Martin Nievera ‘pressured’ to live up to Concert King tag

All roads lead to the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight as Martin Nievera stages his 30th anniversary concert titled “Martin Nievera 3D.” The singer, dubbed as the Concert King, feels great to have reached this milestone in the music industry.

In this era of here-today-gone-tomorrow (where longevity in the entertainment business is rare), it is heartening for the likes of Martin who has managed to have a career that has spanned decades and remains to be respected for their talent and staying power.

“I didn’t know that I would last this long but thank God that there’s a market and the parents of my fans are forcing me down their children’s throats that I could last 30 years,” said Martin at the presscon for his anniversary concert produced by Viva Concerts.

Martin says he is challenged in having this anniversary show. “If people do believe in having titles then I have to live up to my billing as the Concert King. There’s a lot of pressure but I am thankful to Viva Concerts because they allowed me to have a major concert that is this big. The last concerts I had were collaborations with Sarah Geronimo and another one with Sharon Cuneta, with Pops Fernandez, Regine Velasquez and Ogie Alcasid so being given a chance to have a solo concert is really a bonus,” said the Concert King.

He says people nowadays are looking for value for their money and for a producer to gamble in putting up a solo concert for him, it’s indeed a big honor. Martin says the next step is proving that Viva Concerts and Redstone Productions made the right decision in staging this big concert at the Big Dome.

“I have to make everybody who comes to watch the show remember what I used to do, why I was called the Concert King. And that has given me the pressure and countless sleepless nights, not to mention the tension,” added Martin, who is likewise making sure that he is in his best shape for the mammoth event.

Martin will be doing the concert together with the ABS-CBN Orchestra. There will also be surprise guests but they are not revealing them. They probably don’t want to hear comments that people came to watch the show because a big star is performing with Martin. Martin is the concert’s main selling point. He has so many hit songs in the span of 30 years and they can’t possibly squeeze these all in three hours so that the people can have their fill of a Martin Nievera concert experience.

With or without guest performers, “Martin Nievera 3D” is a must-watch event. And with that, we look forward to the next decade in Martin’s career. He said he has no intentions of retiring and will continue to share his talent as long as the audience loves to hear him sing.

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Eight years ago, director Peque Gallaga said that the local movie industry is dying. People are no longer talking about it and very few people have been watching movies. All they talk about are teleseryes which people can watch for free on TV. There is also the problem of film piracy and the competition from Hollywood movies.

But the filmmaker in Direk Peque just won’t roll over and die. Early this year, he made his directorial comeback in “Seduction,” a movie that starred Richard Gutierrez in his most mature role yet. And when he was offered to be a part of Sineng Pambansa, a project of the Film Development Council, Direk Peque felt it’s about time he returned to doing movies with more enthusiasm.

“It is an exciting development because all of a sudden, the film industry is alive again. There are more film producers who are willing to do their share. When I was offered to be a juror in Cinemalaya and I saw the work of the filmmakers, I told myself that there is a revitalized film industry that is making an impact with the audience. I want to be a part of this resurgence,” he said.

For his entry in Sineng Pambansa, Direk Peque and his partner director Lore Reyes chose to do “Sonata,” which tells the story of an international diva who went back to her hometown to die after losing her voice. But she was able to strike a friendship with a 10-year-old boy and this revived her desire to live.

Portraying the lead role in “Sonata” is Cherie Gil who was the lead actress in Direk Peque’s award-winning directorial debut “Oro Plata Mata.” Cherie is also a co-producer of the film as she fell in love with the script written by Wanggo Gallaga (youngest son of Peque). So enamored was Cherie of the story that she gave her own input to make her character even more interesting. According to Direk Peque, Cherie’s very good in the movie and he won’t be surprised if she wins an award for her work in “Sonata.”