A voice that electrifies

By Totel V. de Jesus
Philippine Daily Inquirer
10/11/2010

MANILA, Philippines—For two nights at the jam-packed Meralco Theater, power was not limited to electricity. In his concert “Power of One,” Erik Santos proved that his voice is a force that could energize the entire hall.

The 27-year-old pop singer hit the high notes without resorting to falsetto, as older veterans like Martin Nievera are prone to do.

In fact, Santos showed how a guy can belt it out by doing a medley of Celine Dion, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston hits.

In the high-pitched chorus in Dion’s version of “All By Myself,” Santos soared without difficulty.

Defying translation

“Tanggalan ng ngala-ngala” was how he described the feat, which defied any translation.

“Kapatid, you sing as if there’s no tomorrow,” Regine Velasquez told him. She was the female guest on the gig’s second night, appearing after Piolo Pascual and Christian Bautista performed their signature hits.

To everyone’s delight, all three guests did duets with Santos. They also waived their usual talent fees for Santos, who produced the two-night shows.

Regine preaches
Velasquez sang a toned-down version of Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach,” rearranged by Homer Flores, the show’s music director and leader of the back-up band. But Velasquez did some preaching actually, when she said it’s time for Filipino performers to support their fellow local talents, sans network affiliations.

Foreign concerts outnumber local ones, she said: “Last time I checked, the ratio was 10 is to 1 and it’s sad.”

Santos also rendered medleys as tributes to Nievera, his idol; Broadway musicalsand theme songs of ABS-CBN drama series.

The finale was another showcase of vocal pyrotechnics, or “tanggalan ng ngala-ngala.” Together with the UP Singing Ambassadors, Santos sang “I Believe I Can Fly” and his signature hit, “This Is The Moment.” His voice melded perfectly with the first and only Asian choir to have won the Grand Prize in this year’s Arezzo competitions in Italy.