Sarah G shows she’s OPM queen at 20th anniversary concert
MANILA, Philippines — At her 20th Anniversary Concert, Sarah Geronimo went all out as a performer, proving to all and sundry she’s now the Original Pilipino Music (OPM) industry’s “queen.” It was declared no less by her idol Regine Velasquez in a portion of the Big Dome show on Friday night, which strangely felt like an official passing of the baton.
Still, it was the concert’s “quieter” moments, when she offered an intimate glimpse into the other sides of herself — wife, daughter and even future mom — that could explain why she continues to command the most loyal of fans, the Popsters. The result is you have a sold-out show at a time when K-pop and other foreign acts are dominating the country’s biggest venues.
Her repertoire started off with her latest hit, Dati Dati, which saw the 34-year-old “Popstar Royalty” entering the venue through an audience entrance and weaving through a sea of Patron ticket holders on their feet. Perhaps, it was her way to reconnect with fans right away five years after her last concert in 2018.
Sarah couldn’t have made the passage of time more obvious when she said, “2018 was when I last had my concert, dito po, dalaga pa po ako nun. Bi-virgin-virgin pa!” Then realizing she might have gotten a whole lot “bolder” than she was last seen onstage, Sarah, who wed actor/host Matteo Guidicelli in February 2020, laughingly apologized, “Sorry Lord! Sorry, Mama!”
It was just one of the funniest lines the audience heard from Sarah, in between performing updated versions of old songs and upcoming ones from an album she’s working on.
Like her megahit Tala, the tempo appeared to be slower and featured new dance choreography. While G-Force, her former perennial dance group, wasn’t present (she would thank them in the closing segment), she brought in more dance groups this time around. One of her earliest hits, Sa Iyo by Jun Murillo, got a revamp with a Gary Valenciano/Michael Jackson ‘80s hit-song vibe. She also debuted My Mind, an upbeat collab with Billy Crawford, and sang for the first time Healing, an emotionally-charged piece written by KZ Tandingan.
Transporting audiences back to her beginnings, after winning the singing search Star For A Night as a 14-year-old, she rendered other singles from her first record Popstar: A Dream Come True such as Forever’s Not Enough by Vehnee Saturno, and Narito and If Only, both by Ogie Alcasid.
Ogie’s compositions became an opportunity for Sarah to share the stage anew with Regine Velasquez-Alcasid.
Asia’s Songbird later told Sarah: “You’re the queen of everyone, you’re the queen of our hearts, and most of all, you’re the queen of this industry, we love you.”
Sarah is known to be fiercely private, with the press often relying on the media-savvy Matteo sharing bits and pieces of their married life. Not to mention very proper, no cheesy public displays of affection. So, when Sarah openly “flirted” with her husband onstage, Regine teased her.
The pop star would later on explain, “Nakakatuwa pong maglandian nang kasal na. It has the Lord’s blessing. There’s no more shame hahaha!”
Sarah, however, turned shy when Matteo asked and received a quick smack on the lips after their mini-duet of The Gift (because, as Sarah put it, Matteo has been true to the meaning of his name, “gift of God,” in her life). As expected, it was more than enough to send the crowd cheering. She joked, “Nag-kiss lang. Tuwang-tuwa kayo. ‘Di ba kayo naka-kiss?”
“Alam niyo po pinagdadasal ko po na sana magaganda yung mga anak namin. Sana po talaga, Lord!” she further quipped in what would be, to the best of our knowledge, her first public mention of her desire to have children. “Ang importante po, magiging healthy ang anak namin at magiging mabait. Maganda ang puso. Napaka-advance naman? Hahaha! Pero paanong napaka-advance eh kasal na nga.”
As for Matteo, he couldn’t be any prouder of his wife. “Ladies and gentleman… the most beautiful person in this entire world, Mrs. Sarah Geronimo-Guidicelli,” he began when called on stage to join his wife, their initial “flirty” banter turning into an earnest look into how they are as husband and wife.
Sarah said, “Alam mo mahal, wala kang choice, dinesisyonan mo yan, forever na ‘to.”
“Forever na talaga,” Matteo quickly agreed.
What she learned from her three-year marriage so far is “ang forever, it’s not a guarantee.”
“What will make it last for a very long, long time is your faith in God,” she added.
She then revealed how Matteo’s faith and trust in her gave her the confidence to stage the concert. The stage veteran confessed to feeling nervous and anxious over the show, to the point that at times, “nahihirapan po ako huminga.”
“I’m thankful to the Lord because Siya lang po talaga ang nagbigay lakas sa akin and my family, they continue to be my source of inspiration,” she continued.
Actually, this concert was supposed to be held in February or December, I think, last year. Pero talagang kinakabahan ako ng husto, pero may mga tao talagang patuloy nag-push sa akin to do this show. One of them is my husband. Thank you, love!”
Matteo responded: “I told you the other day, love, you have to close your eyes and realize how many people’s lives you’ve touched, motivated, inspired. How you made them reach their dreams… because you’ve shown them that anything is possible — with love, determination and a pure heart. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”
To have Sarah opening up like this, with Matteo by her side, was such a treat. But nothing could have prepared the audience for her heartfelt tribute to her parents. The issue between her and her Daddy Delfin and Mommy Divine, after her decision to marry, is no showbiz secret.
Before dedicating her performance of Habang May Buhay to her father, Sarah recalled how much of an impact he had on her music.
“Every Sunday, he introduced me to different kinds of music, from the classics like Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis, Tom Jones, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, The Bee Gees, to the divas Whitney Houston, Celine Dion and of course, the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.”
“He taught me to work hard,” she further shared, saying how she would excitedly wake up early to practice singing with her father. The family’s small table would be her first stage.
“I would only use the original cassette tape. Never the multiplex, ayaw ko po yun, I wanted the original. Ang turo po niya sa akin, yung eksaktong eksakto (very exact) kaya po medyo nagagaya ko po ang tinig ng mga boses ng mga original singers na ginagawan ko ng covers.
“Tatay Delfin, mahal na mahal na mahal na mahal kita. Love you, daddy,” Sarah said, her voice cracking, before launching into the Wency Cornejo original, alongside a video that flashed images of her with both parents.
“I love you Ma, I love you Daddy,” she ended the song with a short but sweet message for her parents who, for sure, not a few people in the audience were hoping would make an appearance at their daughter’s most important and biggest concert yet.
By “biggest,” this meant 3.5 hours in length and a repertoire of about 40 songs, including the dance extravaganza for an encore. It was one of the marked differences from her previous concerts, according to some Popsters The STAR spoke to.
Sarah recalled that when she started out as a recording artist, the creative process was she had zero control.
Nevertheless, she noted it was their job as singers and interpreters to give life even to songs they couldn’t relate to.
“It was hard because I was only 14 and I was singing about heartaches… I was singing songs for the heartbroken… until my management gave me the opportunity to finally pick my own songs I wanted to include in my albums. Through these songs, I was able to tell my story,” said Sarah.
“But what’s more amazing is when I realized that through these songs, I’m able to connect with other people, to my listeners, sa inyo po, Popsters.”
During the show, she also made sure to thank her management, led by Viva’s Boss Vic del Rosario, for letting her “grow” and “to be on my own.”
This growth also meant that Sarah took a more proactive role in her 20th Anniversary Show, serving as co-director with Paolo Valenciano. G-Productions, her company (with Matteo), also co-produced it with Viva Live, etc. If any, it’s a statement that her every project from hereon can be expected to fully reflect her voice, choices, style and narrative.
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