The Other Side of Sarah Geronimo’s Concert: A wild success!

It’s the first truly major Filipino concert hit of the summer.

Reckon it is – as Sarah Geronimo proves her mettle in her first major solo concert in the U.S. Thousands of adoring fans filled the 3,000 seating occupancy of the Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium and gave Sarah her first standing ovation performance in the Bay Area, a feat only Regine Velasquez, Pops Fernandez, Lani Misalucha, Gary Valenciano and Martin Nieverra had achieved in the past.

From her opening upbeat original Filipino danceable tune that includes her hit song “Lumingon Ka Lang,” and “Sa Iyo,” Sarah appeared confident, playful and magnetic in a pink sequined suit. Greeting the obviously delighted audience, she launched into a personal spiel about what the concert means to her, her struggle early on, her milestone achievement in her growing career and her 18th birthday celebration.

Her guests were impressive and clearly abound with talent as well. Opening up is the crooner from the south city of Cebu, Jimmy Marquez, who was this year’s first runner-up for “Search for Star in a Million.” He captured the audience’ attention, particularly when he sang “Gulong ng Palad,” a sentimental ballad, of which he added a soulful rendition of the song. His style is a mixture of pop and ballad and judging from his performance, he sure will have a successful career ahead.

Next up, is Kris Lawrence, the grand champion of “Search for Star in a Million,” and if anything, he just proved that he is. His R&B style was hip, young and at times touching and sexy. He could dance to the groove as well and his looks are as pleasant as his voice.

Mark Bautista was introduced as “Pop Heartthrob of the Philippines” and with thousands of girls agreeing, his monicker was undisputable. His version of “Lonely No More” was in the words of Paris Hilton, “That’s Hot.” He was also moving as he sang standard ballads like “Breathe” among others. His duet with Sarah blended perfectly, sounding like a very seasoned performer.

But the night belongs to the pop princess, Sarah Geronimo. She has truly arrived. The girl, who used to sound like Regine Velasquez, found her true style, which was oh so powerful and distinctly hers. Her repertoire of songs was eclectic and showed her versatility as a performer. This was evident in the medley of classic Filipino songs by Pilita Corales and Sylvia de la Torre, mixed with popular R&B tunes of Beyonce and Fergie. The audience was in rapture as she convincingly bridged the gap of the tunes of two generations.

Paying tribute to her idol Michael Jackson, she did an out-of-the-box performance, moonlight dancing and singing, to the tune of “Man in the Mirror,” “Billy Jean” and “You Were Not Alone.”

She also sang songs culled from her new album: “I Want to Know What Love Is” “Forever is Not Enough” and “If Only.”

The much awaited number of songs from her highly-watched soap series “Bituing Walang Ningning” was a crowd pleaser of the night, giving her two well-deserved standing ovations, as she sing soulfully, “Kung Nasan Ka Man,” and “Sanay Maghintay Ang Walang Hanggan.”

At this point, Sarah was visibly moved as throngs of fans adored her with gifts and flowers. There were 18 young kids who surprised her with stems of red roses as the audience spontaneously sang a birthday song for her.

For her finale, she did the song that started it all, cover of Celine Dion’s “To Love You More,” her winning piece for “Star of the Night” contest.

Sarah Geronimo, singer, budding actress, product endorser, and youth model is now a certified “Concert Princess” of the Philippines. Who knows? The Filipinos today, the world tomorrow!

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