Janno Gibbs and his Divas

We do not know if they are truly divas in every sense of the word. You know the sort, talented, beautiful but also imperious, difficult to deal with women who must have their way all the time. But to Janno Gibbs, they are the divas in his life, female stars whom he looks up to and admires for their beauty and talent or for the important roles they play in his life.

They are Pilita Corrales, Kuh Ledesma, Regine Velasquez, Jaya, Pops Fernandez, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Lani Misalucha, Vernie Varga, Rachel Alejandro, Jinky of Freestyle, Janno’s sister Melissa Gibbs and his wife Bing Loyzaga. They sing with Janno in his latest album Divas & I, which is made up entirely of greatly appealing duets.

Duets are nothing new but Janno has an engaging way with the ladies and this innate flair comes across in every cut. Hence we get chemistry of a very combustible kind with each duet, be it with the great Pilita who goes all out with a hip hop version of her classic Kapantay ay Langit, where Janno raps or be it with new singing star Jinky who sings Paano and shows that she is assured of a solo career should she be without the rest of Freestyle someday.

Maybe it is because he is singing with the women closest to him in real life but it is a fact that Janno comes off best in the cuts he does with his wife and with his sister. Again I say maybe. Maybe, I am just a sucker for anything by the Beatles but for me the sweetest of the lot is George Harrison’s Here Comes the Sun. Janno sings this beautifully with Melissa, who, I believe, should be heard more often.

The most touching song in the album though is Wind Beneath My Wings with Bing, who helped get the album together. As all devoted observers of local showbiz know, Bing, during her teens, was a promising actress and singer, who dropped her whole career when she fell in love with the equally young Janno. Since then, there have been times in the past when she attempted to return to acting and even turned in some well-received performances as in Kapantay ay Langit and Ipagpatawad Mo. But just when stardom is once more within her reach, she would drop everything to be plain Mrs. Mokong and mother of two. Wind Beneath My Wings does not lend itself all that well to a duet version but Janno and Bing sound like they mean every word and that is what is most important.

The other songs included in Divas & I are Everyday, Agot Isidro’s big hit which Janno sings with Rachel, Kung Kailangan Mo Ako, a lovely pairing with Jaya; Evergreen with Regine; I Don’t Love You Anymore with Zsa Zsa; I Say a LIttle Prayer with Pops; Umagang Kay Ganda with Vernie; Through the Fire with Lani and Walang Hanggan with Kuh. Every copy comes with a free VCD which contains music videos of I Say a Little Prayer, Evergreen, Kapantay ay Langit and Ikaw Lamang, a duet with Jaya, that they recorded earlier.

Janno has one of the best voices among our local male singers nowadays. He is one of the few whose great low tones combine with an equally arresting falsetto. It is a pity though that because of his success as a comedian and actor and rare recordings, people tend to forget that he is also a very good singer. Divas & I is a chance for us to enjoy Janno’s singing and the varied voices and styles of his Divas allow him to go the whole range of his capabilities.

Meanwhile, the current favorites among local music lovers are: Deep by the one-man boy band Binocular; Superman by Five for Fighting; All or Nothing by O-Town; Pagdating ng Panahon by Aiza Seguerra who is now in grave danger of the dreaded sophomore jinx; Purple Hills by D12, Someone to Call My Lover, by Janet Jackson; When It’s Over by Sugar Ray; When Ur Looking Like That by Westlife; All the Love in the World by the Corrs; and You Remind Me by Usher.

New Filipino singles to watch out for are It’s Only Love by Sharon Cuneta; Ako’y Sa ’Yo by First Circle; Sorry, also by Aiza; Shiny Red Balloon by Barbie’s Cradle; Basta Basta by True Faith; and If Only by Side A.