Two of the best artists known for sheer talent and belonging to different generations──Mr. Pure Energy Gary V and international singing sensation Charice Pempengco──joined forces for a concert that brought 80,000 plus people to the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds last Saturday, January 8, 2010.
As early as 6:00 in the evening, people were already lining up at the VIP, Gold, Silver, Platinum and General Patronage sections.
The show started at 8:00 p.m., as announced. An all-time favorite doxology "The Prayer" (Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli) was rendered by the world -renowned choir and orchestra Chorale Tomasino and Symphony Orchestra of the University of Sto. Tomas (UST).
They serenaded the audience with a medley of "Bituing Walang Ningning" (Sharon Cuneta), Tanging Yaman (Carol Banawa), and That's All I ask Of You (Phantom of the Opera Soundtrack).
After a 10-minute break, a new act surprised the audience with dancers carrying fake guns onstage. Minutes later, Gab Valenciano appeared by jumping from the platform for a dance number.
FASHION SHOW. Towards the end of the number, a big Number One surfaced onstage with the "Lord of Scents" Joel Cruz in an all-white ensemble. He welcomed everyone and assured everyone that the show will be full of surprises.
A fashion show of Joel Cruz's fashion and scents line followed. It included casual wear, formal wear, swim wear, and bedroom wear for both men and women. It also included a fashion show for pets with its pets' fragrance line.
Celebrity endorsers of the brand walked the ramp: Pauleen Luna, Jason Abalos, Ronnie Liang, Ejay Falcon and Erich Gonzales.
Also an endorser of the brand, John Lloyd Cruz appeared onstage riding a mini-convertible.
GARY V. At way past 10 p.m., people couldn't contain themselves when an audio-visual presentation on Mr. Pure Energy started started to roll.
He then appeared onstage singing one "Don't Stop Believing," an original of Journey and popularized by the TV series Glee.
After that, he treated the audience to a medley of 80's and 90's numbers: "Always Something There to Remind Me" (Naked Eyes), "Take On Me" (Reel Big Fish), "Oh! Mickey You're So Fine" (Tony Basal) and "99" (Split Mirrors).
His next set of songs was some of the best-loved ABS-CBN teleserye soundtracks—"Natutulog Ba Ang Diyos?," "Kung Tayo'y Magkakalayo," and "Tayong Dalawa."
The crowd's favorite turned out to be the heartfelt song, "Sana Maulit Muli."
For his next song, Gary V said, "Whenever I perform, I find it useless if I don't get to touch my audience's hearts..."
He sang his version of "How Did You Know," of which he said, "I call this a love song because that's the way it is."
With perspiration trickling down and his clothes soaked, people yelled for, "More! More!"
"Pinagpapawisan ako and that's a good sign," he said. The crowd was then treated to the danceable classic Christian song "Shout for Joy", a Gary V trademark.
DUET ACT. "Sino dito ang mga laking 80s? 90s?" Gary V asked the crowd.
"I'll be doing some bridging here of generations," he continued.
He then invited onstage his son Gab Valenciano and The Maneuvers, who were all holding canes.
"Bakit kayo may dala niyan? Kaya ko pa naman, a!" Gary joked.
Using the canes, father and son swept the dance floor to a remix of tunes "Di Bale Na Lang," "Mahal na Mahal Ko Siya," and "Huwag Mo Na Sanang Isipin."
After that act, Gary introduced Charice. This hyped up the crowd and even made people start standing to get a better glimpse of the international singing sensation.
The two did a duet of Charice's popular song "Pyramid" with no less than Mr. Pure Energy doing the rap part originally done by international R&B artist Iyaz.
CHARICE. This generation's Filipino pride wore shorts, a shirt with vest, and a pair of red killer heels.
She treated the crowd to a medley of popular danceable tunes which included "Solo" (Iyaz) and "Bad Romance" (Lady Gaga).
"This is the song composed for me by David Forster," she said and sang "In This Song."
Charice also belted out Celine Dion's "All By Myself", one of the songs she sang at David Forster's concert here in Manila.
She sang eight songs that night.
In one of her spiels she said, "I had a dream and this is one of my fulfilled dreams," meaning the success of her singing career.
"Hindi ko din papalampasin ang gabing ito nang hindi ko binabati ang pinakamahalagang tao sa buhay ko ng 'Maligayang kaarawan,'" Charice said.
That night was also the birthday of her mom, Racquel.
Charice announced that she will have 5 to 7 more episodes in the TV series Glee.
"Please watch out for me," she said.
Kamikazee, lead by its vocalist Jay, took care of the concert's after-party. With a lot of people vacating their seats after Charice's act, Jay of Kamikazee jokingly remarked, "Sa mga umuuwi, mag-ingat kayo!"
The people who stayed behind weren't disappointed with Kamikazee's usual energy and humor.
They sang their usual line-ups "Narda," "Doobidoobidoo," and "Nasan ang Tsinelas Ko?"