Muling aalis ang magkaibigang Martin Nievera at Gary Valenciano para sa second leg ng kanilang AS1 World Tour. Naging very successful ang una nilang AS1 concert sa SM Mall of Asia sa Pasay City noong September 19, 2009.
Kaugnay ng AS1 World Tour ay isang presscon ang ipinatawag para kina Martin at Gary last Wednesday, January 27, sa Friday's Tomas Morato, Quezon City. Although naunang dumating si Martin, hinintay muna si Gary bago sila sabay na humarap sa PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) at iba pang entertainment press.
RIVALS AND FRIENDS. Dubbed as "the most successful concert tour in the United States of any Filipino artist last year" ang North American tour ng AS1 nina Martin at Gary sa San Diego, San Francisco, Houston, Pasadena, Chicago, Atlantic City, Toronto, Edmonton, and Calgary. Ano sa palagay nila ang reason kung bakit naging ganoong ka-successful ang kanilang shows at may clamor din ngayon sa ibang U.S. cities?
Ayon kay Gary, "Maybe because the competition can be kept in a professional level, and our brotherhood and friendship go beyond the stage and we share this to our audience. Or maybe not just the artist but the show."
May scene stealing ba sa pagitan nila?
"No," sabi ni Gary.
"Always," sabi naman ni Martin.
"Actually, hindi ko napapansin," sagot ni Gary. "On stage, mabibilang mo na hindi kami magkasama lagi sa numbers namin."
Ayon kay Martin, hindi na nila kailangan ni Gary ng script. Bahala na lang daw sila sa mga gagawin nila. Kung ano raw ang concert nila rito, yun din ang concert na ginawa nila sa ibang lugar, kasama ang dalawang musical directors nila na sina Louie Ocampo at Mon Faustino.
Aniya, "But when we will do our repeat here, we will change the songs."
May bago raw gagawin si Martin sa second leg ng kanilang concert.
"If I'm better in dancing, this time, Martin will also dance," banggit ni Gary.
"Gagawin ko lang comedy," sabi ni Martin, na siya nga niyang ginawa sa kanilang first international concert tour.
Dagdag ng Concert King, "Ginawa ko kasi sa show, so we can collect more aid for the typhoon victims. Sabi ko, they can kiss me, but they should give me money."
Ayon naman kay Gary, "Martin made a couple of thousand dollars and he did other shows for Ondoy. Hindi lang dollars, they also gave him stuff to eat, and gifts. We were able to raise over 50,000 dollars for the flood victims in the Philippines, and we turned it over to the Sagip-Kapamilya of the ABS-CBN Foundation."
Speaking of typhoon Ondoy, sinabi ni Gary na dapat sana ay September 26 last year ang date ng kanilang first-ever concert together ni Martin, pero nagkaroon ng problema sa venue kaya napaaga ito ng one week—September 19. That time, medyo umuulan-ulan na rin pero hindi naman bumagsak ang ulan during the concert proper. A week after, Sept. 26, dumating ang bagyong Ondoy kaya very thankful sila dahil ang laking problema kung hindi na-advance ang kanilang concert.
Martin and Gary will perform in Washington, D.C. on February 27; Connecticut on February 28; Tampa Bay, Florida on March 6; Reno, Nevada on March 12; Canada on March 14; Dallas, Texas on March 19; Pasadena, California on March 21.
Babalik si Gary sa Pilipinas after the U.S. tour para um-attend ng high school graduation ng daughter niyang si Kianna sa La Salle Antipolo. Then, tuloy ang concert tour nila ni Martin sa Dubai on April 8 at sa Qatar on April 9. AS1 is produced by Manila Genesis Entertainment for Starmedia Entertainment Inc.
NEXT MARTIN OR GARY. Natanong din kina Martin at Gary kung sino among the young singers ang sa palagay nila ang magiging bagong Martin Nievera o bagong Gary Valenciano.
"We hope no one," sagot ni Martin.
Ayon naman kay Gary, "We believe that there is only one Martin Nievera and only one Gary Valenciano. But we will never know, time has changed or is changing. Who knows, a better one will come. Like we have not captured Europe, but Billy [Crawford] has captured them."
Sa young female singers, exception para sa kanila si Sarah Geronimo because of how much she has accomplished at a very young age. Sa endorsements pa lang daw ng Pop Princess ay hahanga ka na rito, bukod pa sa blockbuster movies at successful concerts.
MANNY'S NEXT FIGHT. Napag-usapan din ang nalalapit na boxing match ni Manny Pacquiao laban kay Joshua Clottey. Sabi ni Martin, it would be nice siguro if the two of them will sing the National Anthem on March 13. Pero hindi pa raw nila ito nasasabi kay Manny.
Hindi ba na-trauma si Martin sa batikos na natanggap niya pagkatapos niyang kantahin ang "Lupang Hinirang" sa laban ni Manny kay Ricky Hatton noong May 2, 2009?
"I don't know what the law is in singing the National Anthem," sabi ni Martin. "Hindi ko naman binastos 'yong kanta. Di ba, if you get the artist, you consider how he will express his feelings for the song? At iyon ang ginawa ko. I wanna hear them sing the National Anthem so we will know how it should be sung."
Kung may wish sina Martin and Gary, ito ay gumawa ng original songs ang local singers natin. Sabi pa ni Gary, "The radio stations are waiting for new original songs."