A night of love & sweet Kisses

For a while there, I thought that, true to her name, Kisses Delavin would shower the screaming fans last Saturday night at the fully-packed Kia Theater with her namesake chocolates to create sweet memories of her first solo concert aptly titled Confidently Kisses.  

Oh well, she did…not with chocos but with flying kisses that punctuated her every song which drew cheers of “Kisses Delavin!!!” in synchronized rhythm that drowned the lyrics. Who cared what Kisses was trying to convey with her songs when her sweet/subtly seductive movement back and forth on the stage (with four changes of attire designed by Francis Libiran) expressed more eloquently what words couldn’t?

With guest performer Sam Milby who did Thinking Out Loud

Asked what she loved about Kisses, touted as the “Miracle Baby of Masbate,” a 67-year-old fan (accompanied by her OFW daughter) said, “She’s wholesome, mabait, at masunurin at magalang sa magulang.” Very much like their other idol, Sarah Geronimo, added the daughter.

I knew that, like some of her PBB (Pinoy Big Brother) Lucky 7 colleagues (including Edward Barber, Christian Morones, Vivoree Esclito and Maymay Entrata who were in the audience; Maymay just had her own well-applauded concert at the same venue the night before), Kisses is supported by legions of fans grouped under different names, but I didn’t expect the number to be that big until I saw them at her Kia concert.

Seated on Row One (with star guests like Ara Mina and former PBB alumna Say Alonzo) were Kisses’ parents Gilbert and Carrie who are understandably over-protective of their only child who was successfully conceived after Carrie suffered eight miscarriages. In the show’s “Kisses and Tell” portion, Kisses recalled that she was called a “Miracle Baby” inside PBB because when she was six years old, she was diagnosed with viral encephalitis, a rare disease that reduced her into a 24-hour coma and left her at the ICU of Lourdes Hospital for one month.

“According to the doctor,” Gilbert and Carrie had told Funfare, “the doctors said that patients like Kisses usually had 95 percent mortality and five percent chance of survival; and if the patient survived, she would be mentally retarded. But Kisses recovered and grew up a normal child. That’s why she was called a ‘Miracle Baby.’”

Marlo Mortel(left) Karla Estrada(right)

That night at Kia, Gilbert and Carrie were glowing with pride, understandably so.

Adding to the night’s excitement were Kisses’ guest performers…

• Marlo Mortel who returned Kisses’ gesture of guesting in his own concert gratis et amore to raise funds for his mom who is battling stage-4 cancer. Marlo won the crowd by singing two songs, Hinahanap-Hanap Kita and Versace on The Floor which he performed flirtatiously with a girl that he picked from the audience.

• Sam Milby, himself a PBB graduate who, after singing Thinking Out Loud accompanying himself on a guitar, told the audience that when he visited the PBB Lucky 7 set, he picked Kisses as his favorite, prompting Edward, Maymay, Christian and Vivoree to protest by waving their glow sticks at Sam.

• Karla Estrada who said that she was been singing for a living (“Para palakihin ang mga anak ko”) for so many years and got “recognized” only seven years ago, thanks to her son Daniel Padilla. In fairness, Karla proved how good a singer she is by doing two songs, Alone and Faithfully, as she walked to and fro on the stage, ruling it with her ample presence. After singing, Karla delivered a most relevant and urgent message: “Stop the fandom fighting. Let’s spread love.” There. In bold letters.

In the audience were Kisses’ fellow PBB housemates (from left) Edward Barber, Maymay Entrata, Vivoree Esclito and Christian Morones

Of course, the highlight of the night was the finale number of Kisses with VSG (Very Special Guest) Tony Labrusca, one of the two “eligibles” being eyed as probable loveteam-mate of Kisses, the other being Donny Pangilinan who was in the audience with dad Anthony Pangilinan (sans mom Maricel Laxa).

Egged on by the non-stop screaming of the audience that reverberated from the four corners of Kia Theater, Kisses and Tony (who did amazing acrobatics including very precise tumbling across the stage, applause!!!) executed a romantic choreography to the beat of, first, Rewrite The Stars, and then to Pag-Ibig na Kaya (which aptly expresses Kisses and Tony’s current state of the heart).

“My show is so titled because that is what I am now,” said Kisses, “confident. I used to be so shy and I have learned to appreciate what I am worth, thanks to the support of my parents, friends and fans. Thank you, thank you!”

And then she capped the night by blowing more kisses at the audience left wanting for more.

Turning 19 soon, Kisses is not yet ready for a serious relationship, not now when stardom is fast beckoning.

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare. or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)