Ice Seguerra grows into ‘Pagdating ng Panahon’

May 1 ------ There are songs that become hits, and then there are songs that somehow outgrow even the artist who first sang them. For Ice Seguerra, “Pagdating ng Panahon” is that song.

Before it became one of OPM’s most enduring love ballads, before it found its way into weddings, proposals, anniversaries, heartbreaks, and second chances, it was simply a song handed to a former child star who was no longer sure where he belonged in the business.

At that time, Ice — still known to the public as Aiza — had already lived through the peculiar blessing and burden of growing up in front of the country. Discovered as a three-year-old contestant in “Eat Bulaga’s” “Little Miss Philippines,” he had become one of the most recognizable child stars of his generation. But by the time “Pagdating ng Panahon” entered his life, the glow of childhood fame had changed.

“I really felt like I had nowhere else to go in this industry,” Ice recalled during a group interview for the 25th anniversary release of the song. He was already in college by then, imagining a future that would keep him in the industry, but perhaps no longer in the limelight. “I still wanted to be a musician,” he said, “but maybe more of a session musician at that point.”

He had started playing guitar, doing acoustic numbers with his hero, Vic Sotto, once in a while on the TVJ noontime show, and even performing with an unknown show band. It was not exactly the glossy path people associate with a former child star. But in those uncertain times, Vicor Music saw something in the artist still finding his way in music.

By then, however, Ice was hardly in the mood to believe in another big break. “My state of mind was already very cynical,” he admitted. “We all know there is no forever in this industry. But even if you know that, it still hurts when you come from being so loved and then suddenly, you feel like you’ve been thrown out.” So when Vicor called for a meeting and told him they wanted to make an album, Ice remembered being so unenthusiastic that his mother — the late and no-nonsense Mommy Caring — had to kick him under the table. “I didn’t take that meeting seriously,” he said. “I thought, if I hoped for it, it would fail. I managed my expectations so that if nothing happened, I wouldn’t be so disappointed.”

Even the song itself did not immediately land with him. “I’ll be very honest. When I first sang the song, it did not resonate with me,” Ice said. “I was very young. I really couldn’t relate to it.” In fact, he remembered repeatedly falling asleep while listening to the demo and doing schoolwork. When he finally recorded it, he did so almost mechanically. “There were no feelings, nothing. It did not strike me, honestly.”

They recorded five covers and five originals for the album, but had neither an album title nor a carrier single. Then came Vicor’s call that both would be “Pagdating ng Panahon,” composed by Moy Ortiz, with lyrics by Edith Gallardo and production by Margot Gallardo. The artist’s reaction was very Ice: “Ah, talaga? Bakit?” But radio had already begun doing what social media now tries to do overnight, and the song traveled. It was slow at first, but suddenly, it was everywhere, even in the farthest-flung parts of the country.

Ice remembered early mall shows for promotion, with fewer than 30 people watching him. But not long after, he guested on the former Sunday noontime show “SOP” and was surprised not only with a gold record award, but a platinum too, one after the other.

That same day, he went to SM Bacoor for a mall show. “Wherever you looked in the mall, there were people — you literally couldn’t drop a pin,” he recalled, still seemingly in disbelief. “The mall show started at 4 p.m. I finished singing at 5 p.m. Then the album signing started until the mall already closed, and people were still in line.” The success was overwhelming, but also humbling. It came at a time when reports about Ice’s sexuality had also surfaced, which made him fear all the more that the public might turn away.

Instead, the song proved something else, and Ice was glad he was proven wrong. “If it connects to people, it will connect to them,” he said. “No matter who you are, no matter what you look like, if it connects, they will show their appreciation.” Twenty-five years later, “Pagdating ng Panahon” returns in a newly recorded version under the artist’s own Fire & Ice Music in partnership with Vicor, the original label that helped launch the song.

For Ice, that reunion matters because it allows him to move forward without erasing the people who helped him get here. This time, he also plays the guitar track himself — a small but meaningful change for an artist who once did not even fully see himself as a singer. “Twenty-five years later, with all my experiences, I think I’ve owned who I am as a person,” he said. “Now, I can proudly say, I am a singer.”

Source: manilatimes.net