Balik-Pilipinas ang Concert King na si Martin Nievera. Ang isang dahilan ay para sa Valentine concert nila ng ex-wife na si Pops Fernandez. Ang ikalawa'y para paghandaan ang part two ng tinaguriang "the most successful concert tour in the United States of any Filipino artist last year," ang North American concert series nila ni Gary Valenciano na AS1.
Dahil sa tagumpay ng AS1 last year sa San Diego, San Francisco, Houston, Pasadena, Chicago, Atlantic City, Toronto, Edmonton at Calgary, magtu-tour uli sina Martin and Gary sa Washington, DC sa February 27; Connecticut sa February 28; Tampa Bay, Florida sa March 6; Reno, Nevada sa March 12; Canada sa March 14; Dallas, Texas sa March 19; Pasadena, California sa March 21. Then sa Dubai on April 8, at sa Qatar on April 9. AS1 is produced by Manila Genesis Entertainment para sa Starmedia Entertainment, Inc.
"The next day after our Valentine show I'm on a plane," kuwento ni Martin. "I'll go to America to promote this new second leg of AS1. And then, Gary and I will perform in Washington DC."
SON'S GOOD VALUES. Laking tuwa at gulat ni Martin nang malaman niyang bahagi na pala ng ASAP XV ang panganay nila ni Pops na si Robin Nievera.
"I've been waiting so long to perform with him, and then I finally did. I don't know if you saw that. But when I saw him sa ASAP hindi ko alam na masasama na siya. I have no idea.
"You know what? I respect the most the way he approached this. You know, he could have done it the easy way and that's, 'Hey, Mom, hey, Dad, can you get me on ASAP?' Now we make a call to Johnny Manahan [director ng ASAP], it's done. I mean, that's the way it should be, di ba? But he never told any of us.
"He went to see Johnny on his own with his guitar. He auditioned just like any other kid. Johnny knows that he is the son of Pops and Martin. But still, Robin doesn't like that. I even offer my driver, my assistant, when I'm not in town. But he doesn't want that. He wants to carry his own things, drive himself. He's got his own little value system going on his own. So, kaming dalawa ni Pops, we're shocked by this attitude. Taking the longer road rather than the easy road."
May contract ba si Robin with Star Magicor ASAP XV?
"We have to ask Pops all the legalities there. Hindi ako kasama sa mga usapan nila," sabi ni Martin.
Who will manage Robin?
"Ah, I don't think now he has a manager... When it comes to music, concept, scripts, ah, ideas for a show, 'Hey, Daddy, do you like this song?' He goes to me for that, but personal business, always his mom. Pops has always been better at money anyway."
SANTINO. Malalaki na ang mga anak ni Martin kay Pops Fernandez na sina Robin, 22, at Ram, 20. Kumusta naman si Santino, ang anak niya sa girlfriend na si Katrina Ojeda?
Proud na ipinakita ni Martin ang latest picture ng bunso sa kanyang cellphone.
"He's three. In October, he'll be four. He's three years old but he's wearing like size ten."
Sa States nakatira ang bata kasama ang ina, at sinusubukan daw ni Martin na pumunta doon every other month, "because Santino is at this age right now where he needs his dad, and I'm there a lot for his birthday, Christmas, all the children's celebration, I'm there."
Dito naman sa Pilipinas, ang kasama niya sa bahay ay ang inang si Conchita Razon.
"Ever since Pops and I separated, my mom and dad are also separated, so it's like, 'Hey, Mom, let's live together na lang? I'll take care of you naman...' I built her a small house inside my house... If you can picture my house, it is like the letter U and my mom's house is in the middle... Yeah, parang maze."
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON. Ayon kay Martin ay musically-inclined din si Santino.
"Oh, yeah, he loves instruments. For his second birthday, I got him a drum set, an electric drum set. He loves to sing and dance. He has a mirror. Well, the mom is a teacher so she knows what the kids need at that age and one of them is to see himself, so he got a TV. He tries to imitate the TV, the cartoons with a mirror and he is doing everything himself. He does a lot of acting, he does sound effects, but he's a great singer...
"In the music class that he takes, according to the teacher who doesn't know who I am, the teacher doesn't know that I'm a singer, this kid in her class, the only one whose pitch is perfect. All the other kids are sintunado, like that."
Marunong na raw magbilang si Santino sa Tagalog at Spanish, pero mahirap daw kung dito sila sa Pilipinas ng ina titira.
"No, no, no. I think they're happier in the States. I know that the mom, Katrina, is a successful teacher in America, pre-school. She is already what they call a master teacher. So when they awarded this award, parang in the business world she's moving up the ladder... professor teacher, master teacher, and then maybe one day assistant director and director...
"It's not that it's better to live in America. I'm just saying that they're not used to the traffic. They're not used to the, I don't know, there's-gonna-be-a-brownout-tomorrow kind of a life, you know? They're so set about their ways. They're so Americanized. So, it will be hard," pagtatapos ni Martin.