Martin does Sinatra
Martin Nievera the Concert King has recently added another title to his name. That of celebrity endorser of Solaire Resort & Casino. Its Theatre at Solaire is a venue for international musicals (like Singin’ in the Rain, Les Miserables, Chicago and the now playing The West Side Story) and Filipino talents (the most recent was Celeste Legaspi’s onenight tribute show to her father, National Artist for Visual Arts Cesar Legaspi).
“Being the voice and the face of Solaire is one way of reinventing myself,” said Martin in a media call, “giving my career another life.”
This is seeing Martin treading the path of Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack. In his repartee, Martin said, “In the Las Vegas strip, there’s only one man who somehow became the name, the voice and the face of the casinos in America.” Frank was it — the Ol’ Blue Eyes. “Here in the Philippines,” he added, “I hope I would be the next Frank Sinatra.” Then, Martin proceeded to sing Frank’s hits such as I’ve Got You Under My
Skin, Witchcraft and Come Fly With Me. Martin, who has been performing around the world, feels privileged to live that life of Frank. But there’s more to it. The singer-songwriter is in a good position to promote Original Pilipino Music (OPM), which Solaire has been doing for the past years. Local music icons like Sharon Cuneta, Rico J. Puno, Hajji Alejandro, Rey Valera, Marco Sison and Basil Valdez have graced its state-of-the-art lyric theater with 1,760 seats to remind the public, especially millennials, of the beauty of OPM songs. Two years ago, Martin had his first Solaire show, Martin, Home
at The Theatre, with musical director Louie Ocampo and ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra.
“My role here at the Casino is to keep OPM alive, by singing some of my hits and inviting friends to sing their hits in the beautiful (The) Theatre,” he said in another repartee and then sang Ikaw Lang Ang
Mamahalin with his signature full, clear voice and emotion-filled rendition. He followed it up with the upbeat Please Don’t Throw My Love Away; How
Can I; Be My Lady; and Say That You Love Me. The “mini concert” was like a sneak peek into what The Big Mouth might do in his 35th-year celebration come December. He ended the showcase with Louis Armstrong’s What A Wonderful World. As the face of Solaire, Martin will have shows at Solaire for VIP guests and the public. He is also the voice behind the resort casino’s theme song titled Follow
the Sun, with Moy Ortiz as co-writer. “Hopefully, we will draw the millennials here to see (and experience OPM) music,” he said. “That’s one way of keeping it alive, by keep singing it… I’m in my 35th year in the business and I’m looking less at new songs to sing because people want me to really sing my old hits. It’s funny and weird because there was a time in my career when I was having such a hard time to please everyone... You can’t please them all.”
Martin added that he is more sensitive now in making OPM alive. He will write new songs so millennials can hopefully listen to him. Martin recalled that someone approached him and said, “‘My grandmother, she loved you.’ But sometimes, I get somebody who will say, ‘You are on my playlist.’” That’s music to any artist’s ears.
In line with that, Solaire, according to its entertainment director Audie Gemora, will bring in more artists in the future. It has started with the icons first and then will give musical space to younger artists and new acts. Perhaps the public can expect to see Sylvia La Torre, Jose Mari Chan and ‘80s singers (after the successful run of ‘90s Live featuring Pinoy alternative music artists). Audie said more Broadway-type musicals are coming in and Filipino Original musicals are also in the pipeline next year. That sounds interesting; as the lyrics of Follow the
Sun go, “Come join the party... got the sky and sea, plus you and me. Let’s follow the sun. Enjoy the good life.”