Why Mark is on a roll

2013 is turning out to be a banner year for Mark Bautista and coincidentally, he is also celebrating his 10th anniversary in show business this year. That is right, it has now been a decade since mark rode a cargo boat to Manila to audition in a talent show. And it feels great to find out that the singing champion from Cagayan de Oro has been reaping huge blessings since the start of the year and finding lots more to look forward to.

It all began when he made the gutsy move to accept the role of Jerry Lukowski, the unemployed father who lures his friends into doing a strip show to earn some cash, in the musical The Full Monty. Not that he has not done this before. His stage debut in Ryan Cayabyab’s Noli Me Tangere at the Cultural Center of the Philippines two years ago was met with rave reviews. He can sing, dance and act on stage. But can he strip? Well, Mark did sing, dance, act and strip in The Fully Monty and the public and the critics’ reaction was uniformly great.

On the heels of The Full Monty came the release of The Sound Of Love, his first album of romantic standards. It was a dream come true for the popular singer because it is made up of old songs he has always wanted to record. Think Frank Sinatra, Matt Monroe, Andy Williams and even Tom Jones. These are songs that he grew up with but had not been able to sing because fans always seemed to be looking for him to do current pop hits. Well, he has now changed that and not only have his fans accepted this new balladeer, Mark has also won the hearts of new followers who just adore his crooner makeover.

 Included in The Sound of Love are When I Fall In Love, Strangers In The Night, All The Way, Love Story, That’s All, Till and What A Wonderful World and the Manila Sound classics Kailangan Kita, composed by George Canseco and first recorded by Lea Navarro; Love Without Time by Willy Cruz, popularized by Nonoy Zuñiga and Bato Sa Buhangin by Ernani Cuenco and Snaffu Rigor, the big hit by the group Cinderella that was used as the theme for the movie that starred Fernando Poe Jr. and Vilma Santos.

Though at present busy with the promo work for The Sound of Love, the hardworking Mark still eagerly accepted his next big challenge. This is the concert, also titled The Sound of Love, which will be held at the Music Museum in Greenhills on Aug. 9 at 8 in the evening. This will be his first solo show with an all-standards line-up of songs. These will mostly be the cuts from his new album, plus others that he is hoping, he will be able to also record in the future.

And talk about more major goodies coming his way. Two lovely ladies whom Mark adores and who have played important roles in his career, will be joining him in his show. These are Regine Velasquez and Anne Curtis. Regine was the host of the TV reality search Star For A Night, where Mark was discovered in 2003. The generous Songbird mentored the contestants and continues to be supportive of Mark’s career. As for the reigning concert sweetheart Anne, she was Mark’s leading lady in the music video of his version of I Need You, which became one of his biggest hits.

The Sound of Love is directed by GB Sampedro with Soc Mina as musical director. Tickets to the show are available at Ticketworld with tel. no. 891-9999; Music Museum, 721-6726; and Viva Concerts, 678-7236. Prices are P2,500 (Gold); P2,000 (Silver); and P1,000 (Bronze).

Meanwhile here is last week’s Pinoy MYX Countdown of the top, the most viewed, most requested, most voted videos of the moment by Filipino artists:

Discolamon by Banda ni Kleggy; Chinito by Yeng Constantino; Magkabilang Mundo by Jireh Lim; Salamin by Slapshock; Carousel by Bamboo; Haunted by Ely Buendia; Lipat Bahay by Rico Blanco; Bumalik Ka Na Sa Akin by Silent Sanctuary; Haplos by Alden Richards; Ikaw At Ako by TJ Monterde.

Pangako by 6Cyclemind; Hello I Love You by Chicsers; Pag-ibig Na Nga Ba Ito by Hansom; Bubble by Yelle; Tinig by Pathway; Selosa by Sicarious; Kaibigan Lang by 2 Years Apart; Puwede Ba by Midnight Meetings; Lord Patawad by Basilio; and Puro Laro by KZ Tandingan.

Incidentally, do watch out for the video of Mark’s single Bato Sa Buhangin featuring young beauty Amy Hart soon.