The divas are coming | AsianPacificPost.com | Chinese newspaper, Filipino newspaper, Philippines newspaper, Philippine newspaper and media publ

The divas are coming

Divas After entertaining millions of fans the world over as solo artists, four icons of Filipino pop music are joining forces for a North American tour de force with just one confirmed Canadian stop, Vancouver.

Considered the "concert of the year" for the Filipino community, Divas 4 Divas will see Kuh Ledesma, Regine Velazquez, Zsa Zsa Padilla and Pops Fernandez light up the Queen Elizabeth Theatre March 27 with a two-hour set of over 40 pop songs.

"These four are the top four singers from the country, the top icons from The Philippines," says local promoter Ed Wilson-Liu, president of Beracah Productions.

"They’ve come here as solo acts or pairs but they’ve never come together. It’s a real big deal for their fans."

With nearly 100,000 Filipinos now calling Metro Vancouver home, the concert is creating quite a stir in the local community.

"Everyone knows they’re coming, everyone knows who they are.

"If you were born in The Philippines or your parents are from The Philippines you’ve heard of these singers," explains Wilson-Liu, comparing the concert to a group tour featuring Madonna, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.

Conceived by songstress Kuh Ledesma over two years ago, Divas 4 Divas finally debuted last December at one of Manila’s largest (20,000 people) and legendary venues – the Araneta Coliseum.

Now, Divas 4 Divas is taking the show to Canada and the U.S.

"The idea came from Kuh, she’s been trying to get the four together for a few years," explains Wilson-Liu, who’s co-sponsoring the Vancouver show with Caselin Productions.

"She said: ‘Let’s do something to bring our careers together, give our fans all of us on one stage.’ She was the driving force behind this and there’s a lot of excitement building."

Mars Dela Cruz, president of Metro Vancouver’s Philippine Community Centre Society, says the concert is already the talk of the town.

"But people are saying that it’s expensive," adds Cruz, of the steep ticket prices.

Indeed, while balcony seating starts at $59, mezzanine level costs $79, dress circle is $95 and orchestra seating is going for $110. The promoters say it’s worth every penny.

"In the landscape of Philippine music, there has never been a collection of successful female singers to grace a concert series, until now," says Bennie Lagos of Caselin Productions.


ZSA ZSA (Divine Diva) Zsa Zsa Padilla is another award-winning recording and concert artist, as well as a dramatic and comedic actress. She’s also a songwriter, commercial model, product endorser, businesswoman, and record producer. She also starred in a very successful and critically acclaimed full length musical theatre play in 1997, called Larawan, a Filipino translation of Nick Joaquin’s Portrait of the Artist as a Filipino, a poignant story of the Marasigan family in pre-World War II Manila. In 2006, she won four best actress awards for the stage play, Ako Legal Wife. Her nickname is "The Divine Diva." On the web: www.zsazsapadilla.com	KUH (Pop Diva) Kuh Ledesma’s music career spans 25 years and more than 600 concerts, numerous awards in the Philippine music scene, and 22 albums in the local recording industry. In 1984, Kuh was chosen by international director Peter Weir to play the role of Tiger Lily in the film, The Year of Living Dangerously, alongside Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver. In July 1990, she was the Philippine’s representative-performer at the international TV special, Earth 90 in Tokyo, an event aired simultaneously in 80 countries. Kuh is also a former model for Lux soap in The Philippines. Kuh has also formed her own production company, Headline Concepts. On the web: www.kuhledesma.net

REGINE (Asia’s Songbird) Regine Velasquez is a singer, actress, record producer, and TV host. Her album Listen Without Prejudice achieved platinum certification in several countries. In 2000, she performed the country’s millennial theme, televised on 55 broadcast networks throughout the world to coincide with midnight in Manila. She has sold more than 5 million albums making her the best selling Filipino Artist in The Philippines and one of the best in Asia proving her title as "Asia’s Songbird." Regine is the first Filipino to ever perform in New York’s most prestigious theater Carnegie Hall and the first Filipino to perform in Broadway at Chicago’s Oriental Theater. On the web: www.reginemultimedia.com	POPS (Concert Queen) In 1982, Pops Fernandez released her first album and quickly became an immensely popular teen idol in The Philippines. The press soon dubbed her the country’s "Concert Queen" for her ability to attract huge crowds. Her face appeared on the covers of countless magazines. Pops was chosen as Best Female Musical Variety Show Host at the KBP Golden Dove Awards in 1999. The multi-talented performer recorded a series of songs that reached the top of the charts and attracted sell-out crowds in huge, hometown venues such as Araneta Coliseum and the Rizal Football Stadium, as well as the General Motors Palace in Vancouver. More recently, she launched Pipay, her own fashion collection.