Sarah G won’t rest on her laurels

CEBU, Philippines -  Popsters here in the South are in for another treat, as Sarah Geronimo is leading the line-up of concert artists scheduled to perform this Sinulog month.

The country’s Pop Princess is bringing her highly-successful 24/SG concert at the Pacific Grand Ballroom of the Waterfront Hotel and Casino, Lahug this Friday, January 11. Her guest performers include Christian Bautista, Bamboo and Jon Santos.

24/SG, cited as the Best Major Concert of the Year at the 2012 Aliw Awards, was originally Sarah’s birthday bash concert held last year at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Being the hit that it was, Sarah’s Viva management decided to hold a provincial tour of the said show this year, to give fans who missed the Manila date and those who want to watch it again the opportunity to do so.

Cebu is the first leg, while Ilagan, Isabela will be the second stop with another 24/SG scheduled at the Isabela Sports Complex this January 30. To recall, Sarah’s most recent gig at the Waterfront Hotel was a 2012 Valentine concert with Martin Nievera, but she was last seen performing here last October for the “Pistahang Cebuana” free concert at the Cebu Coliseum in celebration of Cebuana Lhuillier’s (one of her many endorsements) 25th anniversary.

While performing at concerts for a sizeable audience has become routine in the singer-actress’ career, Sarah admits she still sometimes gets the jitters before stepping out on stage.

“It’s normal to still get nervous, and it shows that an artist is not complacent, which is good. In a sense, aware ka na marami pang magagaling keysa sayo. My performances should always be worthy of my fans support,” shares Sarah, who’s also gearing up for yet another huge concert this year either at the Araneta Coliseum or at the Mall of Asia Arena, to mark her tenth year in show business.

It has indeed been a decade since the public first caught a glimpse of a shy teener with that powerful voice, heralded to be Regine Velasquez’s heir apparent. Ten years in, and she has not lost her luster. Sarah is still raking it in.

Last month alone, she won a string of awards, one of which is the Best Asian Artist Award for the Philippines at the Mnet Asian Music Awards. She also bagged major accolades in the Awit Awards, Aliw Awards and PMPC for Music Awards — proof that she’s still very much on top of her game even with the recent entry of reality talent show products or YouTube discoveries.

But Sarah doesn’t plan to take it easy. She says the biggest change in her now is her desire to top herself and get better in her craft. “There’s a hunger to improve as an artist, so that I’ll be worthy of the job that I have now, worthy of the support of fans, and so that I will also become more credible as an endorser.”

“It’s my wish to have time to just train, and just practice and practice. I heard that Korean artists, even before they are launched, they really undergo intense training. Ang nangyari kasi sa akin, pagkatapos kung nanalo sa competition, sumabak na ako kaagad. So my training ground came in the form of the actual performances that I did and being a mainstay in ASAP,” says Sarah.

Aside from her musical projects, Sarah is also working on her third movie with John Lloyd Cruz titled It Takes a Man and a Woman, which has a tentative March theater release. This final installment is meant to close their characters’ love story, Sarah said. The pair will be off to New York City end of this month to shoot some scenes, to be directed still by Cathy Garcia-Molina. Sarah did her best to explain rumors that the reason the film was delayed for a long time was her camp’s refusal to work with the actor again.

“Totoo yun. Hindi pa kasi ako ready noon na mag- movie ulit,” she says, carefully weighing her words. “Pero ngayon okey na. I’m very excited to work with John Lloyd again. Lahat naman kasi tayo may pinagdadaanan, at siguro kailangan lang ng pahinga. Yun lang naman yun.”

A project with Coco Martin is also in the works for Sarah. On television, she has the Sunday night musical-talk show Sarah G. Live, where she continues to delight fans with her live renditions and dance choreography.

When asked what profession she sees herself in had she not become a recording artist and an actress, Sarah replied, “You know what, I can’t imagine doing anything else other than singing and dancing. When I was a kid, wala ako nung ‘Ay gusto kong maging doctor or teacher.’ I’ve always wanted to perform. Pero ano pa ba ang ibang hilig ko? Mahilig akong mag-drawing pero hindi lang ako nakaka-practice. Actually, it used to be my mom’s dream that I become a newscaster. Sabi ko, ang taas naman ng pangarap mo para sa akin!”

One other dream Sarah is striving to slowly fulfill is to gain a college degree. Sarah has been enrolled in UP’s Open University, taking up Associate in Arts. She reveals there are also brief moments where she imagines being just a normal student who physically goes to school and experiences the rudiments of college life. But Sarah says she quickly brushes off these thoughts, because she has more than enough to be grateful for.

“There are times maybe because of exhaustion that I also think what if I was doing something else. But I should be very happy and thankful, because not all aspiring singers are immediately given the chance to show their talents and be known in the industry. Bawat isa naman po sa atin dumadaan sa mga pagsubok. Hindi naman yun maiiwasan. There’s no perfect life, especially when you’re in show business. Kaya nga showbiz, kasi dapat nahihiwalay natin yung personal sa trabaho. Mahirap yun. Separating the two continues to be a learning process for me.”

One of the busiest young stars today, the 24-year old shared what she does when there’s nothing on her calendar. “I spend time with my friends, including Ate Rachelle [Ann Go]. She’s one of my close friends in showbiz and we sometimes watch movies together. Before I had ‘Sarah G Live’, I used to go to Church with my family right after ASAP, then maybe watch a movie after. Pero ngayon, hindi ko na nagagawa because I have a live show every Sunday night. But I have to adjust, since work is always a blessing.”And how does a million-income earner like Sarah relax? Nothing fancy, it seems. “Music is a good cure sa kung ano man ang pinagdadaanan ng isang tao. Sobrang nakaka-relax. Being with friends and loved ones is also one way for me to de-stress.” (FREEMAN)