Richard sings for elderly, gets a 5th ‘gold’

MANILA, Philippines - Richard Poon treated audiences with a mix of classic and contemporary hits at Growing Old With You, a concert held at Celebrity Sports Plaza in Diliman, Quezon City for the benefit of the senior citizens of Golden Acres Haven for the Elderly.

The “big band crooner” known for his jazz rendition of Filipino classic songs such as Kahit Maputi na Ang Buhok Ko also sang his own version of Carla Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe and One Direction’s What Makes You Beautiful to the  delight of the crowd. Selections like Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World and Adam Sandler’s Grow Old With You helped set the tone for the event.

“I usually over prepare,” said Richard, when asked about his song choices. “The band knows me well enough that I never follow what I initially write.” Poon said his song line-up changes in mid-performance depending on the reaction he gets from the crowd. “If I don’t, it’s going to be boring.”

Richard, who had performed in a number of other charitable efforts, described the event as “intimate.” “You’d have thoughts like ‘I’ll grow old someday, will somebody take care of me?’” he said. “It does strike a chord somewhere.”

All-female group Pretty Young Thing and song-and-comic trio The Miss Tres of Pilipinas Got Talent Season 4 were the opening acts. The concert was organized by Outbox Media Production Agency, a full-service events management and multimedia production company, as part of its seventh anniversary and the birthday of its founder and managing director Rossel Velasco-Taberna.

Other companies that answered the call of the fund-raising event were Foton Motors Philippines, Puregold, Uratex Foam, Bounty Fresh Chicken, Asia Refreshments Corporation, Waterfront Hotels and Casino, Ferna Corporation, Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center, The Blounge, Hot Shot Studio, Sogo Chain of Hotels and Tunying’s Bread.

Rossel said funds raised by the concert will be used for the medication and financial support of the residents of Golden Acres in its newly-built facility in Brgy. Sampaloc in Tanay, Rizal that takes care of over 140 abandoned, neglected and homeless senior citizens.

“We do this annually, but this is the first time we had elders for our beneficiaries. Mostly, they have been kids,” Rossel  said, adding that the company has been partnering with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for their projects. “We asked DSWD secretary Dinky Soliman about possible beneficiaries and she suggested that we visit the elderlies who were transferred here in Tanay,”

Earlier, the company visited the site and treated residents to  entertainment performances, in addition to providing them with food and donations in kind. “We’ve been very blessed this year,” said Rossel.”We hope for more socially-inclined events for Outbox.”

Both events were lauded by local DSWD officers. “I admire her decision to celebrate her birthday and company anniversary here. Their visit had brought enjoyment and satisfaction to our elderlies,” said Ricky Bunao, manager and center head of Golden Acres. “We hope they continue to extend their help to other retirement centers as well.”

Meanwhile, Richard recently earned his fifth gold award as a solo recording act on ABS-CBN’s ASAP 18. It’s his latest trophy for the outstanding album sales of his new album Legends. 

The 12-track album is his first under label Universal Records, featuring his pure pop interpretations of classic songs from legendary international acts. Some of the cuts included are Barry Manilow’s Ready To Take A Chance Again, Elton John’s A Song For You and Elvis Presley’s Can’t Help Falling In Love. Even classics from female icons Madonna, Barbra Streisand, and the late Whitney Houston were put in. 

Lead single is the Kapamilya singer’s rendition of Lionel Richie’s Truly, followed by sophomore single Crazy, originally by Kenny Rogers. 

Richard’s wife Maricar Reyes is seen in the promotional video. 

He also sang with Christian Bautista in the Michael Jackson-Paul McCartney hit The Girl Is Mine. 

His bestfriend-turned-manager Erickson Raymundo went to watch and handed him a poignant letter after the gig. 

“You still sound great and that (scenario) does not make you less of a singer!,” the letter pointed out. 

Richard has so much to thank for with regards to Erikson’s game-changing support. The latter, as he stressed out, is “the man God used to make me believe I can go solo” and “the visionary who saw my future as the Big-Band Crooner when it wasn’t accepted then.”

The now-popular crooner’s message to his manager: “You are worth more than all the gold awards we have received together.” 

Erikson is also the same star-builder who discovered  Sam Milby who like Richard, belongs to the Cornerstone stable of talents.