The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Audie See
At 62, Concert King Martin Nievera can pull off a concert for two or three hours without his voice changing for the worse, such as his voice going hoarse and his body manifesting fatigue.
Martin did very well in “The King 4Ever” at the Araneta Coliseum on Saturday night (Sept. 27). He himself describes the event as the “biggest challenge” in his 42 years in the entertainment arena.
He opened the show with “Tonight” and the venue undoubtedly shook with audience adulation. Martin has not performed at the Big Dome for more than a decade.
His son, Robin, flew in from Chicago, Illinois, and joined him onstage in belting out “On the Right Track,” one of Martin’s early hits. Martin was unreservedly tearful with the chance to sing with his son who became a father himself just a few months ago. Martin practically sobbed telling Robin “never ever leave your son, the way I left you…”
Martin sang one memorable hit after another – “Each Day with You,” “No Way to Treat a Heart,” “How Can I,” “You’re My Everything,” “Please Don’t Throw My Love Away,” “Pain,” “You Are My Song” and even attempted to dance the now popular TikTok revival ditty, “Maybe This Time.”
He went down from the stage and scoured notables from the audience to sing with him. Former ABS-CBN executive Charo Santos-Concio gamely stood up to sing “Ikaw ang Lahat sa Akin.”
A stone’s throw from them were Jed Madela and even broadcast journalist Rico Hizon. Darren Espanto was somewhere in the crowd, and readily stood up to sing “Say That You Love Me” with Nievera.
The Company–Moy Ortiz, Sweet Plantado, Annie Quintos and OJ Mariano–joined Martin onstage and they sang “What’s on the Other Side,” a song Martin wrote at the “lowest point of my life.”
“I’m so happy the most experienced concert-goers are here even before cellphones were invented,” Nievera told the huge crowd, whom he managed to hold at the palm of his hand.
He sang one memorable hit after another – “Each Day with You,” “No Way To Treat a Heart,” “How Can I,” “You’re My Everything,” “Please Don’t Throw My Love Away,” “Pain,” “You Are My Song” and even attempted to dance the now popular TikTok revival ditty, “Maybe This Time.”
“In the mood for some Broadway?” Nievera rhetorically asked his audience. Then he rendered the expected Broadway medley, a staple in all his concerts, “Maria” and “Somewhere” from “West Side Story,” “Music of the Night” and “All I Ask of You,” from “Phantom of the Opera,” “Memory” from “Cats” and “This Is the Moment” from “Jekyll and Hyde.”
The Concert King then gave the audience his popular ballads, “Ikaw Lang ang Mamahalin,” “Kahit Isang Saglit” and “Ikaw.”
Concert director for the first time of “The King 4Ever” was Nievera’s godson, Paolo Valenciano, while Frank Lloyd Mamaril was the TV director.
It’s not easy to stage a major, solo concert in a big venue. But Nievera–turning 63 in February–still successfully pulled it off before a crowd filled to the rafters.
Martin welcomed Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez-Alcasid to the stage and they sang beautiful duets of “Forever” and “On the Wings of Love.” They’ve had successful concert tours in the US and other countries and the Concert King cannot be any thankful that Velasquez-Alcasid guested on his concert.
Ogie Alcasid, Martin, and Gary Valenciano– delighted the crowd with their number that had Martin dancing to N’Sync’s “Bye, Bye Love.”
“I will not do that again,” he smilingly quipped after his choreographed moves.
That production number segued to a medley of “We Built This City,” “Don’t Stop Believing,” “Uptown Girl,” “Hip To Be Square,” “The Heat Is On,” “Footloose.”
What is a Nievera concert without his perennial partner, Pops Fernandez? The Concert Queen emerged onstage and congratulated Nievera for a highly successful concert in a major venue.