Is somebody there for Piolo?

One decade in the business is not something you sneer at. It means you’ve hurdled the toughest intrigues, survived competition, proven you’ve got what it takes.

That’s why Piolo Pascual feels so blessed. He looks around him and finds stars fading, careers dimming, new faces replacing the more veteran ones.

“God has never for a moment let me down,” Piolo says.

This, he feels, calls for more than just a pat on the back. It calls for something different, grand even. So the Talent Center artist is starting off with a couple of things: A coffee table book, a new album and a concert.

The album, Timeless Piolo Pascual, is a labor of love. Piolo himself co-produced it with Star Records. As co-producer, he enjoys some perks. For instance, his was the privilege of choosing songs “that fit my vocal range,” which means all the songs in the new album.

For good measure, Piolo included two of his compositions: Why Can’t We Be Together and There For Me.

Why Can’t We be Together, admits Piolo, is a personal song. It’s based on a past romance with a non-showbiz girlfriend. Other tracks are inspired by his hit ABS-CBN teleseryes, Walang Kapalit and Ikaw Lamang (Sa Piling Mo). Still another, Complete, is Piolo’s collaboration with Centrum.

For someone who honed his talent on A.S.A.P. ’07 and out-of-town shows, Piolo’s singing talent took even him by surprise. It’s an added bonus to what everyone knew he had since the time he made his first film: Lagarista 10 years ago.

But time has a way of bringing out the best in those who reach for the sky. And it worked wonders in Piolo’s case.

He made his debut album, which paved the way for another, this time with an MTV shot in the old town of Vigan.

“We wanted to exude that old-town feeling,” Piolo explains. And for this, he and leading lady Maegan Young traveled to the old town up north and shot scenes from what looks like a well-lived ancestral home.

 “Do you know that Jun Polistico happens to be my idol?” Piolo says out of the blue when talk shifts to his influences in singing. “I would listen with fascination to his songs way back when.”

Not for him then, those fast-singing ditties that are the staples of discos and parties. Piolo would rather be laidback, smooth and suave.

Now you know what his 10th anniversary show at the Araneta Colsieum on Nov. 30 will make the crowd sit down and relax after a hard day’s work rather than get up on their feet and dance.

That’s Piolo’s trademark, his emerging signature singing style, even.

His personal choices show the same slowed-down, deliberate pace.

“I don’t go for changing partners,” he explains. “I’d rather have one person I can hold hands with while watching a movie in the mall when I’m older, with more time in my hands.”

That someone, however, is still nowhere in sight. The main culprit, reports Piolo, is his fast-paced career. It leaves him with no choice but to go stag.

Piolo is busy with a daily soap. He is scheduled to star in a soap series with new ABS-CBN talent Angel Locsin,

“I’m undergoing martial arts training and acting workshops with the cast,” adds Piolo.

He knows another new ABS-CBN talent KC Concepcion, is eyeing him as a leading man. Flattered Piolo admits the beauty of Sharon Cuneta’s daughter may stun him so much he might forget what he must do. But Piolo snaps out of the dream scenario and reminds everyone,”But then, I have to finish my project with Angel first.”

And while he’s at it, Piolo would like to thank his leading ladies for whom he is dedicating the song, Kailangan Kita.

“Without them,” he says, “where will I be?”

In the list are Judy Ann Santos (yes, the tiff notwithstanding), Claudine Barretto, Anne Curtis, Janna Victoria (his first leading lady on film), Angelica Panganiban, Bea Alonzo, Kristine Hermosa, Rica Peralejo and Toni Gonzaga.

And while he’s in the subject of leading ladies, Piolo ticks off the proejcts that have made his career the envy of the other stars that it is today.

“I owe a lot to That’s Entertainment, Lagarista, Dekada ’70, A.S.A.P. ’07, Milan, the Hunks, Kailangan Kita and Star Magic,” he reveals.

But much as he is perched on Cloud Nine, Piolo’s feet are firmly planted on the ground.

“Success is fleeting,” he reasons out. So, at the end of the day, or whenever he’s free, there’s nothing Piolo wants more to do than spend time with his son Iñigo, 10.

“He’s my inspiration, the reason why I’ve become more responsible, why my life now has direction,” he admits.

Yes, there’s nothing better than love to keep the wheels of success turning for Piolo for 10 years more.