Sharon Cuneta doesn’t disappoint Raymond Lauchengco
MANILA, Philippines — A sold-out concert is undoubtedly enough of a boost for the artist to give his all in performing onstage to please his audience. That was what happened when singer-actor-artist Raymond Lauchengco staged his 60th birthday concert, indeed a milestone for the OG “Bagets” star.
On Nov. 29, Raymond officially turned senior and he flaunted it with a major concert the night before, “Everybody Loves Raymond,” at the full-house The Theatre at Solaire, not only with his loyal fans from the time he started in the business when he was only 18, but also with his loved ones and his friends in the business.
There was no need for guests to do any front act. A video of a cute six-year-old Raymond singing Dahil sa ‘Yo, delighted the audience before Raymond immediately sauntered onstage and was introduced by a familiar voice-over, his elder sister Menchu Lauchengco, also the director of the concert.
He started with the familiar dance ditty, Just Got Lucky, the popular dance theme from “Bagets,” his 1983 youth-oriented flick with Aga Muhlach, William Martinez, Herbert Bautista and JC Bonnin, and the entire audience was immediately up on their feet dancing.
“If this is what 60 is like, then bring it on,” Raymond excitedly told his audience. “You are the greatest audience ever.”
After two more songs — Don’t Forget Me When I’m Gone and You To Me Are Everything — the crowd was still standing and that prompted Raymond to say, “Why don’t everybody just sit down?”
“In just a few more hours, I’ll be turning into a senior bagets, an oldie but goodie,” Raymond proudly said. “By the grace of God, I still can (perform).”
He introduced his 18-year-old daughter, his “forever baby girl” Nathalie, who sang Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You with him. That was not the first time she sang with him in public. The audience saw the video of a six-year-old Nathalie singing. “When she was little, I used to love to carry her in my arms and she would sing with me.
“We would sing everywhere — the house, the car. One day, when she was six years old, she was so cute and so adorable, the studio audience fell in love with her. They ended up cheering for her. After that performance, she told me backstage, ‘I never want to sing with you again. That’s just it. I don’t want it when people clap for me louder than they do for my Dada.’”
Thanks to his director Menchu, there were more personal touches unearthed and bared. “All my secrets are coming out tonight,” Raymond laughed. “Menchu is not only my (elder) sister. She is my best friend, protector, mentor and tormentor.”
It was also great seeing never-before-seen childhood photos of the Lauchengco children.
Raymond auditioned for the 1978 “The King and I” before Repertory Philippines head Zeneida “Bibot” Amador. That was Menchu’s idea. He was supposed to only accompany her, but she listed his name, too. He ended up doing the musical. Hence, he sang his memorable audition song, Evergreen, which apparently “changed my life.”
Ice Seguerra was Raymond’s first guest for the night and they did Ice’s biggest hit, Pagdating ng Panhon, followed by the former’s solo rendition of Araw Gabi.
Singer-comedienne Mitch Valdes was Raymond’s second guest who gave the audience hilarious pointers on becoming a senior citizen.
Concert king Martin Nievera was not earlier announced as one of Raymond’s guests as Martin had an earlier appearance in National Artist Ryan Cayabyab’s “Maestro Class” at the Proscenium Theater.
They sang the Broadway medley — Maria and Somewhere from “West Side Story”; Music of the Night and All I Ask of You from “The Phantom of the Opera”; Memory from “Cats”; This Is the Moment from “Jekyll and Hyde.” Martin then did his spot number and belted out his hits.
Of course, Raymond sang his as well, including Saan Darating ang Umaga, So It’s You and I Need You Back for his fan and his friend, Candy.
The mobile phones were all lit up when Raymond crooned a Barry Manilow medley, something that he always wanted to sing — This One’s for You, Even Now, Somewhere Down the Road.
“Those are the songs of our youth, some of the best songs, but OPM (Original Pilipino Music) will always be second to none,” he said.
“Everybody Loves Raymond” was a benefit for the UP PGH (University of the Philippines Philippine General Hospital) Otolaryngology Department, marking its 65th anniversary this year.
Musical director was Raymond’s “friend” Marvin Querido.
When Marvin played the strains of So It’s You, the audience screamed like crazy like when he used to sing the song in the ‘80s.
Raymond also went to where Eula Valdez was seated and they sang together. She was his love team partner in “Bagets” and she was seated next to Snooky Serna and Cheska Inigo in the audience.
Much awaited was the appearance of Megastar Sharon Cuneta, whom Raymond was eyeing to guest since his concert last year for his 40th anniversary in the business. But Sharon was busy with a US and Canada concert tour (with Gabby Concepcion).
This time, Raymond’s dream came true. His showbiz crush joined him onstage. They did a duet of Pangarap na Bituin, the theme from Emmanuel Borlaza’s “Bituing Walang Ningning” (1985), where they played brother and sister.
“Sharon, thank you for everything you’ve done for me,” Raymond told Sharon. “Without this Sharon Cuneta, there will be no Raymond Lauchengco. She brought me from the world of glitter to the world of recording. She was the one who opened doors for me.”
“That’s not true,” Sharon countered. “I don’t know what to say because you did everything on your own. Maybe in movies. I just gave you a thumbs up and then you did everything yourself. And everyone fell in love with you.”
Raymond made his big screen debut in Sharon’s film, “Cross My Heart,” opposite Rowell Santiago. It was directed by Eddie Garcia (1982). “I was this obnoxious boyfriend who does nothing but to play chess,” Raymond shared.
He recently recorded a new single, My Favorite Story, penned by the songwriting couple Odette Quesada and Bodjie Dasig. The song was Raymond’s finale.
“So my life is made up of maybe millions of individual stories that come to me every day,” Raymond said. “You put that together, it becomes my favorite story.”
Beyond Raymond’s 60th, he has no idea what will happen. “There’s this saying that I heard,” he said. “I forgot if it’s Indian or Jewish. But it said that if you want to leave something behind, if you want to leave a legacy, there are three things you can do.
“First is you plant a tree. I planted many trees. Secondly, have children or support a child if you can’t have children. I have two beautiful children — Nathalie, 18 and Davey, 15.
“Third, write a book. I never thought, in my wildest dream, that would happen. If somebody had told me then that I would write a book someday, I would have said, ‘Huh?’ Are you sure?’ I didn’t plan anything for my 60th. I just planted seeds and now it’s the time to sow.”
Producers for “Everybody Loves Raymond” were Girlie Rodis’ Global Resource Creative Exchange, who partnered with Raymond’s better half, Mia Rocha-Lauchengco and his cousin Angela Lauchengco.
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