Sarah Geronimo won the grand prize on Star for a Night talent show because she performed the Celine Dion song To Love You More, very well. She was so good that she sounded like Celine herself. While certainly impressive, it is still a fact that copycats only make good in singing contests or karaoke joints. If a singer wants to be taken seriously, he or she should make the effort to find the original compositions that would serve as his or her signature song in years to come.
To Sarah’s credit, she was able to easily discard the Celine mantle with a series of hits that were all originals by Filipino composers. Forever’s Not Enough written by Vehnee Saturno headlined her debut album Popstar A Dream Come True. How Could You Say You Love Me, also by Saturno, was the hit from her second outing Sweet Sixteen. Even Becoming, produced for international release, has for its carrier single I Still Believe in Loving You which was composed by the US-based songwriter Jimmy Borja.
For her fourth and latest, Taking Flight, Sarah goes all out for the Filipino songwriter with 11 originals. The move is risky but admirable. The music industry is in the doldrums. Album sales seesaw between novelty songs like Joey de Leon’s Itaktak Mo and the revival of old favorites, some of them rearranged bossa nova style. Bands continue to create their own materials but save for those lucky enough to be downloaded often, these are also not selling big anymore.
An album made up entirely of new songs might be difficult to sell at the onset but this is what will provide us with the hits that will be revived 20 years from now. Take what happened to Kamikazee when it got its hands on the Apo Hiking Society’s 30-something Doobidoo-Bidoo. I dread to think about how much worse off Filipino music would have been today had there not been a Manila Sound era in the past with so many beautiful songs that deserve to be recorded again and again.
Sarah did a great job in Taking Flight tackling different types of pop songs, toning down the birit and bringing out her own style. She can turn the album into a big hit and hopefully encourage fellow artists to record more original Filipino songs. Hopefully too, those songs included in Taking Flight will grow to become some of the classics of the future.
These are the first single release I’ll Be Alright by Louie Ocampo and Edith Gallardo; Close to My Heart also by Louie with lyrics by Freddie Santos; Ikaw by Medwin Marfil of the band True Faith; I’m Sorry by Soc Villanueva and Jungee Marcelo; Time to Let Go featuring Mark Bautista and composed by Rebel Madagasang; I’ll Be Here also by Rebel; So and What If I, both written by Trina Belamide; Miss and Kahit Na by actor-turned-musician Chuckie Dreyfus; and Mr. Deadma by newcomer Drizzle Nuniz.
Incidentally, Sarah left last week for a two-month concert tour of the US. The shows also feature Erik Santos, Kris Lawrence, Raymond Manalo and Mark Bautista. Early stops were the Dayton Convention Center in Dayton, Ohio last Aug. 18, followed by the Henderson Convention Center in Henderson, Nevada yesterday, Aug. 19.
Next on tap are The Dome in Bakersfield California on Aug. 24; the San Jose Civic Auditorium in San Diego, Aug. 25; the Spreckels Theater also in San Diego, Aug. 31; Los Angeles, Sept. 1; the Jax Auditorium in Jacksonville, Sept. 7; the Lisner Auditorium in Washington D.C., Sept. 8; the Arie Crown Theater in Chicago, Sept. 14; the Manhattan Theater in New York, Sept. 15; and in Alaska, the Centennial Convention Center in Juneau, Sept. 21; and the Kodiak Auditorium in Kodiak, Sept. 22.
This week’s MYX Hit Chart of top videos places Sarah’s I’ll Be Alright at No. 8 right behind fellow champion Rachelle Ann Go’s latest Alam ng Ating Mga Puso. The complete list is as follows: Probinsyana by Bamboo; Pasan by Callalily; Movie by Sponge Cola; Dinamayan by 6Cyclemind; Love is All I Need by Yasmien Kurdi; Crazy Love by Kim Chiu; Teen-agers by My Chemical Romance; Alam ng Ating Mga Puso by Rachelle Ann; I’ll Be Alright by Sarah; When You’re Gone by Avril Lavigne.
Wag Ka Nang Umiyak by Sugarfree; The Ballad of by Halé; Tadhana by Moonstar88; What Time It is? by the Cast of High School Musical; Umbrella by Rihanna; Stolen by Dashboard Confessional; Big Girls Don’t Cry by Fergie; Do You Know (The Ping Pong Song) by Enrique Iglesias; LoveStoned by Justin Timberlake; and Bleed It Out by Linkin Park.