Martin finally opens up

It is promo time and lots of work again for Martin Nievera. This means his new single, the Apo Hiking Society original, When I Met You, will be played incessantly over the radio and that he will be making the rounds of TV shows. He will give performances at malls and other places to sell the CD. Of course, he will also give interviews to the press about his new album entitled Awit ng Puso, which is made up of contemporary Filipino classics in English and Tagalog from the past 30 years.

Aside from the beautiful and timeless selections, the most interesting thing about Awit ng Puso is that it has Martin interpreting hits popularized by some of the biggest names in local pop music history. Martin does You, a mammoth success in the early ’80s composed by the late Gerry Paraiso and originally recorded by Basil Valdez. He does a Nonoy Zuñiga with Love Without Time, a song by Willy Cruz. Here, too, is one of the few times he took on a song popularized by his friend and singing rival Gary Valenciano, Kailangan Kita composed by Ogie Alcasid. He even has something written by Cecile Azarcon for Kuh Ledesma, I Think I’m in Love.

Awit ng Puso is one of Martin’s best recordings ever and should be a huge seller. I like the easy listening vibe of the whole production, the way the arrangements retained the integrity of the originals and Martin’s unusually laid-back and very relaxed interpretation. The vocals soar in some cuts but I’m sure you will agree that there are really no histrionics in this one. It is just one heartfelt rendition of a well-loved song after another and all of them made to sound new again. Great job.

Awit ng Puso is also one album that listeners will love listening to as they lie back and remember. I hope that we will all get to savor this experience. Unfortunately though, talk about the album will merely be an afterthought to other juicier items concerning Martin’s private life that the public is dying to know about. These are what will dominate his interviews.

Like has he seen the cover? "No, this is the first time I’m going to see the CD." Not the CD, the FHM. This is the issue of the men’s magazine with Martin’s ex-wife Pops Fernandez on the cover. "They asked me about it even before I’d seen it. I had to comment. Then somebody sent it to me by e-mail but I was not able to open it." Well, has he seen it? "Yes." What does he think? "I don’t think it must be a girl thing wanting to be on the FHM cover before you turn 40. But it would never have happened during my watch."

What about the baby? This refers to the baby he is having with his girlfriend Katrina. "There is no baby yet. She is due in November. It is a boy. We’ve been together for 11 years. She always wanted a baby. She said she wanted a piece of me even if we don’t end up together. There was a time when we broke up but I never got her out of my system. We planned the baby after we got together again. We are calling him Santino."

How did he break the news to his family? "I had dinner with my sons. We spent four hours talking about everything. Well, everything for three hours and 50 minutes and then the baby during the last 10 minutes. How did he tell Pops? I planned to tell her about it when we meet in Madrid for a show but Ricky Lo scooped the news in The Star and she found out before I could tell her. She was so mad she refused to talk to me. We ended up with this huge crying jag that lasted for 25 minutes while singing together on stage. The audience was completely silent throughout. But we should be okay. After all, she was the one who kept telling me I have to move on. This is it, my first major step ever in moving on with my life."

The other songs in Awit ng Puso are Kahit Na originally by Zsa Zsa Padilla; May Minamahal by Hajji Alejandro; Sana’y Maghintay ang Walang Hanggan by Sharon Cuneta; Without You by Joey Albert; I Believe in Love by Janno Gibbs; Closer You and I by Gino Padilla; Kailangan Ko, Kailangan Mo, a duet with Regine Velasquez of the Richard Tan and Bambi Bonus original and Sinasamba Kita by Rey Valera.

There is one new song included entitled In Love with music by Louie Ocampo and words by Freddie Santos. One wonders about the presence of a new song in an album of oldies. But then this must be how Martin feels at present. As he says in the verse he wrote about the song in the cover: "I still can’t figure out, what gives me this inner shine. Could it be something in the water? Could it be the wine? I know there’s something going on for it’s only you I’m thinking of. Oh my God, please don’t tell me again?!? I’m falling in love."