queens...on fire!

the queens are here, in los angeles. how fitting.

i'm talking about pops fernandez and regine velasquez (and their guest erik santos) who are having a concert at the grand olympic this saturday. they had a presscon last night at the garden pavilion of the church of scientology along franklin avenue.

i got this one pic, among others:



All Set for Queens…on Fire

Concert Queen Pops Fernandez and Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez topbill the latest concert offering of Star Media, led by Ana Puno. Slated to happen this Saturday, April 2, at the Grand Olympic Auditorium, ‘Queens…on Fire!’ has all the makings of a sure-fire blockbuster.

Star Media held a press conference and sponsors’ night held Monday at the Celebrity International in Hollywood. As expected, the media, sponsors and supporters all trekked to the event.

The audience was treated to a couple of numbers by acclaimed pianist Joselito Pascual who performed before Pops, Regine, and their special guest Erik Santos were introduced.

‘Queens…on Fire!’ is already 90% sold-out, according to Puno who is bringing the concert as a spring offering to the thousands of Filipino-American fans who continue supporting Filipino concert performers.

“We will have special numbers that will surely touch your hearts,” promised Pops, as she responded to a question on what the audience should expect this time.

Pops and Regine first performed together in a concert held in Pasadena way back in 1997.

“Ang tagal na pala nu’n. A lot of things have changed since then. Mas maganda kami ngayon,” Regine exclaimed.

The free-wheeling press conference also touched on negative write-ups, which, Regine says she has tried to avoid reading. “Nakakasama ng loob, nakaka disappoint if we read negative criticisms kaya mas mabuti na na hindi ko na lang basahin. I also help in the conceptualization and direction of my own shows kaya it hurts kapag negative ang lumalabas. Okay na yung alam ko na mas maraming tao ang nag-enjoy sa ginawa ko,” she said.

A product of a talent show way back in the 1980’s, Regine is very supportive of the talent shows that have been sprouting like mushroom back in the Philippines.

“I consider it as an opportunity for all this new artists. Nakikita kaagad ang mga galling at abilidad nila kasi napapanood sila lingo-linggo. I consider them very, very lucky since they have the support of their entire network. I see in these kids their drive to succeed. This is a good thing,” Regine added.

Erik Santos, 2003’s grand winner of ABS-CBN’s ‘Star in a Million’ could not agree more. “Ang laki ng naitulong sa akin ng ‘Star in a Million’ at ng ABS-CBN. I never thought that I’d be performing with Ms. Pops and Ms. Regine, two of the best talents in the Philippine music industry. I feel proud and lucky to be experiencing all these. We all know that it is very hard to penetrate showbusiness and it takes a lot of guts. Salamat sa mga talent shows at nabibigyan kaming mga baguhan ng opportunity. They certainly make the way easier,” he said.

“There are a lot of new singers in the Philippines now. Ang labanan ngayon, matira ang matibay, kasi ang dami na nila. A lot of these new singers have the potential to make it really big in the business,” quipped Pops.

Individually, these talented performers shine every time they do their thing onstage. They have their own captive audience, and loyal fans as a matter of fact. Bringing them together seemed like a daunting task. For Los Angeles fans, the long wait is over.

This Saturday, at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles, catch ‘Queens…on Fire!’ and witness a rare event where the Concert Queen goes head-to-head against Asia’s Songbird. As their teaser ad said, ‘Will one outshine the other?’

There’s only one way to find out.