McKnight, Boyz II Men back-to-back Feb. 13

I have good news for fans of Brian McKnight who were disappointed when his show scheduled first week of December was canceled.

McKnight will have a back-to-back concert with Boyz II Men, "Live in Manila," on Feb. 13 next year at the ULTRA Open Field.

"This time," assured the concert producers, "there won’t be any cancellation."

It will be the second Philippine visit for both McKnight and Boyz II Men (composed of Nathan Morris, Shawn Stockman and Wanya Morris). It only seems that McKnight has been here several times because his scheduled concerts were widely publicized only to be canceled at the last minute.

Among McKnight’s popular songs are One Last Cry; 6-8-l2; Love of My Life; Still; Love Is; My Kind of Girl; Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda; Sorry Song; and All Night Long.

Some of Boyz II Men’s hit songs are I’ll Make Love to You, On Bended Knee, Water Runs Deep, Four Seasons of Loneliness, Hey Lover, A Song for Mama, Doin’ Just Fine, Oh Well, One Sweet Day, End of the Road, Relax Your Mind and The Color of Love.

(Note: For ticket inquiries, call Ticketworld outlets at 891-5610 or 374-2222.)

Gathering of Binibinis

It took 4,000 orphans from different institutions and the charm of Madame Stella Marquez-Araneta, head of the Bb. Pilipinas Charities, Inc., to gather almost two dozen Bb. Pilipinas title-holders who brought cheers to the kids. The occasion included an advance performance of Disney on Ice which opens to the public tomorrow night (Dec. 23) at the Araneta Coliseum, with an invitational preview tonight.

"I’ve never seen so many Bb. Pilipinas beauties in one place," said Celso Caparas, Funfare’s "other beauty expert," who covered the rare event, "not even during any of the Bb. Pilipinas Pageant’s grand finals. It was like a grand reunion for them."

Among those present (in chronological order) were 1964 Bb. Pilipinas-Universe Myrna Panlilio-Borromeo, 1967 Bb. Pilipinas-Universe Pilar Pilapil, 1968 Bb. Pilipinas-International Nini Ramos-Licaros, 1970 Bb. Pilipinas-Universe Simonette delos Reyes-Feraren, 1971 Bb. Pilipinas-International Evelyn Camus-Alcantara, 1975 Bb. Pilipinas-Universe Chiqui Brosas-Hahn, 1979 Bb. Pilipinas-International (and Miss International) Melanie Marquez, 1981 Bb. Pilipinas-Universe Maricar Mendoza-Du, 1981 Bb. Pilipinas-International Peachy Sacasas-Alimurong, 1984 Bb. Pilipinas-Universe Desiree Verdadero-Abesamis, 1985 Bb. Pilipinas-Maja Izza Gonzales-Agana, 1991 Bb. Pilipinas-International Patti Betita, 2001 Bb. Pilipinas-Universe Zora Andam, 2001 Miss Globe International Maricar Balagtas, 2001 Miss Anatolia Tourism International and 2002 Miss Tourism World Michelle Reyes, 2002 Bb. Pilipinas-Universe Karen Agustin, 2002 Miss Tourism International Ukraine Black Sea Kristine Alzar, 2002 Miss Internet WWW Second Runner-Up Maan Bayot, 2003 Miss Queen of Tourism International Noela Evangelista and 2003 Bb. Pilipinas-World Mafae Yunon.

Britney’s back-up a Pinay

Here’s an interesting rejoinder to my Conversation with Britney Spears, from reader Nina Daza-Puyat:

Dear Ricky,

Thank you for featuring Britney Spears last Sunday (Dec. 14). I’m not really a fan of hers, but I have been waiting for an opportunity to tell the Pinoys here that one of Britney Spears’ dancers is a 21-year-old Pinay named Penni Abrantes.

Penni is my inaanak and she is the daughter of my best friend Lilli Williams, who was once a runner-up in the Miss Young Philippines Pageant in 1981. Lilli is half-American but she was born and raised in Manila. Penni was born here but she has been living in the States since she was three years old.

When Penni graduated from high school about a year or two ago, she moved to L.A. (from San Francisco) to take up professional dancing. She worked for the show American Idol as one of the dancers early this year.

Sometime in August, she auditioned for Britney. Out of 400 applicants, they were whittled down to 75, and then 15. From the 15, Britney herself chose two guys and two girls. One of them was Penni.

As a pre-teen, Penni would come out as a model for clothes catalogues. Since she knew how to project herself in front of the camera, she must have stood out among the taller American girls who auditioned. Of course, she is also a good dancer.

Lilli, Penni’s mom took up ballet lessons under Ms. Pinky Puno when she was in grade school and she has had this long love affair with dancing. Even in the States, Lilli continues to teach dancing to Filipino teens on weekends for their cotillions. Her two daughters Penni and Sam have also inherited her talent and love for dancing.

I have some pictures of Penni that were sent to me via email and if you are interested in writing about her, please let me know. I would appreciate it if you did not mention my name in case you do decide to write about it.

– Nina

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