This Showdown deserves a return bout

A showdown is "a final test" or "confrontation." This seems to suggest the idea of something unfriendly. But there was nothing of that sort in Rachel Alejandro and Geneva Cruz’s Showdown concert last Oct. 25 at the Music Museum.

It was the first time the two did a back-to-back concert. The verdict? It was well worth the wait. Rachel and Geneva lived up to their reputation as total, powerful performers who can sing and dance for hours and never tire. And that’s exactly what they delivered to their delighted Music Museum audience.

As promised, the song numbers were interspersed with VTR spiels that gave the audience a glimpse of the women behind the songs. The show opened with a video that traced parallel moments in their lives and careers, from both being born into "musical" families, to making their respective debuts on That’s Entertainment and as part of the pre-teen singing group Smokey Mountain.

After the VTR, Rachel and Geneva came out onstage looking ultra-sexy in matching outfits of shorts, boots and a jacket topped by a rope. The outfits would probably have looked ridiculous on some other concert performers, but they suited Rachel and Geneva perfectly! The show was both a musical and visual treat, especially with the girls’ six costume changes.

Backed up by male dancers, they launched into a rendition of Christina Aguilera’s controversial new single, Dirty, from her latest album entitled Strip which has just been released in the US.

Watching them perform an Aguilera song and seeing them dancing onstage drew various reactions from the crowd, all of which seemed to say one and the same thing: that when it comes to singing and dancing (not to mention sex appeal), Rachel and Geneva are at par with – if not better than – the two American teen divas!

Rachel and Geneva proved this again in the show as they performed songs by some of the most popular names in American music scene today. Among their most-applauded numbers were Rachel’s version of Debelah Morgan’s Dance With Me and Geneva singing and dancing to Shakira’s Objection Tango.

It was also full of touching moments, like when Rachel and Geneva brought their sisters onstage to sing with them, preceded by a VTR where they talked about their families and having famous fathers. Geneva and sister Vanessa went first, choosing to sing Avril Lavigne’s hit Complicated. Then it was the turn of Rachel and younger sister Barni, who did a rousing medley of hits by Pink, including Get This Party Started and Sweet Dreams.

But the highlight of the show was Rachel and Geneva’s "Rivaling Divas" segment where, in true showdown fashion, they sang songs of divas considered "rivals" – like Celeste Legaspi and Leah Navarro, Kuh Ledesma and Zsa Zsa Padilla, jukebox queens Eva Eugenio and Imelda Papin, Madonna and Janet Jackson, and Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. Although this "dueling divas" concept has been used successfully in other concerts before, Rachel and Geneva’s youthful energy and sense of humor gave it a new, interesting twist.

The two had a lot of fun and so did their audience as they went through the songs of these rival divas. Imagine Celeste’s Tuliro versus Leah’s Kailangan Kita; Kuh’s Dito Ba against Zsa Zsa’s Kahit Na; Eva’s Tukso versus Imelda’s Kung Liligaya Ka; Madonna’s Vogue versus Janet’s Rhythm Nation; and Mariah’s Hero versus Whitney’s I Will Always Love You.

But what would a show by two female artists be if they didn’t talk about the favorite subject of women? Men, of course!

Rachel and Geneva saved the best for last as they ended the show with a segment on that most maddening and mystifying of creatures: men. The VTR was intriguingly titled Men: Who Can Live Without Them?

Who, indeed? Well, men may drive women mad sometimes, but Rachel and Geneva decided that Friday night would be a fun night. Instead of bitching about men, they sang fun songs about them, like Boys by Britney Spears and I Don’t Need Your Money. Then they took it slow and sentimental with Knowing When to Leave by Burt Bacharach, Song for Heaven (which Geneva sang for the current "man in my life", her son Heaven), Heart’s Desire and Only Hope from the movie A Walk to Remember by Mandy Moore.

Then Rachel and Geneva brought their friendly showdown to an end when they sang a duet of Take Me or Leave Me, from the musical Rent, which Rachel was a part of during its staging in Singapore.

But the audience just couldn’t get enough of these two youthful and energetic performers. So an encore was in order – they did Respect and Deeper Love.

What a way to end the night! Rachel and Geneva are two performers who deserve more than just a night’s show. Another showdown soon, perhaps?