Fordham sings about her love for Phl

MANILA, Philippines - British singer-songwriter Julia Fordham, the original voice behind the ’90s hit song Love Moves in Mysterious Ways, said she has fallen in love with the Philippines and particularly captivated by the beauty of Cebu, so much that she mentioned the island in one of her songs I Want to Stay With You, from her album Baby Love.

“Yes, I’ve been here four times already and I feel like I have a connection with Filipinos. I consider the Philippines my second home, I feel very comfortable here. I think I can live here. I love Cebu and in one of the songs that I wrote, there’s a phrase that goes like this: I’ve been to Moscow, I’ve been to Glasgow/I’ve been to Fiji and Cebu, now all I want is to be with you,” Fordham told entertainment journalists during a recent presscon at the Solaire Resort and Casino.

Fordham briefly visited Manila to do a series of charity shows for the benefit of Typhoon Yolanda victims.

She held a Valentine’s concert at Solaire on Friday and a back-to-back concert with the country’s queen of jazz, Annie Brazil at the Lobby Lounge of the Edsa Shangri-La Plaza on Saturday.

At the presscon, Fordham said that she didn’t have any second thoughts when Jeannie Goulbourn of the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation approached her to do benefit shows for the typhoon victims.

“I have an affinity with Filipinos and I feel that they have supported me before so I want to help them in return. I clearly remember that day in November when I was informed about the devastating disaster in the Philippines and I was struck with so much emotion. We were doing the MTV for my song Why Christmas? when my friend told me how Filipinos are suffering because of the typhoon. We agreed to help in whatever way we can and when this opportunity came, I said this is going to be the perfect vehicle to help.  For me, I would like to lift up the typhoon victims’ spirits and support those who are still suffering from the trauma of having lost their children,” Fordham said.

At her Valentine’s concert, Julia sang all of her beloved hits which included Love Moves, Invisible War, Happy Ever After, Girlriend, Where Does Time Go and Loving You.

Fordham, who hails from the south coast of England, was in her best element that night. She rendered her songs — at times accompanied by piano, at times with the all-Filipino band — in rich, quivering alto, her voice still full and vibrant.

Now 52, Fordham started her career in the late ’80s and in 1991, she released her third album Swept which reached No. 33 in the UK albums chart. The album included the Billboard Top 40 hit, Love Moves, which peaked at No. 19 in 1992.

Love Moves became the theme song of the 1991 romantic-comedy The Butcher’s Wife starring Demi Moore and Jeff Daniels.

It was actually Love Moves that jumpstarted Fordham’s love affair with Filipinos.

Her first concert in Manila in 1994 was sold-out, followed by two more SRO shows in 2000 and 2008. Filipinos have embraced not only Love Moves but her other hits as well, Girlfriend and Invisible War, which became every broken-hearted girl and gay’s personal anthems.

Long before Adele’s autobiographical songs on the ups and downs of relationships, Fordham has been singing and writing confessional ballads on love and its many complications.

Twenty years after she released her hits, Pinoys continue to be enamored with her songs and her distinct voice.

Asked why her songs continue to resonate among Filipinos, Fordham said it’s because they’re simply romantics just like her.

“I  think I have the same heartbeat as Filipinos. But I feel that my songs are not just romantic and nostalgic, but they have an emotional intelligence about them and Filipinos can tell. It’s been two decades and I’m amazed that people can still relate to them and I’m delighted about that,” Fordham said.

She never predicted or expected that her songs would make it to the top charts on Billboard or be loved by Filipinos.

“Sometimes a song connects with that person and nothing can stop that even if time changes, if the production changes or the mood changes,” she said. “I think in general, is that you won’t be able to understand or second guess what song is going to connect with people. What’s fascinating about songs is that it could be the perfect song for one person but an overly sentimental song for another person. For instance, here in the Philippines, Love Moves is such a big hit, but in other places it’s not. You can have 10 songs on your album but none of them could be hits. I really don’t know why some songs connect with people and some do not. I can only speak for myself, I feel privileged that my authentic love songs have connected to the Filipino people,” she said.

Fordham said she’s very happy to keep on coming back to Manila.

“I’m very happy that Filipinos continue to love and support my songs and my voice and I will always be here for them if they need me,” she said.