SHARON CUNETA MAKES HISTORY IN HONG KONG
by Crispina Martinez-Belen, The Manila Bulletin, May 19, 2002

HONG KONG ó Ms. Sharon Cuneta made history in this former Crown Colony with her sold-out concert last Sunday at the HK Coliseum that has a seating capacity of 12,000. Almost all seats were sold out and only a few were left unoccupied. This despite the rain.

If anything, Sharon proved that she isnít the megastar for nothing. But her talent alone couldnít have made the concert the super success that it was. Excellent marketing by the producer, Regent Forex Cargo Ltd. led by Alvin Dayrit, was a great factor as well. And inspired by the drawing power that Sharon has shown, Dayrit announced they now plan to bring the megastar to Macau, Singapore and London where they also operate with great success.

The Sharon Cuneta concert at the HK Coliseum will be a tough act to follow for other Filipino artists. It is recalled that in the recent past, Martin Nievera, dubbed the ìConcert King,î also performed at the Coliseum but his show did not fare too well, not his fault of course, but maybe due to poor marketing and promotion strategies. Among Filipino performers, its only Sharon and Martin whoíve ever performed so far at the HK Coliseum.

It was actually Sharonís second show at the Coliseum, the first being in l991 but it was something she would rather forget, because it was, like Martinís show, a flop. This time around, Sharon vindicated herself with the women overseas workers in Hong Kong coming in full force to watch their idol perform live.

The round set-up of the Coliseum allowed the megastar more leeway for movement as she could turn around to sing and wave to her fans. It also allowed for more seats to be sold. Come to think of it, because of this set-up we tend to believe that she packed more audience than Ricky Martin because in the latterís show (we were there, by the way), the back portion of the stage was blocked.

The tickets said the show would be at 2 p.m. (actually itís for 3 p.m.) and before that the Coliseum was alrealy almost filled up, with a few hundreds still queueing up at the gates, braving the afternoon rain. Ms. Cuneta, elegant in a one-shouldered black Joe Salazar gown, came up onstage at 3:15 p.m. to continue the national anthem started by one of her backñup singers and her fans started to cheer her warmly, enthusiastically.

Sharon first sang ìPangarap na Bituinî and a Hotdog classic ìMaynila/Manila,î followed by ìKahit Konting Pagtinginî wherein the audience sang with her and applauded even wildly when the megastar acknowledged the presence of her beloved mom Mrs. Elaine Cuneta who came to the show even if she was in a wheelchair (she had a knee operation recently), her doting and very supportive husband Senator Kiko Pangilinan who arrived just in time for the concert; her daughter KC; her make-up artist Fanny Serrano, her colleagues Agot Isidro who came with hubby Manu Sandejas; and Raymart Santiago and friends JunJun Cuazon and Marni Ocampo among others.

Sharon went on to sing ìPangako sa Yoíî and some of her early hits, including ìBituing Walang Ningning.î The applause was deafening every after song that the megastar rendered. Not a few couldnít be barred from going in front of the stage to hand Sharon bouquets and take her photo. The audienceís cheer became uncontrollable when John Lapus appeared onstage to do his intermission act ó a Sharon Cuneta lookñalike both in hairdo and makeñup.

John was a hit with his act of impersonating prominent showbiz personalities (Vilma Santos, Nora Aunor, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Inday Badiday and Rosanna Roces among others), doing an audition.

When Sharon came back onstage, she did ìSay A Little Prayer,î ìAnak,î ìPagdating ng Panahon,î ìWhereís the Good in Goodbyeî and ìIn Your Eyes,î ìAko ay Pilipino,î ìMaging Sino Ka Manî and ìIkaw,î gazing lovingly to her husband as she rendered the song.

For her encore, Sharon performed her signature song ìSanaíy Wala Nang Wakas.î

Another reason Sharonís most recent trip to Hong Kong was most memorable was the success there of her album ìAll I Ever Want,î her first recording under BMG Records Pilipinas. By the time she arrived, the CD has become the No. 23 bestselling album at HVM Records, No. 22 being Enrique Iglesias. This thrilled the megastar so much. And especially so when, during a victory cast party at the Crystal Ballroom of Holiday Inn Golden Mile Hotel (where the entourage was billeted), Alvin Dayrit announced that Regent Forex Cargo Ltd. is going to purchase 10,000 copies of Sharonís CD. But even before this, Vic Valenciano of BMG Record Pilipinas who was at the concert said the album has already reached the Gold Record status.

The announcement, and Forexís magnanimous support, made Sharon very emotional she cried.