Have Faith in this girl’s singing talent

Singing newcomer Faith Cuneta recently had a series of concerts at the Music Museum titled One, where she shared the stage with another tyro in the local music scene, Juaquin. On the night we got a call inviting us to watch the concert, Martin Nievera was the guest. That was the redeeming factor, we thought, so we were convinced to troop to Music Museum without too much expectation, but looked forward to seeing Martin perform again – something we will never get tired of doing.

It was our first time to see Faith onstage and it was a big risk on our part – or maybe a waste of time, we initially surmised. A few months back, we simply heard about Faith getting enmeshed in a much-ballyhooed controversy when she was pitted against Regine Velasquez.

But Faith need not capitalize on Regine to get noticed. Faith can easily bank on her formidable and familiar showbiz name. Yes, singing is in the genes, as she is Sharon Cuneta’s second cousin. Hence, it is not surprising that Faith would want to tread the same path that the megastar has taken – and succeed, too.

Naturally, Faith was the main attraction in the concert. We had to endure her, we thought, before seeing Martin perform. She opened the show with Evanescence’s upbeat ditty, Bring Me To Life, which she sang with Juaquin, "a former Wise Guys member turned wiser," as Faith introduced him. Then, whipping up a mean Latin number, they danced to Enrique Iglesias’ Bailamos, which proved that Faith has terpsichorean talents, too.

In her solo spots, Faith regaled the audience with, what else, a Sharon hit, Pangarap na Bituin, which Faith revived as carrier track in her solo album under Galaxy Records. Why, her voice quality sounded like the megastar’s, too. Faith followed up the popular Tagalog ballad with Love Me Again, another revival which was also her first single. She can be a dead ringer for Nina, has the voice quality of Sharon and can dance a la Jennifer Lopez.

Juaquin dished out I’ll Be, Robbie Williams’ Rock DJ, Toni Braxton’s Unbreak My Heart and his version of Keno’s hit, Leaving Yesterday Behind, which the former revived for his solo album also under Galaxy Records.

Together, they blended their powerful vocals in love duets – Friends in Love, Moments in Love, Is It Over Now, I Finally Found Someone, Let the Love Begin. She looked radiant in her Randy Ortiz outfits, while he was hip in his Ariel Agasang wardrobe.

More than an hour into the show, still even without Martin, we were hardly bored, perhaps because we were being entertained. By this time, we were convinced Faith has innate talent and is out to make her mark in the music scene.

When Martin came out, the audience was naturally ecstatic. He crooned a Michael Bublé medley, followed by his first big hit, Be My Lady, where the audience sang with him. Audiences are still thrilled to hear the popular ballad even after 20 years that the song hit the airlanes as one of Martin’s earlier chart-toppers. He later did a duet with Faith in Time of My Life.

One had all the trappings of an ambitious concert which could easily impress even the most jaded audience. Aside from the premier concert venue like Music Museum, the show had a sophisticated stage equipped with pyrotechnics, first-rate session musicians, noted musical director Louie Ocampo, stage/TV director Rowell Santiago, scriptwriter Noel Ferrer and powerhouse guests. When Martin came out onstage, he smilingly blurted out to Faith, "How can I perform when you stole my band?" On the first week of the concert series, Richard Gomez was special guest performer.

So what’s next for Faith after her Music Museum series? A lot more, it seems. She goes abroad for the One world concert tour, which will take her and Juaquin to Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo and Nagoya, to be followed by performances in the US — Los Angeles, Glendale, San Francisco, San Jose, Las Vegas, San Diego and Hawaii early next year. That looks like a busy calendar for Faith, who has apparently fulfilled her childhood dream to become a singer.

Martin may have been the reason we went to Music Museum that night, but we ended up being a Faith Cuneta convert. That she is One good performer is something we can easily attest to after the show.