The sweetest singing group of all

Plato said that "true friendship is infinite and immortal." I must add it’s also fun. Now throw in a whole lot of singing with that and you’ll end up with Lollipops, the all-female singing group made up of friends performing for, ummm friends, but nevertheless bringing the house down and having fun to boot.

Lollipops is made up of buddies Maan Hontiveros, Nina Romualdez, Lory-vi Valdez, Sandy Hontiveros and Elsa Mapua. It all started when Maan formed the group in high school while at St. Scholastica. They sang during the era when school-based bands were the craze. Back then the hottest groups were Ateneo’s "Fabans," and of course, St. Scho’s "Lollipops."

After rocking the high school scene with their sweet brand of hit tunes, they officially "disbanded" or more aptly, "moved on" and took a long breather from the limelight. They re-emerged 37 years later in a fund-raising concert for St. Scholastica’s, St. Cecilles Hall. From there, it bloomed to one gig after another at the Captains Bar, Bykes, EDSA Plaza, Café Lupe leading up to a gala concert held recently at Merks Bar and Bistro, where the group dished out favorite songs from the ’60s to the delight of their fans that included their Godfather cum "manager," supporter and fan, Mr. Washington Sycip.

They won’t divulge their ages, but they are definitely younger than they look. Furthermore, they jokingly deny the rumor that their name is really, "LOLA-pops." If you ask why they call themselves Lollipops, it’s because each of them have their own flavor, but every single one, sweet. And as Nina points out, "No one can resist a lollipop."

It is obvious in their performance that they just love to sing. The melodic tunes of the ’60s is their favorite. The classics if you will, from Burt Bacharach, to Karen Carpenter, and The Fifth Dimension. But they can also whip up the pop contemporary tunes from Basia, and jazz star, Kevyn Lettau. They may not have the voice of Celine Dion, but midway into the performance, you’ll find yourself singing and humming their every tune and enjoying it, too.

Their Merks gig was a attended by the who’s who of the elite society. The place was jampacked with the likes of Kit-Kat Zobel, Irene and Greggy Marcos Araneta, and Cindy Velez, among others. Onstage, they jammed with jazz artist Richard Merk and Rock and Roll legend RJ Jacinto who brought the crowd on their feet with tunes like La Bamaba.

No doubt, friendship was the tie that bound everyone the whole night. "For as long as we can lift spirits and brighten the evening with our songs, we will continue to sing, " says Nina. From the applause they received and the fun the crowd had, it’s safe to say that Lollipops is here to stay. Plato may just be proven right – their friendship may just be infinite and immortal.