BY REQUEST

Ice Seguerra wants audience to choose songs for upcoming concert

‘Videoke Hits,’ scheduled on May 10 and 11 at the Music Museum, will be an interactive show, like a real videoke session, a get-together with friends

ICE SEGUERRA thrives on spontaneity. At a recent gig at District One in BGC, the eternally youthfullooking singer-songwriter, backed by his Pogi Boys band mates, guitarist Mike Villegas and violinist Jonathan Urbano, asked the audience for requests — in between covers of The Corrs’ “Runaway,” Up Dharma Down’s “Tadhana,” Leon Russell’s “Superstar,” as well as hits from his own albums.

Ice didn’t need to glance at the requested songs’ lyrics from an ipad, it looked like he knew them by heart.

Moments before going onstage, Ice gladly gave details of his coming concert, Videoke Hits, scheduled on May 10 and 11 at the Music Museum.

Videoke is favorite hobby, Ice said. “It’s when I get to sing songs I don’t do at gigs, songs which the audience don’t expect me to sing.”

“Videoke Hits,” Ice explained, “will be an interactive show, like a real videoke session, a get-together with friends. e audience get to pick songs I will sing. On concert day, they get to choose a few out of some, say, 50 songs. Dun lang namin malalaman yung request onstage.”

e idea came from Ice’s wife, Liza Diño, whom he calls “the brains” behind his shows. e objective, Ice said, was to capture the essence of a videoke session, “paano natin magagawa sa stage yung ganung klaseng experience, in a concert setting but inclusive and fun.”

e lyrics will be flashed on a screen for the audience to sing along to.

What’s a typical Ice Seguerra videoke playlist?

“Ako kasi, pag nag-videoke, from power ballads to Broadway, to very cheeky songs, to… kung ano matripan, whatever comes up…”

To give a hint of what to look forward to at the concert, Ice said there will be some Aegis tunes, and some Broadway, talagang smorgasbord…”

When was the first time he stepped into a videoke club?

“My gosh… bata pa, I mean, nung una pa lang nauso yan. And I remember in college at UST, every time there’s a vacant period, nagbi-videoke kami, yung iba nagbibilliards kami videoke.”

In the daytime?

“Yes, hahaha!”

But the original video king in the household was his dad, Dick Seguerra. Ice recalled that in 2020, when his father got ill, underwent radiation, refused chemotherapy, and decided to have palliative care in a condo unit, there was one special request: a videoke machine.

“He sang until the very end of his life,” Ice recounted.

Is Videoke Hits a way of honoring his memory?

“Yes. Siya yun e…”

Ice revealed that among videoke buddies, he’s known to hog the mic. And if there’s one other person who did that, it’s his father.

“Pag pupunta yan ng video bar, dala niya sa wallet niya yung mga number ng mga kakantahin niya.”

It was also his dad who influenced Ice to pursue singing as a career.

“Multiplex pa, di ba karaoke pa noon? Bibili ka ng cassettes. That was my first memory of my dad singing at home. He loved to sing! ‘Portrait of My Love,’ ‘Misty,’ ‘Moon River’…

Videoke Hits will also feature Ice’s band, the Pogi Boys, including keyboardist Ivan Lee Espinosa, bassist Angelo Villegas, and percussionist Budeths Casinto. The motivation to form a band was borne by Ice’s desire to have musicians who can join his journey as a performing artist.

Ice considers Mike Villegas a mentor: “Ang laki nang in-improve ng guitar playing ko because of him.”

At the District One gig, Mike was heard hollering to punctuate a key part of a song.

But when Ice gave in to our request, either Carole King or Joni Mitchell, he rendered the latter’s “Both Sides Now” with a sensitivity so delicate, there was hushed silence in the room.