Regine stars with Brian McKnight in Valentine show

I spoke too soon. Just when I predicted in my Mga Halu-Halong Hula-Hula the other day that fewer foreign artists would be coming for shows, I received a flash report that Brian McKnight (the voice behind such hits as One Last Cry, You Should Be Mine, Back At One and 6, 8, 12) is coming in February for two shows at the Araneta Coliseum (Feb. 14 and 15, 8 p.m.) with our very own Regine Velasquez.

It’s not the first time here for McKnight who performed to SRO crowds in the recent past.

Because it’s Valentine’s Day, McKnight and Regine will do a repertoire, some of them together in duets, of romantic songs (naturally).

Tickets are priced at P3,000 and P2,500 (patron) P2,500 (lower box), P1,250 (upper box A), P600 (upper box B) and P200 (general admission). You can avail of a 10-percent discount by purchasing tickets not later than Jan. 25. Numbers to call are 911-5555 (Araneta Ticketnet) and 413-2572 (Viva Office).

Julio here to stay

I chanced upon Julio Diaz at a gas station along Timog Avenue (Quezon City) the other night. Thinking that he had left for the US as reported (including by this section), I asked Julio when he came back. He grinned and said, "But I never left."

No, Julio didn’t change his mind. He was just advised by his New York-based sister, Ana Marie Datuin, to postpone his trip because America is now in recession and companies are either closing or laying off employees. Good for us because the industry needs real talents like Julio, doesn’t it?

Meanwhile, Julio and his sister Audrey are busy putting up their office and training center for entertainers they’ve been sending to Japan since late last year (15 of them so far). The center/office is in Marilao, Bulacan, a short ride away from Meycauayan where Julio hails from.

So there you are… Julio is as available (for TV shows and movies) as ever. (For inquiries about Julio and Audrey’s recruitment business, call 984-63-56.)

How Giselle ‘rattled’ Oca

You have to leave it to Giselle Sanchez to rattle the cool and usually unflappable Oca Orbos. It happened Thursday last week when Giselle and other comedians guested on Pareng Oca and Mareng Winnie Monsod’s Debate show on GMA. Wearing a plunging neckline, Giselle smiled widely as she addressed Pareng Oca, "Sir, bakit po nakatingin kayo sa dibdib ko while you’re asking me a question?" I thought Pareng Oca blushed a bit. And then Giselle added, still joking, of course, "At bakit nakalagay sa bulsa ang kamay mo habang nakatingin kayo sa dibdib ko?" For a while, the highly-articulate Pareng Oca was speechless, keeping his left hand inside his pocket – and his eyes off Giselle’s healthy breasts.

That’s Giselle brand of comedy, yes, the kind that you will see in her latest movie (with, among others, Andrew E. in the title role), FLT Films’ Burles King Daw O!, where Giselle plays a character named Mistikol (figure out which two words that name is derived from).

But since she got married to her long-time boyfriend Emil Buencamino (a transport analyst who handles all the haulers of Caltex), after going steady for eight years, Giselle has been toning down a bit on sexy/naughty jokes.

No, the couple isn’t into family planning. "We’re just too busy with our respective jobs to buckle down to having a baby," said Giselle. They’re staying in their own house (bought cash by Giselle, with Emil spending for the repairs) at Rolling Hills, New Manila, Quezon City.

Revelers in Boracay

So where were you on Dec. 31 when Year 2001 slipped out and Year 2002 slipped in?

Several celebrities opted to spend the day in Boracay, among them Michelle Bayle and her non-showbiz (foreign-looking) boyfriend, Borgy Manotoc and his veejay girlfriend Sarah Meier and the Martinezes (Albert and wife Liezl and their children).

At the stroke of midnight while Manilans were exploding firecrackers (not as many as those in previous years due to the economic pinch), Michelle and her boyfriend as well as Borgy and Sarah were locked in a torrid kiss, according to the Funfare DPA who had a great time celebrity-watching.

Guess where Armida Siguion-Reyna and the rest of the clan were – in Bangkok.

What’s up?

• Here for a visit is Michelle Aldana along with her German husband and their child. The family is going back to Germany next week.

• Sharon Cuneta and the late Nida Blanca share a birthday – Jan. 6, that is.

• You have only until Jan. 6 to catch Disney on Ice at the Big Dome. Watch it. It’s worth it.