An iconic celebration of love for music

Regine Velasquez and Sharon Cuneta will sing the hits in Iconic concert come Oct. 18 and 19 at the Araneta Coliseum.

There’s no sing-off nor vocal showdown happening when Regine Velasquez and Sharon Cuneta topbill their Iconic show on Oct. 18 and 19 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. But only a celebration of love for music (and singing) that has gifted The Songbird and The Megastar enduring multimedia showbiz careers. The stars that they are will share with audiences their manna from the performing heaven. It’s a showcase of two distinct voices that will sing as one.

“This show is about the two of us, it’s not just about Sharon, it’s not just about me, it’s about the two of us,” said Regine of the oneof-a-kind musical treat in a recent media call, “(it’s about) our friendship, our relationships, our journey, and our journey together also as friends and in doing this concert.”

“I really wanna celebrate with Regine,” shared Sharon. “It’s an honor for me to sing with her and I love her, so it’s a friendship… It’s going to be two nights filled with love and in which we’re gonna have fun… ang ganda ng mga kanta.”

Expect the hits of Regine and Sharon reverberate around the venue, which has become witness to their sold-out concerts in the past. Anticipate segments that see Regine sing Sharon, Sharon sing Regine or even them doing duets. With that, the audience will emerge winners in experiencing an iconic show that only singer-storytellers can cook up.

“Lahat ng mga concerts na ginagawa ko ay hindi naman ako nagko-compete,” said Regine. “I’m a team player.” In fact, Sharon somehow sees a teacher in her. “(Regine) teaches me yung placements na hindi ginagamit… She is a very loving and encouraging partner. She really is very generous.”

This sense of generosity, which is apparent in them, makes Iconic magical. Aspiring singers and actresses can learn from the masters.

“It’s wonderful,” replied Regine when asked about the influx of new singers that dominates the local entertainment landscape during the group interview. “It’s good. Alangan namang mag-sa-stop dun sa henerasyon namin. It has to continue. It’s good and we have such talented people here in the Philippines, ang dami-dami nating mga talented singers. It’s good that they are being discovered and it’s good that every day these talent shows that we watch on TV continue to discover new talents, new sounds, new people, para din may variety kang nakikita.”

These neophytes do not only go head-tohead against equally-talented performers but are also challenged to stay focused and rise to the occasion.

“You really have to work hard,” said Regine, reminiscing that “to make our audience grow, nag-se-set kami sa mga bar, kumbaga nung time namin, kanya-kanya kaming kayod talaga. Ngayon nga maswerte sila kasi mayroon silang network to back them up.”

Regine, in the next breath, implied that having more singers around means a healthy industry.

“Sa akin mas maganda ang madami,” she said. “I think it’s just about trying to stay where you are, and how do you do that? Just keep on working hard, that’s what you do, you just keep on releasing songs, you do concerts… You continue. Dapat every year, may concert ka. That’s how we did it before. Yung paggawa ng concert ke malaki o maliit yan, it doesn’t matter, as long as you keep on doing concerts (because) that’s how you make your audience grow.” What’s her take on the icon title? “Hindi ko na lang iniisip,” Regine answered with a laugh. “Ayaw kong tanggapin baka kasi ma-pre-pressure pa ako. I guess, my take on being an icon is (for me) to share what I have experienced through the years and I’m able to do that now, doing ASAP… kasi ang daming kids dun… dapat hindi mo lang inaangkin ang experience na yon, dapat shina-share mo. You’ll never know kung sino ang mag-go-grow sa experience na yon.” This mentoring-teaching is a win-win situation both for the been-there-done-that and starting-to-flex-their-muscles artists.

“(You grow,) of course and you learn from them also,” she said. “Kasi ang tingin ko sa icon (is) somebody that inspires you and somebody that people can look up to.”

Sharon, on the other hand, put it succinctly during the presscon: “An icon is somebody who has worked hard and been through fire and has been honed through the years, has gone through disappointments and also triumphs but has survived all that, and has ended up always succeeding and standing. An icon is someone who… has proven over and over again her strength over time, that is because of the people, that is because of her supporters, that’s what we’ve been through fire and back. We’ve been tested by fire.”

She also added that “ang pangalan ng game sa showbiz is longevity, power and strength over time.” It means an icon succeeds in all the endeavors she embarks on. “A title is hard to maintain,” she said. “Being an icon is one of the hardest (titles) to live up to.”

For Regine, an artist’s staying power or longevity is defined by “the discipline that you have, like coming on time, talking to the press people. We were trained to show respect (to them). It was part of my training and I’m sure it was Sharon’s, too, she’s very gracious with everyone. I was very shy then so they had to train me how to speak to the press. Kasama yan sa longevity na tatagal ka kung meron kang disiplina, hindi ka lang working hard, at kung may respeto ka sa bawat tao na nakikilala mo. Kasama yun.”

That makes Regine and Sharon the icons that they are.

(For ticket inquiries, call TicketNet at 89115555.)