One Direction coming for MOA concert on March 21 next year

Curtain-raisers:

• Could it be true that Zsa Zsa Padilla has left the condo unit she shared with her late partner Dolphy for many years and moved in with new boyfriend Conrad Onglao in his posh place that commands a breathtaking view of the metropolis? Only Zsa Zsa’s daughters Zia and Nicole are staying at the old home.  As the song goes, when love comes in and takes you for a spin, oh-la-la-la-la…!!!

• If Willie Revillame is making a grand comeback in October (the same month he temporarily quit TV last year) according to the persistent rumor, in what channel will he resurface? Kapamilya? “No!” said an ABS-CBN executive, “no such negotiation.” Kapuso? “No,” said a GMA executive, “no such negotiation.” Kapatid, Willie’s former home studio? “Uhm,” said a TV5 executive, “is there a negotiation going on?” As another song goes, here we go round the mullberry bush, the mullberry bush…

• How soon will a celebrity couple confront the bitter truth and, if their marriage is beyond rescue or repair, live happily away from each other? In the meantime, they are doing what Ricky Davao and Jackie Lou Blanco used to…living under one roof but sleeping in separate beds. Still another song goes, a house is not a home when there’s no one there to hold you tight and no one there you can kiss good night…

* * *

Finally, it’s confirmed: Yes, One Direction is coming for a concert at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Concert Grounds on March 21 next year as part of the group’s One Direction on the Road Again Tour. It’s the boys’ first time to be in the Philippines.

Besides the Philippines, the 1D tour includes Australia and other cities in Asia.

Interviewed by The STAR in London in 2012 (for the boys’ Penshoppe endorsement), the English-Irish boy band has been crooning chart-topping hits to rapturous fans in sold-out concerts from all over the world. Last year, 1D released its record-breaking third album, Midnight Memories, for which the band was named the IFPI’s Global Artist of 2013 for becoming the best-selling musical act in the world. They even made music history in America, as they became the first-ever band to have their first three albums debut at No. 1 in the US Billboard Chart.

1D guys Harry Styles (who made headlines with his short-lived romance with Taylor Swift), Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik are also set to visit a multitude of cities and countries for the first time, including a leg of the tour in South Africa and the UAE. They have just completed the first leg of their massive, sold-out Where We Are stadium tour, where the boys garnered an overwhelmingly enthusiastic reception from their fans in South America. The UK and Ireland leg kicks off at Dublin’s Croke Park on May 23, before moving to Europe and the USA throughout the rest of 2014.

A special Launch Event is scheduled at the MOA Arena on May 23, from 8 a.m. onward to kick off the ticket sales. Prices are: VIP/Hot Ticket Package P17,000; Diamond P14,000; Titanium P7,000; Gold P3,500; Silver P2,000; General Admission P1,000.

Additional E-pass and SM Ticket charges apply.

To be launched soon is the VIP/Hot Ticket Package which includes the ticket, a 1D wristwatch with pouch, a laminated card and lanyard.

Ticket buyers will also get a commemorative e-pass card exclusive to the concert and an option to personalize their tickets to the  event.

Those who cannot attend the Launch Event may buy tickets which starts selling at 2 p.m. in all SM Ticket outlets on the same day. (Call SM Tickets at 470-2222 or log on to www.smtickets.com)

One Direction on the Road Again Tour is presented by the country’s top promoters MMILIVE and Ovation Productions, with other notable partners. For sponsorship opportunities, call (02) 846-1933 and (02) 571-8568.

The Talk producer is Emmy nominee

Marc Anthony Nicolas, an acclaimed young producer, has received his third Daytime Emmy nomination for outstanding work for The Talk on CBS.

The 41st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will be held at the prestigious Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on June 22 (Sunday). 

Throughout a career working for FOX, MTV, The Tyra Banks Show and other outlets, Marc Anthony has dedicated himself to honing his craft and producing engaging television for a wide and diverse audience. He has worked with stars such as Beyoncé, Rihanna and Sharon Osbourne and was named to the “2013’s Most Influential Filipino Americans” list by the Philippine News. 

Marc Anthony is humbled to be recognized and nominated by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and will continue to advance his unique brand of fresh, unforgettable productions. 

He is currently taping his own lifestyle show On Your Marc!, as he transitions from behind the scenes to the front of the camera, interviewing Hollywood celebrities. On Your Marc! is slated to premiere on The Filipino Channel’s Lifestyle Network this summer.  — Reported by Louise Barretto

Briefly noted

Funfare’s “other beauty expert” Celso de Guzman Caparas has the following rejoinder to this corner’s Mama Nene (Vera-Perez) story last Thursday, May 15:

Mrs. Azucena “Mama Nene” Vera-Perez and her husband, Starmaker Dr. Jose R. Perez, were the first to launch a star search in the early ‘50s. It was called Miss Number 1 and Mr. Number 1 and the winners were Amalia Fuentes and Juancho Gutierrez who were introduced in Lydia (starring Carmen Rosales, Rogelio de la Rosa and Paraluman) and co-starred with Gloria Romero and Ric Rodrigo in Señorita. In those two movies, they were billed as Miss Number 1 and Mr. Number 1. It was in Rodora (with Paraluman and Van de Leon) that they started using their screen names. All three films by Sampaguita Pictures were shown in 1956.

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. You may also send your questions to [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on www.twitter/therealrickylo.)