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Lea Salonga sings "Your Songs" and gets a standing ovation



Lea Salonga's secrets for a successful performance: "Warm up a lot, sleep, drink water, and stay away from annoying people."

Elyas Isabelo Salanga


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Lea Salonga sings "Your Songs" and gets a standing ovation

Karen Pagsolingan, Liz Bacus-Casas, Leah Castro

Sunday, December 20, 2009
02:58 PM

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What songs would you like Lea Salonga to sing?

 

This was the concept of the Your Songs concert, which took place at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) Plenary Hall last December 11.

 

Fans were asked to submit their song titles via www.leayoursongs.com, and "the requests cut across a wide array of musical style—from pop, rock, to alternative, then OPM," as Lea put it.

 

Apparently, her supporters wanted to hear her version of Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" or Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl." And yes, the 38-year-old singer gladly and gamely obliged.

 

Your Songs showcased both the musicality and versatility of the world-class performer.

 

At about 8:30 p.m., the audience hushed at the sight of Lea in a black Rajo Laurel ensemble.  She opened the show with Elton John's "Your Song," then belted out Beyonce's "Halo" right after.

 

"All of tonight's songs are your songs. They may be your favorites, songs that you sing in the happy times, songs that get you through the hard times, songs that have sentimental value for you. Tonight, your songs are my songs," she told the people who arrived at the jampacked venue.

 

Her next set was what she dubbed the "power ballads," which included Chicago's "If You Leave Me Now," "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" (Air Supply), Now and Forever (Air Supply), and "Open Arms" (Journey).

 

THE EVENING'S SURPRISES. An interesting twist to the concert was the presence of a fan who had the chance to sing with the Laurence Olivier and Tony awardee on stage.

 

Christopher Yu emerged looking starstruck and excited at the same time. He indirectly admitted he was nervous, but during his actual duet with Lea, he did not disappoint. The Glee Club member sang just as well as Brad Kane did in "A Whole New World," the theme song of the Disney animation Aladdin, where the Pinay performer lent her singing voice to Jasmine.

 

The audience was mesmerized, and after the number, some yelled, "More!" to which Lea responded,  "You can request more if this is his show. In the meantime, this is my show."

 

Another revelation was the singer's dancing prowess. With the Philippine All-Stars, a group that represented the country in international hip-hop dance competitions and came home champion several times, Lea bopped to the beat of Amy Winehouse's "Rehab."

 

After the dance, the hip-hop singer Q-York took over and did the "Mainit" number with Philippine All-Stars.

 

Alternative rock aficionados in the house surely enjoyed the Broadway star's rendition of Juan dela Cruz's "Ang Himig Natin," Eraserheads' "El Bimbo," and The Dawn's "Salamat," which Lea sang with the group's vocalist Jett Pangan.

 

That portion was one of the most applauded performances, with Lea putting on a rock star hat and singing the piece a few octaves higher than Jett's pitch.

 

Afterwards, she delighted the spectators with her version of a Lady Gaga hit. Nope, she didn't don the American singer's flashy outfits, but she wore that perfect "Poker Face" expression.

 

The OPM segment began with Lea's soulful performance of "Kahit Isang Saglit." Then, Richard Poon joined her to sing "Bakit Labis Kitang Mahal," "Mahal Kita Walang Iba," "Sana Maulit Muli," "I Don't Love You Anymore," and "Sometime, Somewhere." The lady owned the stage!

 

The quite unexpected yet most-applauded part of the evening was the showdown between Lea and Ai-Ai Delas Alas.

 

The Comedy Queen brought the house down with her funny quips. "It's so cool to be with you," was how she greeted Lea. Ai-Ai continued, addressing the people at the orchestra section of the hall, "Babatiin ko lang po ang mga fans ni Ms. Lea. Grabe, ang yayaman. Sosyal! Mga nakabarong." Then she looked up and waved to the crowd occupying the balcony seats, "Hi, fans. 'Musta kayo riyan? Buti na lang nakarating kayo at na-afford niyo diyan."

 

The hall roared with laughter.

 


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