SUCCESSFUL ang two-night concert ng “Four Kings and A Queen” ng hitmakers and OPM greats na sina Hajji Alejandro, Rey Valera, Nonoy Zuniga at Marco Sison together with Concert Queen na si Pops Fernandez na ginanap sa Newport Performing Arts Theater ng Resorts World Manila last Friday and Saturday.

Ang two-night concert ay spin-off ng kanilang successful concert tour in the US which brought them to New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas at iba pang lugar sa Amerika.

Naging possible ang local concert ng “Four Kings and A Queen” dahil kay Pops who is also a concert producer under her own DSL Productions at nakipag-alyansa siya sa ibang local producers tulad ng businesswoman na si Florita Brioso Santos under her Dream Wings Production at iba pa.

Dahil puno ang two-night concert ng “Four Kings and A Queen” sa NPAT, kmukhang aya nilang punuin ang bigger venues tulad ng Big Dome (Araneta Coliseum) at MOA Arena for them to be able to accommodate more people na sobrang nasabik sa live concert.

It was also a good indication na unti-unti na ring bumabalik ang live concerts and entertainment scene.

It was in early 2002 when the late Total Entertainer Rico J. Puno thought of the idea of creating a group he called The Hitmakers and asked original Kilabot ng mga Kolehiyala Hajji Alejandro and hitmaker and songwriter Rey Valera to join.

The Hitmakers became one of the most sought-after group performers laluna na sa Amerika at iba pang bansa.

When Rico J. passed on on October 30, 2018, nagkaroon ng malaking void ang The Hitmakers dahil si Rico J. ang leader at buhay ng grupo. Dito naisip nina Hajji and Rey na isama sina Nonoy Zuniga at Marco Sison to join the group at muling naging aktibo sa concerts and shows ang The Hitmakers.

Although mahirap i-fill in ang shoes na iniwan ni Rico J. tila minana ni Rey ang paggawa ng green jokes ng yumaong Total Entertainer.

Individually or as a group ay wala kaming masabi sa performance ng The Hitmakers kahit ang kanilang gags ay kuwela sa audience at naroon pa rin ang charisma ng apat sa kanilang mga tagahanga.

Sanay na sanay na rin si Nonoy performing with his artificial leg habang ang concert queen-turned-producer na si Pops Fernandez ay mas gumaling bilang singer-performer.

Pops had individual duets with Hajji, Rey, Nonoy and Marco and a production number with The Hitmakers. And the songs and numbers that they performed brought the audience down memory lane.

Pops should not retire as a singer-performer to concentrate on her being a concert producer featuring other artists, and other related businesses. Not yet.

Isa rin kami sa naniniwala na marami pa rin ang nagka-clamor for a Pops-Martin concert tandem. After all, they are still a `loveteam on stage’ to reckon with.

Maganda rin siguro kung may concert producer na magbabalik kina Martin, Pops and Gary Valenciano in one concert.

Samantala, matapos ang dalawang two-night sold-out concert ng “Four Kings and A Queen,” inaasahan na mag-iikot pa ang grupo sa iba’t ibang key cities ng Pilipinas maging sa ibang bansa including Canada, Europe and Middle East.

Cesar at Sunshine muling nagkasama

NATUTUWA kami for the estranged couple Cesar Montano and Sunshine Cruz na muling nagkita at nagkasama sa isang okasyon. Ito ay sa 18th birthday celebration ng isa sa kanilang tatlong anak na si Sam who had her birthday party two days later her birthday, August 24.

The former couple got separated nung August 2013 and the annulment of their marriage was approved in 2018.

Cesar is extremely happy na okey na sila ng kanyang ex-wife na si Sunshine maging sa kanyang tatlong anak (kay Sunshine) at Diego (kay Teresa Loyzaga) kaya hindi niya maipaliwanag ang sobrang kasiyahang nadarama nung i-celebrate niya ang Father’s Day last June at sa kanyang kaarawan nung nakaraang August 1.

Sina Cesar at Diego ay nagsama for the first time sa hit and controversial movie ng Viva Films, ang “Maid in Malacanang” na sinulat at dinirek ni Darryl Yap which is currently doing the rounds of international screenings.

Bukod sa “Maid in Malacanang,” may tinapos na ring bagong movie si Cesar which he co-produced and directed, ang “Blood Brothers”.

Samantala, sa tatlong anak ni Cesar sa kanyang ex-wife na si Sunshine na sina Angelina, Sam at Franchesca, ang huli ang carbon-copy ng actor habang sina Angelina at Sam ay nakuha ang features ng kanilang ina.

Pinoy artists wagi sa ContentAsia Awards

ANG “The Broken Marriage Vow” na tinampukan nina Jodi Sta. Maria, Zanjoe Marudo, Zaijian Jaranillo and Sue Ramirez won the Best TV Adaptation sa recent 3rd edition ng ContentAsia Awards habang ang now-defunct sitcom na “My Papa P” nina Piolo Pascual, Pia Wurtzbach and Pepe Herrera ang tinanghal na Best Comedy Show.

Ang “GenSan Punch” na dinirek ng premaydong director na si Brillante Mendoza ang nanalong Best Asian Feature Film or Tele-movie habang si Alberto `Treb’ Monteras II ang nagwaging Best Director of A Scripted TV Programme for “Still” . Nominated ding for Best Director si Erik Matti for “On The Job: The Missing 8” na siya ring nagbigay ng nominasyon sa actor na si John Arcilla bilang Best Actor for the same movie.

Nominated din si Jodi Sta. Maria for Best Actress for “The Broken Marriage Vow”.

Ang Asia’s Content Awards (ACA) ay ginanap nung nakaraang Biyernes, August 26 at sinalihan ng iba’t ibang bansa sa buong Asya.

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