The singing star of 2004

It happened to Sarah Geronimo. The winner of the Star for a Night talent contest held last March bagged a million bucks and subsequently soared to stardom in record time. She is now a bona fide hitmaker with a big selling album, sold-out concerts and has also embarked on an acting career. Lauded everywhere as the major discovery of 2003, her star is expected to shine even brighter this year.

Can the same thing happen to another Star for a Night finalist, Mark Bautista? Lightning, they say, does not strike twice in the same place. Besides, the young man from Cagayan de Oro did not win the contest. He was a runner-up, and that means loser in any vocabulary. Still, there are strong indications he might also make the grade. For one thing, the talent show phenomenon in other countries has also shown that runners-up can succeed just like what happened to Clay Akin of American Idol in the US and to Garreth Hayes of Pop Idol in the UK.

So, here now is Mark Bautista, 20 and now known as the finalist who rode a cargo boat to Manila to join Star for a Night. He passed the first leg of auditions in Cebu and was asked to come to Manila for the next phase. However, his family was in no position to shoulder the cost of the trip. But Mark was determined to go and thanks to the help of a friendly ship captain, he made it to the contest and emerged as one of the 12 finalists. Less than a year later and only a few months after Sarah released her album, here comes Mark with one of his own.

His voice is that of a young balladeer, which I must say, feels like a breath of fresh air. We are starting to run short of balladeers and those we have right now are admittedly not so young anymore. He is also still in search of his own niche and this is what accounts for the variety of songs in the album. Think pop, R&B, power ballad, acoustic. Mark has them all and he breezes through all of them with flying colors. If you want pleasant listening from a young man with a fine voice and well-conceived, not run-of-the-mill arrangements, you should get a copy of Mark Bautista.

Some are songs of great sentimental value to him. Canseco’s Ngayon at Kailanman, the song he performed during the Star for a Night finals. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, the Carole King classic from the ‘60s, which is an odd choice for somebody steeped in the music of Luther Vandross and James Ingram. Mark asked that the song be included in the album because he recalls his mother singing it when he was a boy. Then there is Ako’y Maghihintay, a duet with Sarah, which Wency Cornejo composed and produced for them. The two have become singing partners since the contest. They did Broken Vow for Sarah’s album and Christmas Won’t be the Same Without You in the Pop Star Christmas album.

Other cuts in the album are Baliwî, a composition by Jun Murillo and a finalist in the forthcoming Levi Popular Music Festival, Kapag Ako’y Kailangan and Lahat Sa Buhay Ko, both by Vehnee Saturno, Another Chance by John John Macalisang and old favorites Out Here On My Own, Lost without Your Love, One Girl and The Power of Love.

January Night-Outs

Check these places for your January night-outs. Prime venue for acoustic music Tapika on Katipunan Avenue in Blueridge, Quezon City features the following: Eva & Jon tonight and on Jan. 14; 17:28 tomorrow and all Thursdays, Jan. 15, 22 and 29; U-Turn on all Fridays, Jan. 9, 16, 23 and 30; Sole Acoustic on Jan. 10; Invocan on Jan. 11; Dominic & Burton on Mondays, Jan. 12 and 26; Barbie’s Cradle on Tuesdays, Jan. 13, 20 and 27; Hourglass on Saturdays Jan. 17, 24 and 31; Sugar Shack on Jan. 18 and 25; Paolo Santos on Jan. 19 and MYMP on Jan. 21 and 28.

Meanwhile over at the Conspiracy on Visayas Avenue, headliners this week are Chikoy Pura tonight, Bayang Barrios on Thursday, Joey Ayala on Friday and Cynthia Alexander on Saturday. Call tel. 453-2170 for inquiries.