Sofronio Vasquez shows why he’s a champ at Cebu concert

CEBU, Philippines — It was a homecoming concert fit for a champion like Sofronio Vasquez as The Voice US Season 26 winner performed at his Cebu concert, January 18, at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.

His setlist was composed of familiar throwbacks, with covers such as “I Can Dream” by Elvis Presley and “What’s Love Got to Do With It” by Tina Turner, to name a few.

Much of his performance of “Stand by Me” saw him stepping down from the stage to be with the audience, handpicking a few to sing the iconic chorus with him.

As an homage to his Bisaya roots, the Ozamiz native sang “Usahay” as a last-minute addition to the setlist. He explained to the audience that Regine Velasquez and Ogie Alcasid encouraged him to sing the classic Cebuano ditty for his crowd that evening.

After performing familiar classics, he sang a piece that he said was suitable for his “millennial” age of 32, performing “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims.

To the audience’s delight, he also performed a medley of OPM classics: “Ang Huling El Bimbo” by Eraserheads, “Halaga” by Parokya ni Edgar, and “Kisapmata” by Rivermaya, before closing the show with “A Million Dreams” from “The Greatest Showman.” Before the finale, he explained that performing the song from the hit musical is a reminder that dreams do come true.

A Sofronio Vasquez performance wouldn’t be complete without him singing – wearing his now trademark cowboy hat – Sia’s “Unstoppable”, his winning song in the latest edition of “The Voice U.S.” where he was under the team of Canadian balladeer Michael Bublé.

Throughout the two-hour concert over the recent Sinulog Festival weekend, it was impressive that the singer never showed signs of fatigue despite his busy schedule since he arrived in the country earlier this month following his international triumph.

Earlier on the day of the concert, Vasquez was in the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center in Quezon City as a guest judge for the “Tawag ng Tanghalan: The School Showdown” finals of It’s Showtime. Having to go through the notoriously congested roads of Metro Manila to NAIA before flying to Cebu, it was astounding how he not once missed a beat during his performance.

Another highlight of the night was how natural Vasquez sounded when talking to the audience, even more so when he revealed that he had no script prepared.

“I remember Sir Martin Nievera messaged me offering his services if I needed a script for the concert tonight,” he shared, “but I wanted this concert to be casual with no script.”

Despite no guidance from a prompter, Vasquez knew how to spontaneously connect with the crowd that rooted for their fellow Bisaya to win big at one of the world’s most popular singing competitions on television.

It’s safe to say that this same audience will show up for his next concert in Cebu once he becomes a well-established singer in the U.S. following his win, which includes a recording contract with Universal Music Group, a prize given to every champion of the show since its inception in 2011.