new single Smile Again, which he wrote over the pandemic and was based on a melody by Homer Flores. It’s a piano-driven, chill and feel-good ballad but harks back to “the music I’ve been investing my time and effort in producing for the last 40 years.”
“The old meaning of ‘positive’ is what I wanted to bring back,” Martin further described Smile Again. “I’m one of those singers who sings about the ‘sad’ love songs, the ‘I can’t make it’ love songs, the ‘I want you back’ type of songs. This time, I wanted to finally have a song that was positive.”
He was particularly inspired by the Charlie Chaplin classic Smile, which has been his go-to closing number for his online shows during the pandemic.
“It’s so funny, when there was no pandemic, I was down. But during the pandemic I think I was the most positive. What kept my mind busy was doing things I took for granted way before when I was so busy trying to be famous, trying to be a singer and making some hit songs and hit concerts. I forgot that God put me on this Earth, not to make money, not to be famous, but to be a singer, to sing,” Martin shared.
Apart from Smile Again, he has penned enough original songs to fill up a whole album. But he won’t release one because it’s not what his fans are looking for at this time.
“I’ve written songs about frustrations, fatherhood, love, happiness, ‘We can make it, we can get through this, we can fly again.’ These are the kinds of topics that I have, very symbolic. There’s this movement, an attempt to change my way of thinking about life,” he reflected.
“In other words, don’t be depressed, don’t look down. We have to keep looking up and make the best of whatever we have. Because if we’ve learned anything, time is so precious, and it’s so short. So we have to make do with what we have in the little time that we have and make each moment a lifetime of memories.”
Meanwhile, as he marks his 40th year in the industry, what else does he want to achieve in his career?
“You know, when you do something once, that’s luck. But if you do it twice or more than twice, then that’s success. So, this is me trying to do it all over again,” Martin said.
“Now, if there’s something new that I can do, I probably would have to be taught that. Because in my mind, I’ve learned to embrace the music and the era that I represent. There’s no need to step out of that, and try and be Usher, or try rap music and do things that are so out of my comfort zone.
“This is the time now, the next 40 years, to embrace the balladeer, embrace the storytelling and inspire the young to believe that they could make it in their respective dreams.”
When it comes to his personal life, the pandemic allowed him like a fresh start with his family. “Embrace my children in every moment that I have with them and not let it slip,” he said. “By the way, I never saw my kids grow. I’ve been on the road. I’ve been so hungry for fame that I lost my family so I have to make up for lost time now. I don’t want any other performers, singers, dreamers like me in a younger body, to make that same mistake because look what happened!
“Boom, there’s a virus! Where did that come from? That wasn’t part of the game plan. That’s not in my dream. That has nothing to do with my career path. Where did these come from? So you better start smelling the flowers now — not after.”
Borrowing the title of his new single, Martin also enumerated some of the things that have made him smile again these days. He said, “Reinventing myself as a composer and allowing myself to write for people who send me melodies, like Homer Flores, and that was the song Smile Again. It was nice to write songs again.”
Another reason to smile is the realization that fans still appreciate his music. When he came out on stage for his first live show since the pandemic at the Sycuan Casino in San Diego, California last year, he was humbled by the love. “It was also their first time to have a live show and it was me, the guinea pig. We were sold-out two weeks before the show and when I emerged on stage, akala mo ako yung bagong singer ng BTS,” Martin recalled.
“With the screaming, I couldn’t even hear the music. And these are people who have seen me for the last 40 years so that really made me smile again in gratefulness that you’re still there. After all these years, even after not singing for you for two years straight, you’re still there.”
In his personal life, happiness is being with his children. Martin has three sons, namely, Robin and Ram with ex-wife Pops Fernandez and his youngest child, Santino, with ex-partner Katrina Ojeda.
“For the last two Christmases, I’ve had my three boys with me, with their mothers which is very, very complicated, but I think we all learned because of the children,” Martin revealed.
“Again, all of us, realizing that whatever sama ng loob we have had with each other in the past, we have to forget about it and live the life that we live today because we don’t know what tomorrow will be like.”
With Santino, in particular, Martin was able to spend a longer time with him over the pandemic.
“I was able to bring my son Santino — he was stranded with me for a year in the Philippines — in the last part of the two years of the pandemic. So, I was his father, physical, face-to-face, for one year. That was an enormous smile. Even to this day, it makes me smile,” Martin said.
“So, having my family and my boys with me, and also, Anj (del Rosario), my girlfriend, who has been with me for so many years, and now, she’s even part of my shows where she’s controlling my lyrics, my music. In other words, she’s not just someone watching the show, she’s actually part of it now, which I didn’t think would ever happen. Having her around and her support and love also makes me smile.”
(Check out the song, released under Vicor Music, via https://bit.ly/3wGpasL.)