Hailed by many in the audience as one of his best-ever concerts abroad, Philippine singer Martin Nievera performed before a record-breaking crowd of nearly 10,000 for the island of Saipan on Sunday night.
The event, a free community concert sponsored by Tan Holdings at American Memorial Park, was the grand finale of the company’s weeklong 35th anniversary celebration of doing business in Micronesia. The concert also highlighted Nievera’s own 25th anniversary in show business, and coincided with the release of his new album, Milestones.
The concert gave the audience a uniquely intimate view of Nievera, considering the outdoor venue and how close the audience was able to enjoy the performance. Nievera usually plays to standing-room-only, sold-out crowds and last night was no exception.
Nievera’s performance on Saipan was a real tribute to his audience, which included CNMI Gov. and Mrs. Benigno R. Fitial. Nievera’s focus was always with the crowd as he personalized his performance and dialogue with the audience throughout the night.
“I feel so at home here on Saipan. Everywhere I’ve been to since I’ve been on this beautiful island, everybody knows me and waves at me,” said Nievera. “In Saipan, I’m so happy to say that this audience was probably the most well behaved I’ve ever met. At the end of each song they appreciate you, they listen to all the lyrics.”
“What also made last night magical was that everything that could have gone wrong with a live performance went wrong, but it all turned out right. The show should be a role model for shows all over the world in terms of how peaceful it was. It was truly magical,” said Nievera.
Opening the concert, Nievera performed his hit from the 1980’s On the Right Track and went on to sing Las Vegas show tunes by Tom Jones, It’s Not Unusual and Kiss. He also paid tribute to Motown music, particularly the Supremes, and Barry Manilow, who he actually sang for as a backup singer when he was just a teenager. Today Nievera is a regular headliner in Las Vegas playing just across the strip from Manilow.
The two-and-a-half hour concert showcased Nievera’s wide command of music from R&B, soul, rock & roll, and classic pop as well as his own original signature songs that have made him an internationally popular performer, including You Are My Song, Be My Lady and Forever. He also performed songs that are featured in his new 2-CD album released recently for his 25th year anniversary in show business, Milestones, which features 25 of his most popular hits.
In an intimate moment, Martin also talked to the audience about his children: Ram, Robin and Santino, and sang the songs he wrote especially for them.
Nievera performed on Sunday with his best friend and musical composer and arranger Louie Ocampo, as well as a full band and backup singers.
Another special moment for some in the audience occurred early in the evening when the technical crew encountered a power overload on the lights and sound equipment. The crowd hushed for a few minutes as only an acoustic guitar was able to play and the rest of the musicians were cut off. Instead of stopping the show, Nievera continued to delight the audience with sign language and finished the rest of the song without a microphone.
Other special features of the show included a duet with a 16-year-old up-and-coming singing artist from Guam, Heather Manley, who provided the opening act and performed If I fall in Love with the star performer. Nievera also invited the winner of Tan Holdings’ “Martin Nievera Sing-and-Sound-Alike Contest” Froilan de Leon to join him on stage in a duet of Nievera’s Filipino classic Kahit Isang Saglit.
Paying tribute to his major sponsor for the concert, Nievera composed a special song for Tan Holdings on its 35th anniversary and gave a special tribute to his friendship with company president, Jerry Tan.
“We could not have asked for a more exciting evening, perfect weather-we are so honored to have an incredibly talented performer like Martin grace our anniversary,” said Tan. “Only Martin could have been able to draw a crowd like this!” (PR)
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