Pops and Martin deserve a repeat
CONCERT King Martin Nievera and Concert Queen Pops Fernandez are perhaps the most successful and enviable un-couple onstage. They managed to pull off sold-out concerts in Manila and abroad even with no romantic ties through the years.
Apparently, the solid, hard core and loyal fans of Nievera and Fernandez still have not lose hope for the erstwhile couple to be together again. The most recent one, last Friday night “Always and Forever” (February 7) pre-Valentine’s show, was no exception.
The successful, one-night concert at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena was a joint production of VAA (Viva Artists Agency) Live, Anna Puno’s Star Media and DSL (Dulce S. Lukban) Productions.
What gives? Every time Martin and Pops team up onstage, they undoubtedly create magic, then and now, that undoubtedly thrills and excites their fans. After more than 40 years, the audience still shrieks and screams upon seeing them onstage.
“Always and Forever,” taken after Martin and Pops’ song of the same title, had yet to see them on the stage yet last Friday, with only their videos together teasing the audience, on the big screen. Yet, the full-house crowd was already apparently excited even before the concert started, no doubt.
The last time Martin and Pops performed in a full-length concert was before the pandemic, where they joined in the pre-Valentine’s day concert, “Two-gether Again,” at The Theater at Solaire in January 2020.
Last February 2024, Pops staged her solo concert, “Always Loved” at Solaire, while Martin had his major show, “The King4Ever,” at the Araneta Coliseum last September.
At the MOA Arena, there were hard-core loyal fans who came even wearing Martin and Pops shirts to the venue. Sure, most of them were seniors already. “There are no children in the house,” shouted Nievera, at one point.
Martin and Pops delivered a new show to the audience, with a brand-new set list they haven’t done before. As Fernandez disclosed in one of her early interviews, even while she was in the US to visit their grandson, Finn, as well as their son Robin, she was studying the songs that she and Nievera would render. To no avail.
And the un-couple didn’t disappoint their fans. With no front act or special guests in “Always and Forever,” they dished out unexpected tunes that were never on their set list in the past, starting with their opening salvo, “All You Need Is Love.”
Thank God, this was one show that didn’t need a front act or even guests. From start to finish, only Martin and Pops regaled their audience. The camera on drone captured the excitement of the packed arena.
“We used to own Valentine’s season,” said Martin. “The stage became our lives,” he added.
The pair is still around after more than 40 years. “Ask your lola,” smilingly dared Nievera to the audience.
They crooned Moira de la Torre’s “Kung ‘Di Rin Lang Ikaw,” TJ Monterde’s “Palagi,” Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile.”
Apparently, Martin and Pops remain an unbeatable tandem onstage. Pops donned eye-popping outfits, the enviable attire she wore when she was only in her twenties. She still pulled off the grand outfits.
Martin dished out “Corner of the Sky” originally a Basil Valdez piece, as well as “Defying Gravity,” the popular Broadway tune from “Wicked” and “Tell Me,” after which he dared couples in the audience not to propose but break up, instead. No one called his dare.
More new songs that Martin and Pops reimagined in their set list popped up – “Sometimes When We Touch,” “I’m All Out of Love,” “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me.”
They sat in stools and brought back the tunes they rendered in “Penthouse Live” –
“With You, I’m Born Again,” “Tonight I Celebrate My Love (for You),” “Never Gonna Give You Up,” “Perfect Combination,” “Almost Paradise,” “Never Gonna Let You Go,” “Honesty” – and the audience sang with the un-couple.
They reminisced and relived with the audience how they fell in love and what happened between their life, most of which the audience already knew. While those times were seriously dealt with then, they simply shrugged them off this time around. They even laughed about it.
Before Martin and Pops rendered “Maybe This Time,” they called on another ex-couple, Marvin Agustin and Jolina Magdangal – the only other artists to mount the MOA Arena stage – that night.
The latter was apparently promoting their forthcoming big screen reunion, “Ex Ex Lovers” and they sang with Martin and Pops.
Martin lamented how Pops never officially used his last name when they were married. To which the lady countered, “I used it to write checks,” she said.
There were two directors in “Always and Forever” – Rowell Santiago and Paolo Valenciano – with Homer Flores as musical director.
Pops gave her audience a treat when she rendered the familiar songs identified with her, like “Little Star,” “Dito” and her latest, Taglish single, “Poppin’.”
Martin, meanwhile, rendered his familiar “On the Right Track,” “Please Don’t Throw My Love Away,” “Pain” and the “song of Bini… Saturno” – “Be My Lady,” his most requested song in 42 years.
Martin and Pops recorded “The Promise” as the theme of their February 7 concert, arranged by Homer Flores, who is the musical director of their concert. The ballad was earlier recorded by Martin solo in his “Forever” album in 2004.
For their grandson Finn, Lilo Martin and Lolly Pops especially did a duet of “Habang May Buhay.” They sang another new tune for them together, “Both Sides Now.” On the big screen behind them were the impressive graphic images of the Concert King and Concert Queen.
The “Always and Forever” concert was dotted with celebrities in the audience, particularly in the SVIP (super very important person) section. Couples Bong Revilla and Lani Mercado, Vicki Belo and Hayden Kho, Toni Gonzaga and Paul Soriano, Anthony Taberna and wife Roselle.
There were also Helen Gamboa and daughters Lala, Apples and Ciara, Annabelle Rama, Viva’s Boss Vic del Rosario with children Vincent and Veronique, Vehnee Saturno and partner Ladine Roxas, Melissa de Leon, Joey Generoso, Vina Morales, Olive Isidro and talent manager Noel Ferrer.
Undoubtedly, Nievera and Fernandez still drew the crowd. The audience who supported them from the time they were known together as co-hosts in television’s “Penthouse Live” to their movies on the big screen to their early concerts onstage, were still there and they packed the arena. The solid pair remains unbeatable.
This concert deserves a repeat, perhaps later this year. The winning duo onstage already announced a Davao concert in their schedule this month.
