Ice Seguerra wears a corset and shocks the audience
MANILA, Philippines — Singer-director Ice Seguerra did the unthinkable when he sang and danced to a sexy number, Rihanna’s upbeat S&M (sadomasochism) track, stripping to a mere black corset onstage, in the “Sexy Time” segment of “Sessionistas: The Playlist,” last weekend in Parañaque City.
Ice had the audience screaming, howling and laughing when he made the scene sizzle, mentioning words like “sex, chains and whips” while singing and dancing. That was a great surprise of the night.
“Hanggang dito hindi pa rin ako maka-hinga,” blurted out fellow Sessionista Kian Cipriano, as Ice quickly exited the stage after his number. “Kinakabahan na kami ‘pag naghuhubad ka.”
The “Sexy Time” playlist was one of the four segments in the concert, which started with the “Kilig Playlist,” the “Sexy Playlist,” the “Barkada Playlist” and the “Healing Playlist.”
After their highly successful reunion concerts last year — three in Manila (February, April and October) and one in Cebu (March) — the Sessionistas were back for another sold-out show.
The beloved voices of the Sessionistas were heard anew onstage as the six-member group regaled the audience in one nostalgic night with their original songs, those that they love to render and identified with them.
Since the group was formed in the Sunday noontime show, “ASAP,” 17 years ago, the Sessionistas regrouped anew and continue to make beautiful music together. They had their enduring bond through the years even when they were out of the limelight and lasting friendship endures up to this day.
Ice was joined by Nyoy Volante, Juris Fernandez, Kean Cipriano, Sitti Navarro and Princess Velasco as the group staged another well-received show, “Sessionistas: The Playlist.” The concert highlighted the familiar and memorable songs that became part of Filipino life, love and heartbreak. Duncan Ramos skipped the concert last Saturday but is expected to join the group in future performances.
From films, teleseryes, barkada nights to road trips, weddings, quiet healing moments and the hits that carried through the different chapters of our lives, the concert brings the ultimate playlist to the stage. The show was mounted by producers Ice and Liza Diño-Seguerra’s Fire and Ice Entertainment and bankrolled by Fire and Ice Live.
Producer Fire and Ice Entertainment described the concert as “a night built around the songs that soundtracked a generation’s heartbreaks, barkada road trips, first loves and 2 a.m. drives home.”
“Sessionistas: The Playlist” leaned all the way into the nostalgia set list. The group serenaded the audience with timeless Original Pilipino Music (OPM) tunes that truly tugged at the heartstrings. They collectively started on a high note with I Gotta Feeling, then went on to individually croon the soundtrack of each chapter of their lives.
“Right now, everyone’s in their nostalgia era,” said Fire and Ice CEO Liza. “We wanted to lean all the way into that. These are the songs that built us. But the thing people realize when they’re actually in the room is that it’s not just nostalgia — it’s not a song you used to feel something for. It’s a song you still do. That’s the part of the show I’m most excited for people to feel.”
For the “Kilig Playlist,” the Sessionistas started with I Knew I Loved You, then Kian delivered Truly, Madly, Deeply. Princess sang her version of Ronnie Liang’s Ngiti. Nyoy admitted he is a fan of Aga Muhlach and gave out Basta’t Kasama Kita. As most everyone knows, Aga starred in the blockbuster romantic drama of the same title with Lea Salonga (1995).
Bossa nova queen Sitti delivered Kiss Me while Juris belted out Now That I Have You and fondly reminisced briefly about her wedding 15 years ago to Gavin Lim, where Ice sang the same tune in the ceremony.
Meanwhile, Ice, who is a known LGBTQ, admitted he never thought he would find lasting happiness. “Love is like magic,” he said. “I finally found the person I can sing this song (If I Believed) with.” He has been married to Liza for 12 years now.
Immediately, after the Sessionistas sauntered onstage, the unique chemistry of the members became evident even if they have different musical styles.
For the “Sexy Playlist,” Juris did Freestyle’s So Slow, Sitti sang Britney Spears’ Toxic, Nyoy crooned I Wanna Know, Princess gave out Spice Girls’ Two Become One and Kian delivered Leave the Door Open.
The “Broken Playlist” was started by Juris with Brian McKnight’s One Last Cry, Ice delivered Again, Nyoy crooned Doors, Sitti sang her version of Madonna’s Take a Bow, Princess belted out Before I Let You Go and Kian delivered his version of I Can’t Make You Love Me.
It wasn’t hard to convince Ice to work at the helm of “Sessionistas: The Playlist” since he was also the concert producer, with his better half, Liza.
The “Barkada Playlist” started with The Eraserheads’ Alapaap and Kian delivered Minsan, Nyoy sang Itchyworms’ Beer, Sitti had Kitchie Nadal’s Huwag na Huwag Mong Sasabihin, Juris had Paula Cole’s I Don’t Wanna Wait (For Our Lives To Be Over), Princess did her version of Paula Cole’s A Thousand Miles, while Ice had Swing Out Sister’s You On My Mind.
For the “Healing Playlist,” the artists briefly shared the heartbreaks they went through and how they got over the pain. Kian delivered Linkin Park’s In the End, Ice belted out Huwag Ka Nang Umiyak, Princess had Wilson Philips’ Hold On, Sitti sang Olivia Dean’s A Couple Minutes (A Color Show), Juris gave out You Were There and Nyoy belted out Kenny Loggins’ Forever.
The last part had Ice deliver Ano’ng Nangyari sa Ating Dalawa, Nyoy crooned his first composition, You’re My You, Juris did I Love You Goodbye, which she sang for the film of the same title with Gabby Concepcion, Angelica Panganiban, Derek Ramsay and Kim Chiu (2009).
Sitti thanked the audience for giving Pinoy bossa nova a chance and offered Para sa Akin, Princess did her version of Noel Cabangon’s haunting Kanlungan, while Kian closed the segment with Callalily’s original hit, Magbalik. The song has inspired countless covers through the years.
For their encore, the Sessionistas ended with a mash-up of Semi-Charmed Life and Mmmbop, then closed the concert with Don’t Stop Believing.
Although some of the songs the Sessionistas rendered in their “Playlist” were covers, the melodies suit them perfectly. Even if a female artist carried out an original by a male singer, the songs were delivered admirably. The audience admired them. Each of the artists proved they can sing any melody — from ballads to rock to haunting anthems and even danceable ditties.
Do we hear a repeat before the year is over? That is not far from happening.
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