No stopping Mark Bautista

There is no stopping "Pop Heartthrob" Mark Bautista in conquering the music world. Not even a broken heart.

Mark, during his recent visit here, admitted to The Freeman Entertainment that he is still mending his wounded ego after Rachelle Ann Go announced on national television that she favored singer Christian Bautista over him.

It was like death in a snap of a finger, but the singer-actor said in the one-on-one lunch interview that he had already talked it out with Rachelle and Christian, and that they have already settled that issue, and that everything has been made clear. He would not say, however, if he is already over her.

And while he is trying to forget this woman of his life, as he coyly admitted to TF, his attention is now being centered on his singing career. A second solo concert here at SM City Cebu, which reportedly gained a large crowd, could well prove that Mark has captured the hearts of the so-called "hard to please" Cebuano audience. His first was in Liloan town last May 30.

This 25-year-old heartthrob speaks fluent Cebuano, being a native of a largely Visayan-speaking province of Cagayan de Oro, of which skill, he said, could have won him the hearts of the Cebuanos.

It could be. But the reason for such warm reception could also be his notable down-to earth attitude, which has always earned him praises from the press people not only in Manila but also here.

"Masuwerte gani ko nga blessed ko. So why would I change?" said Mark, who because he could not afford the fare once rode a cargo boat from Zamboanga to Manila just so he could make it to the finals of the "Star of a Night" talent search.

His humble beginnings, he said, has inspired him to do good in his career and to always go the right way reasoning that if one day God would take back everything he is enjoying now he would not be slapped with accusations of ungratefulness.

For three years now since he emerged second best in "Search for a Star," Sarah Geronimo bested him in that competition, Mark said the blessings that came pouring in his direction were just too much, thus, he is thanking all his supporters.

"Sana hindi sila magsasawa sa akin. I'll try to do things better para mapasaya ko sila," he quipped.

And to keep his fans loving him more, a third single-End By Now-from his "Dream On" album will be released soon.

This cut, he explained, is "tamer" than the other two releases, I Need You and You Win

The Game, where he is depicted, on each, as the one who always begs for love. With this new one, with its video taken straight from his concert in Aliw Theater, a different Mark, no longer in a bath tub romantically doing love scenes with a female partner or in a lake expressing his undying love to a woman, but still giving out his belt-out performance, which for that short span of three years he has become famous for.