November 11 ------ It’s not often that pop diva Kuh Ledesma, concert queen Pops Fernandez and queen of soul Jaya share the stage in one show. It is even rare that they get to perform in a US concert in Southern California with only a month to mount it.
However, the schedules of the three artists surprisingly jived. Hence, the one-night concert, “3 Divas,” will be staged on November 12 at the Fantasy Springs Resort and Casino in Coachella, California. Last October, showrunner Vic “Enteng” Perez received a call from Fantasy Springs Resort and Casino asking if he could put together a big show with Filipino performers. “They gave us only two weeks to announce it,” Perez told ABS-CBN News. “The show is from New Paradise Entertainment. I was trying to check who was available on November 12. I called up Jaya first because she’s based here in the US and easier for her. Then, I called up Pops and Kuh. Both of them are free. This is a very customized show. So, there will be no tour. We really did this for Fantasy Springs Resort and Casino. It’s an honor for Filipinos to have a live concert in that area. We are putting billboards in that area, too. That’s unusual to have a Filipino billboard in a place where there’s an American music festival.”
Meanwhile, the three divas are “very excited” to mount the concert in Coachella, California. “I have worked with Kuh a few years back and we literally toured all over the US,” shared Fernandez. “That was for ‘Divas to Divas.’ I think we did 20 to 30 cities in the US.” They were joined by the late comedian Chocolate, as well as balladeer Erik Santos in some shows at the start of the tour. Last June and July, Fernandez did half a dozen shows in the US for “Four Kings and a Queen,” with veteran hitmakers Hajji Alejandro, Marco Sison, Nonoy Zuñiga and Rey Valera. The concert had a repeat for local fans last August at Newport World Resorts.
It’s Fernandez’s first time to share the stage with Jaya. “We talked about it, it has never happened,” said Fernandez. “Jaya and I were talking on our own because it’s our first time to work together. Kuh and I had a lot of materials in the past. “I’m so excited and I hope the audience will like what Jaya and I are going to do together. Most especially, I hope the audience will love what the three girls will perform for them. It’s three women, three very strong, independent women in one show. What puts us together, what connects us together is our music. I’m very excited. I don’t want to treat it as a show. I want to call it as a get-together with these two other ladies where we get to sing the songs that we love to sing, three-gether.”
Jaya, for her part, feels pressured after she gave her nod to do “3 Divas” with Ledesma and Fernandez. “Kuh and Pops, they’re in the Philippines. They can rehearse together. Kuh and I, we’ve performed together a long time ago. We had that rapport. “To sing together with these girls, I am just so honored and privileged. The gratitude is just overflowing. How they got all three of us to perform together, I hope when people watch us, they will have fun. For the three of us, I think I just want to bond with these two. This is a good time for me to just watch them perform, really learn from them and just be blessed by their presence. Aside from music, I know we’ll be sharing a lot together.”
Ledesma and Jaya performed together in “Power of Two” back in 1999. “I was very new then but I remember Kuh asked Ms. Pilita Corrales if she could do ‘Power of Two’ with me,” Jaya recalled. “I was still very new at that time and I didn’t know a lot of things. I was able to get a lot of knowledge from Kuh when we were onstage. After that, even if we were not together, whenever we see each other, the camaraderie is there. When I became a believer in Christ, maturity came into play. Kuh was telling me, ‘Grabe, ang laki ng binago ng ugali mo.’ Our relationship became really sweet and better.”
This pandemic, Jaya and Pops were constantly in touch through Zoom, with their other showbiz friends, Regine Velasquez and Zsa Zsa Padilla. “Mayaman si Regine, so siya ang pinagbabayad namin ng Zoom,” Jaya said. “She pays for our Zoom chat. Hindi naka-cut off. We had a great time bonding this pandemic. They see that I was always moving while we were talking. Magluluto, maghuhugas, kakain. Sila, they were all just sitting on their chairs. My idols before, God gave me a chance not only to perform with them but also to become their friends. This concert will see how we have evolved as women and as friends. I hope that transcends and translates to all the women out there.”
After the Coachella concert, the three ladies have their respective, individual shows towards the holidays. Fernandez will do an extended stay in the US and be with her boys Robin and Ram Nievera. They will mark their third Christmas in the US together. “I will be with them in Vegas and we’re super excited. We have been planning this for how many months now. God is so good because there will be other shows that will be happening while I’m there,” she said. Jaya admitted she will be busy with a lot of home chores, although she has also scheduled her performances towards the holidays. “I will just be with the family, my husband and three kids. I want to honor my husband. He’s the best anyone can ever have. What a blessing. Serious ang relationship namin. We will just go to Leavenworth. It’s one place here in Washington state where there are Christmas decorations the whole year round.”
Ledesma, meanwhile, will stay put at Hacienda Isabella for Christmas after her shows in Manila towards the holidays. “I have a lot of people and they have a lot of children, so we have many activities for Christmas at Hacienda,” she said. “That’s really my opportunity to really give them a good time for working very hard the whole year round. We are also thinking of doing a free Christmas concert for the community. It’s the perfect time to talk about the birth of Christ.”
“My mindset is always the opportunity to share the gospel. Ang mga kapitbahay namin, we want to invite them to join Hacienda Isabella church. It’s a gathering I’m looking forward to.”
Source: news.abs-cbn.com
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