Jessica & Basil: Two peas in a pod

Ellen DeGeneres recently stated that the best singers come out of the Philippines. She should know! She’s huge in the entertainment industry. We observe that when one of our own begins to make international headway, we Filipinos pay extra attention and follow their triumphs with utmost detail. It is charming to note how biased we Filipinos are towards our compatriot, Mexican-Filipino Jessica Sanchez in the American Idol competition. At the same time, this bias could also likely turn into rage should Jessica not make it to the top. For sure, there will be accusations of pandaraya, politics, etc.

As of May 18, with the final four still battling each other, it was pretty obvious that Joshua Ledet, 20, and Jessica, 16, would be in the race to the finish, with Phillip Phillips coming in third.

After Joshua’s rendition of James Brown’s It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World, judge Randy Jackson declared, “That was one of the best performances in the history of any singing show, including ours, any show, any show.” But after Jessica’s difficult song from Dreamgirls, And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going, judge Jennifer Lopez stated, “When I think about all the great singers I know right now, you are one of the best.” It did appear that after the judges saved Jessica from being sent home, the girl would do everything in the world to ascertain she would stay in the race.

But whatever the results, Jessica had the entire Filipino diaspora behind her. Without even having stepped foot into the homeland of her ancestors, petite Jessica had quickly become a household word in the Philippines, and more than likely, tens of millions of little girls and boys across an ocean have vicariously lived out this dream with her. If this young Pinay does make it to the top spot, she would soon become the next Marcelito Pomoy, the next Jovit Baldivino and Arnel Pineda. And with the backing and stamp of approval from American Idol, Jessica is likely to become even greater than our dear Charice who sadly, seems to have become too big for her breeches.

Be that as it may, what we admired about Jessica is the raw soulful passion she belted out week after week on stage in front of the cameras. Steven Tyler, lead singer of the rock band Aerosmith, once complimented her saying, “When God was giving out vocal cords, you were soooo at the front of the line!”

Meanwhile, not everyone will be unhappy if Jessica loses. A Hollywood record producer confessed he was silently hoping she would lose so he could offer her a recording contract.

Whatever the results, it is obvious that Filipinos love more that act of singing than the artist. Case in point: Anne Curtis who held the largest attended concert ever at the Big Dome. To her, it was all about the dream.

We recently slipped into the DVD player Basil Valdez’s recent self-titled album release. We are at an age where a giant proportion of music albums is digitally enhanced and auto-tuned to create a product that is less nuanced, more perfect, yet more fake. Basil, on the other hand, has been with us for decades and we celebrate him for giving life to other people’s songs. Taking the King of OPM out of semi-retirement, this latest compilation is a breath of fresh air. Starting out with Noel Cabangon’s sweet ballad Kanlungan, then True Faith’s melancholic love song Muntik Nang Maabot Ang Langit, we immediately notice with these tracks that each song is masterfully produced with Basil’s voice soulfully real and unadulterated by studio contrivance and gimmickry.

As we continue through George Canseco-Louie Ocampo’s popular Ikaw, on to Wendy Cornejo’s Hanggang, to Sharon Cuneta’s movie theme song Sana’y Maghintay ang Walang Hanggan, and Aiza Seguerra’s monster hit Pagdating Ng Panahon, we find each number showcasing  Basil’s tenor prowess with such profound expressiveness throughout the album. But if anyone still has any doubts as to Basil’s ability to turn masa into class without sacrificing the composer’s original intentions, all he has to do is listen to Vehnee Saturno’s Willie Revillame hit Ikaw Na Nga on cut two.  

This is homegrown raw passion. It is seasoned. It is real. In a way, Basil and Jessica share raw passion like two peas in a pod. They have a lot to teach the new generation. It is obvious that by keeping it real, an artist can truly stand out, just like Master Basil and newcomer Jessica.  

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