POPS Fernandez says she’s very happy for Zia Quizon, the daughter of Zsa Zsa Padilla and the late Dolphy who was on with her eldest son, Robin Nievera, for quite a long time. Zia got married last month in Nis, Serbia. The name of her husband is Aleksa Rahul. How did she feel about this?

“I am very happy for Zia,” she says at the face to face presscon of her coming concert, “Four Kings and a Queen”. “When I learned that she and Robin parted, I felt sad. Mabait si Zia. But they both have their own reasons. Ang importante, friends pa rin sila. Robin is still very much in touch with her. I wish her all the best on her wedding.”

“Four Kings and a Queen” was first held successfully as a concert tour of four cities in the U.S. last May and June. Due to a clamor for it to be also staged locally, it will now be held at the Newport Performing Arts Theatre in Resorts World Manila on August 26 and 27, in partnership with DSL Events, Dreamwings Production of Ms. Flor Santos and Ms. Cora de Guzman. We ask Pops and Hitmakers Hajji Alejandro, Nonoy Zuniga, Marco Sison and Rey Valera how their concert did in the U.S.

“It was very well received in all cities,”says Hajji. “Laging sold out. Kaya lang, in Las Vegas, biglang nagka-covid kami ni Nonoy. Yung iba, hindi. So we had to quarantine ourselves for five days and the concert was postponed.

Pero very mild case lang naman. We were okay after a week at tinuloy namin ang show. Akala namin, nabawasan ang viewers, but hindi, it’s still a full house.”

It’s the first time for them to have Pops as part of their act. How is it working with her? “Si Pops, first time namin nakilala nang husto at masarap pala siyang kasama,” says Nonoy. “She’s very down to earth. Hindi feeling diva.

Walang kayabangan at all.”

“We discovered na bukod sa napakaganda niya, komedyante pala siya,” says Marco. “She has a good sense of humor. Out of the blue, biglang nagpapatawa.”

“She is a professional in every sense of the word,” says Hajji. “Napakadaling katrabaho. Sa show, laging siya ang nauunang dumating sa aming lahat.”

“At first, ang impression ko sa kanya, suplada siya,” says Rey. “But when you’re traveling together, mas makikilala mo ang isang tao at ang tunay niyang ugali. Si Pops, mahaba ang pasensiya at magaling makisama. We all enjoyed working with her.”

And what can Pops say about each of her male colleagues? “Nasanay na ako sa kabastusan nila,” she says. “Joke lang. Pero lahat ng jokes nila, bentang-benta talaga sa audience. Sa kanila, si Hajji ang lider-lideran namin. Very strict siya about our number kasi may time constraints in casinos na kailangan two hours lang ang show. Si Nonoy, kalmado lagi. Kahit na-covid na, kalmado pa rin. Si Marco, click na click sa mga chicks. Sinusundan talaga siya ng fans niya with matching halik. Si Rey, sobrang quiet. Akala ko rin, suplado siya, pero hindi pala. I had fun working with all of them.”

So will their Manila show be an exact copy of their U.S. concerts? “No, may dinagdag kami at may binawas,” says Hajji. “We will include the best parts of our U.S. shows then we have production numbers like the opening and the closing na magkakasama kami lahat. There’s also a number where we sing songs na pinag-aagawan namin si Pops.”

“Of course, dapat abangan ‘yung aming banter,” says Rey. “Yung laitan portion na done in clean fun kaya walang pikunan. Sabi nga ng isang nanood sa amin, we’re funny because we’re politically incorrect. Wala kaming pakialam kahit ma-bash kami kasi that’s our brand of humor and we’re not going to tame it.”

Producer Flor Santos of Dreamwings says she’s hoping “Four Kings & a Queen” will show local audiences that everything is okay now in live entertainment viewing.

“Matagal nang walang nagko-concert ng ganito so with this, we also hope to show other producers na buhay na uli ang concert scene,” she adds. “You can now get your tickets at Ticketworld and SM Tickets. We guarantee you a great night of fun and entertainment.”