A good decade: Erik Santos InTENse (A Decade with the Prince of Pop)
InTENse (A Decade with the Prince of Pop)
BusinessWorldOnline
PICC Plenary Hall, CCP Complex, Pasay City
By Jeffrey O. Valisno, Sub-Editor
Nov. 9, 2013

IN THE LOCAL music business where everybody can seem to just come up to the microphone and sing, Erik Santos knows very well that fame is fleeting and fans can be fickle.

That is why when asked what was his greatest accomplishment is as he marks his 10th anniversary in the business, the 31-year old vocalist from Malabon was quick to say: “I think lasting for 10 years in the business is my biggest achievement.

“I saw some singers who started at about the same time as I did, but who are unfortunately not as active in the industry now as before. That makes me more aware that I have to be thankful that I got to this point of my career,” he added in Filipino.

To celebrate the milestone, Mr. Santos will have a one-night concert at the PICC Plenary Hall in Pasay City on Saturday.

Dubbed InTENse (A Decade with the Prince of Pop), the concert will recount Mr. Santos’ musical journey through the past decade.

Joining him are Regine Velasquez, Ai Ai delas Alas, Pops Fernandez, Yeng Constantino and Angeline Quinto. Homer Flores is the musical director, while Johnny Manahan is the concert’s stage director.

Born Rhoderick Ramos Santos on Oct. 10, 1982, the singer shot to fame after winning the singing contest Star in a Million in 2003. But he almost failed to make it to the finals — he was eliminated early in the competition, only to return as a “wildcard” contestant after earning enough votes from TV audiences.

For the championship, Mr. Santos blew the competition out of the water with his heartfelt performance of “This is the Moment,” a song from the musical Jekyll and Hyde which was popularized by veteran singer Martin Nievera.

Within months after the show, Mr. Santos recorded the song for his debut album. “This Is The Moment” instantly became a huge radio hit, topping local radio charts for 11 weeks. The album was certified platinum three months after its release in 2004, and eventually reached triple-platinum record status.

That same year, Mr. Santos won the Awit Awards for Best New Male Artist, and Best Performance by a New Male Recording Artist. He also won the 2004 Star Awards for TV Best New Male TV Personality, and the 2004 People’s Choice Award for Most Promising Balladeer.

His second album, Loving You Now, contains the hit single “Bakit Ba Iniibig Ka,” composed by Ogie Alcasid.

Four studio albums have been released since then: Your Love in 2006, Erik Santos: The Jim Brickman Songbook in 2009, the Christmas album All I Want This Christmas in 2010, and Awit Para Sa’yo in 2011.

Mr. Santos was named Favorite Male Artist at the MYX Music Awards four times in a row (2006 to 2009). He also bagged the Male Pop Artist of the Year and Pop Male Recording Artist of the Year awards at the first Star Awards for Music in 2010.

As part of his anniversary celebration, Mr. Santos released a CD called The Erik Santos Collection, a compilation of all the movie and TV series theme songs he has previously recorded.

Some of the songs included in the album are “Muling Buksan ang Puso” (from the TV series of the same title), “If You Asked Me To” (from the movie Unofficially Yours), “Ikaw” (from the TV series Ina, Kapatid, Anak) and “I’ll Never Go” (from the movie One More Chance).

Tickets for InTENse (A Decade with the Prince of Pop) cost P4,392; P3,843; P2,745; P1,647; P878.40; and P549. For inquiries, contact TicketWorld at 891-9999.
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