Ipagdiriwang ni Martin Nievera ang 40th anniversary ng kanyang singing career sa pamamagitan ng isang concert, ang M4D o Martin Nievera 4 Decades, na magaganap sa The Theatre at Solaire sa November 19, 2022.
Napakabilis ng panahon para kay Martin dahil hindi ito makapaniwalang apat na dekada na siyang mang-aawit.
Read: Martin Nievera shares lessons for young singers about career and personal life
Sa face-to-face presscon ng M4D na nangyari sa isang restaurant sa Pasig City, kahapon, November 11, 2022, ang mga saloobin niya ang aming itinanong sa kanya.
Pahayag ni Martin, “It went by so fast. The fact that you’re singing forty years, it’s news to me because it didn’t feel like forty years, even during the bad and slow days when the phone wasn’t ringing.
“That was the time that really went slow. But as I recall, I remember it now, ang bilis. I can’t believe it’s been…
"I can’t believe the number is forty, but the real hard question to answer is what’s next, that’s really the hardest.
“That’s why I said earlier, I’ve learned to embrace me, meaning to say, my niche, where I belong in the industry."
Patuloy niya, “Now that I’m turning forty years in the business, there’s no such thing as a small show. There’s no such thing as a big show.
"There’s no such thing as a small pay check. There’s no such thing as a big pay check.
“Billing? It’s no longer… that’s optional. I couldn't care less about billing.
"Nothing matters to me anymore except to entertain and to enjoy what I’m doing.
“There’s no pressure. There’s no competition.
"In my mind, I’m not trying to compete with someone the way I did it in the '80s and '90s which was really fun, but that old fan mentality trying to get fans?
“If you want to stay with me for the next forty years, then stay. If you don’t want, that’s fine too. I’m not gonna cry over small things anymore, the way I used to.”
Marami nang napatunayan si Martin sa apatanpung taong pamamayagpag nito bilang mang-aawit, pero kakaiba ang itinuturing niyang highlight ng kanyang singing career.
Saad niya, “The highlight of bouncing back, that’s a talent that I’ve learned. I have to come back.
“I’ve fallen so often. I failed so many times that it has become one of the highlights of my career in forty years—how to bounce back.”
CONCERT KING
Ang pumanaw na entertainment editor na si Bob Castillo ang unang tumawag kay Martin bilang "Concert King," pero ipinagtapat ng 60-year-old balladeer na sarkastiko ang bansag sa kanya na kinamuhian niya.
“He meant it sarcastically. It wasn’t a title but the fans used it as the title.
“If you ask me about the Concert King title, I hate it because there so much pressure.
“The way I’ve told myself, I don’t have to be the Concert King. I have to have a show and everything I do has to be fit for a king.
“The audience is the king. The show has to be the kind of show that is fit for a king.
"That’s what makes me the Concert King," sabi ni Martin.