‘80s nostalgia for hopeless romantics at Odette Quesada’s 40th anniversary show
The jam-packed crowd at the Newport Performing Arts Theater of the Newport Resorts World during the concert of prolific singer-songwriter Odette Quesada on a stormy Friday night says it all. Not even the inclement weather can stop her fans from trooping to the venue to experience once again the heartfelt music of one of the country’s iconic singer-songwriters.
Odette is celebrating her 40th anniversary in the local music industry and the concert was a treat to her fans who grew up on her voice and music in the ‘80s. She wrote some of the finest love songs that until now resonate with Filipinos.
Odette composed Don’t Know What to Say (Don’t Know What To Do), Till I Met You, Friend of Mine, Give Me A Chance, I Need You Back, Farewell, Growing Up, among her other hits.
Her love songs have been covered by top balladeers in the country for decades. These are songs that tug at the heart, with lyrics that can make you cry or fall in love with. And when Odette sings her ballads, she does it in a way that makes her listeners surrender to their emotions. Lots of feels in her songs. Odette, as a hopeless romantic, is truly a fitting description.
Odette did not disappoint at her three-hour tops concert. She serenaded the audience, together with a stellar roster of performers, led by Mr. Concert King Martin Nievera, Songbird Regine Velasquez, Pop Chanteuse Kuh Ledesma, Raymond Lauchengco, Bituin Escalante, Arman Ferrer and Nina Campos.
What makes Odette extra special is that she’s blessed with a mellifluous voice.
“You are one songwriter who can really sing,” Nievera complimented her during one segment at the concert.
Newbie singer Campos opened the show by singing an Odette Quesada hit I Can’t Let You Walk Away and Araw-Gabi, composed by National Artist for Music Prof. Ryan Cayabyab.
A tribute and a greeting soon followed, with Ice Seguerra, Randy Santiago, Ogie Alcasid, Lani Misalucha and others congratulating Quesada on her anniversary.
A medley of her hit songs was then played and as the stage lit up, Odette came out, resplendent in an all-white outfit. Her first song was the classic Ric Segreto ditty, Don’t Know What to Say.
The song conveys giddy, warm feelings towards a crush, when your heart flutters as the object of your affection walks by.
“Every minute, every second of the day, I dream of you in the most special way, here beside me all the time,” a line from the song says.
It’s also in this song that “hopeless romantic” was mentioned. “I’m a hopeless romantic I know I am, memorized all the lines but here I am, struggling for words, I still don’t know what to say,” words that people can relate to because it somehow evokes their own experience of love.
A little bit of trivia, Odette was only 17 years old when she composed the song. It was sung by a man, but it was written by a woman, whose genius was able to create a masterpiece that stood the test of time.
After the first song, she then called on Mr. Cayabyab on stage to play the piano.
“This is my favorite Ryan Cayabyab song,” said Odette as she crooned Kahit Ika’y Panaginip Lang.
Next, she called singer ‘80s heartthrob and singer Raymond Lauchengco to sing her compositions for him like I Need You Back and Farewell.
Raymond’s well-preserved voice seemed to fleetingly “suspend time.” Suddenly, it’s 1984. As he sang, he approached audience and one fan brandished his life-sized standee, eliciting laughs from the crowd.
He reminisced a bit and recounted the first time he heard his first single I Need You Back in the car, cruising in traffic-less EDSA in the ‘80s.
“It felt so surreal to listen to my very first song. Thank you, Odette for giving me my first hit,” Raymond said.
His second song is a certified classic, a song that became an anthem for graduating students. Farewell is one of the songs in the soundtrack of the 1984 movie Bagets, starring a young Aga Muhlach, William Martinez and Herbert Bautista, among others.
“Farewell to you my friend, we’ll see each other again, don’t worry cause it’s not the end of everything, I may be miles away, but here is my heart will stay, with you, with only you,” the audience sang in unison.
Another trivia, Odette wrote Farewell not for Lauchengo but for her high school graduating class.
One of the emotional highpoints of the evening was her tribute to her equally brilliant songwriter husband, the late Bodjie Dasig. During their dating stage, Odette remembered the love songs she wrote for him. She sang Wala ng Nasa Isip and Dito Lang.
“I love those songs. Bodjie’s love and his songs will always be with me,” Odette said.
As a homage to her husband, she also sang some of his compositions during the concert like Ale and Sana Dalawa ang Puso Ko.
In Sana, she called Bituin Escalante to the stage. Bituin’s soaring voice blended well with the soothing vocals of Odette.
It was Bituin’s solo turn and this time, she paid homage to Filipino singer Verni Varga by singing Love Me Again, another Odette composition. Another young singer who wowed the audience was Arman Ferrer, who interpreted the Ric Segreto classic Sana ay Malaman Mo.
Arman’s voice is mesmerizing and it was lovely how he perfectly navigated the highs and lows of the song.
One of the most anticipated performances during the night is Odette’s duet with Kuh Ledesma, who popularized the hit ‘80s song Till I Met You. The song is one of the crown jewels in her songwriting catalogue. The two did a duet on the song and the audience sang along again.
After exiting the stage, Odette joked, that another singer would sing the song Till I Met You.
“So, buong gabi puro Till I Met You ang maririnig nyo,” Quesada joked.
She then called Regine and crooned Till I Met You birit-style. Regine is amazing as always and her voice is unchanging, truly a diva.
Odette then asked Regine to sing a song she composed for singer Ariel Rivera, Regine’s ex-boyfriend as revealed by Odette in the show. The song Ayoko na Sana. Another bit of trivia, Odette said she was one of Regine’s back-up singers before in one song.
And then another big performer entered the stage, Martin, who sang Odette’s composition Give Me a Chance.
After singing, Martin exchanged playful banter with Odette, saying she only invited him on the show to sing Give me a Chance because Ric had already passed on.
After that number, the audience got to their feet and danced when Odette, Raymond and Martin sang the theme song from Bagets titled Growing Up.
After the fast number, Odette went back to the piano to play and sing her other hits Sorry about the Treasures and It’s A Crazy Feeling… Love.
She opened a little bit about her personal life, saying from Hopeless Romantic, she’s now on the stage of To Love Again.
One of the most touching segments in the concert was when she sang Breakin in Two, a song that she dedicated to her mom, who was always away when she was growing up. Her mom is a singer, too.
But perhaps, the most heart-wrenching part in the concert was when Odette sang a song that was written for her by her husband Bodjie titled Habang Panahon. The lyrics spoke of her husband’s undying love for her.
She also sang a composition she wrote for David Pomeranz titled You Are My Favorite Story, and dedicated it to the audience.
Afterwards she told the crowd, “You are all my favorite story.”
Towards the end of the show, she debuted a new song I Miss You So, playing on guitar.
Her last song was the crowd-pleasing Friend of Mine.
“Let me sing the song that you all want to hear,” Odette said.
A hugot song long before hugot was coined, Friend of Mine is about an unrequited love. That “friend” that you love who doesn’t love you back. The love anthem for friend-zoned people, long before the term “friend-zoned” was born.
“I loved you then and I love you still, you are a friend of mine, now I know friends are all we ever could be,” a line from the song says.
Odette went offstage to the audience to greet them and pose for pictures while singing the song.
“Thank you, everyone, I had a blast,” Odette told her fans.
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