Sarah Geronimo's Pure OPM Classics Album Launch

Sarah Geronimo

As one of the Philippines’ major recording artists/vocalists, Pop Princess Sarah Geronimo has had sold out concerts at major performance venues. That’s why it posed no problem for Viva Records to mount an album launch/mall show for Sarah on a weekday. There was no cause for worry of a less than expected audience turnout as people actually came in droves at the Market! Market Activity Center for the launch of Sarah Geronimo’s latest album entitled Pure OPM Classics.

The album consists of a dozen classic OPM songs interpreted by Sarah Geronimo. During the launch, Sarah performed a handful of numbers from the album starting with Sana, originally sung by a very young Kristina Paner. She then sang Umagang Kay Ganda, an Tillie Moreno & Ray-an Fuentes original but Sarah recorded it as a solo. Always remembering to thank the audience and everyone else who dropped by to listen, she then did the Florante original, Handog. Then she performed Tao by Sampaguita which is my favorite track from this album. Sarah wrapped things up with the only OPM song that has hit it big overseas, Freddie Aguilar’s Anak.

Sarah’s voice during the live performance sounds exactly the same as the recording. And in this age when autotune seems to be the rage among less than capable vocalists, Sarah sticks to actual and pure singing. I guess I risk sounding like a broken record if I sing the praises of Sarah’s rendition of Tao. She wisely avoids going over the top with this track and instead brings out the emotion through textures. The relevance of the subject matter of this song also reflects Sarah’s maturity as an artist. The arrangement by Arnold Buena updates the song for the contemporary audience without getting too trendy for it to become dated years from now. I think that a music video for this song is in order.

Pure OPM Classics has seven more tracks aside from those that Sarah performed live during the launch. They are Panalangin by the APO Hiking Society, Doon Lang by Nonoy Zuñiga, Ikaw Lang ang Mamahalin by Joey Albert, Masdan Mo ang Kapaligiran by Asin, Malayo Pa ang Umaga by Rey Valera, Hanggang sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan by Basil Valdez, and Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika by Hajji Alejandro.

The short set was immediately followed by an autograph signing session which was a rare chance for her numerous fans to get up close to the very busy Sarah Geronimo. And some of these fans even brought gifts for Sarah which shows how dedicated they are to their idol. Young male vocalist Miguel Aguila performed as the opening act for the album launch. Miguel also released a self-titled album under Viva Records as well.

Miguel Aguila

Pure OPM Classics is already available in major record stores nationwide. Tao and the rest of the tracks from the album are also available for download digitally via i-Tunes.

Pure OPM Classics

Tracks:

1. Handog

2. Umagang Kay Ganda

3. Panalangin

4. Doon Lang

5. Ikaw Lang ang Mamahalin

6. Tao

7. Masdan Mo ang Kapaligiran

8. Malayo Pa ang Umaga

9. Sana

10. Hanggang sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan

11. Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika

12. Anak

Sarah Geronimo serves OPM classics in new album

November 13, 2012, 6:00 PM

Market! Market! Activity Center

Bonifacio Global City

Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City

Ever since coming out as the first winner of the televised reality singing competition Star for a Night, Sarah Geronimo has gone on to become one of the Philippines’ major star for years now. Aside from putting out records, Sarah has also starred in a handful of blockbuster movies, acted in television series, and endorsed numerous products. Currently, she hosts her own musical variety show Sarah G. Live over at ABS-CBN. But Sarah, also known as the Pop Princess, had her roots as a recording artist. And for her latest record, she pays tribute to her Filipino roots via the album Pure OPM Classics.

The album, released by Viva Records is a collection of timeless tunes interpreted by Sarah  showcasing her vocals that made her one of the most popular female vocalists today. Included in this concept album are classics like Handog by Florante, Umagang Kay Ganda by Tillie Moreno & Ray-an Fuentes, Panalangin by the APO Hiking Society, Doon Lang by Nonoy Zuñiga, Ikaw Lang ang Mamahalin by Joey Albert, Tao by Sampaguita, Masdan Mo ang Kapaligiran by Asin, Malayo Pa ang Umaga by Rey Valera, Sana by Kristina Paner, Hanggang sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan by Basil Valdez, the Ryan Cayabyab penned Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika by Hajji Alejandro and Anak by Freddie Aguilar. And looking at the singers who first recorded these songs, it’s safe to say that all of the tracks included in the album were originally released before Sarah was even born. In the album, Sarah brought freshness to the songs making them appealing for this generation while still maintaining the essence of the originals pleasing the listeners who still fondly remember them when they were first released. The standout track in the album for me is Tao with Sarah opting to scale back with the vocal gymnastics and opting for a restrained, subdued yet a very heartfelt and mature rendition.

To celebrate the release of Pure OPM Classics, Sarah Geronimo will be having an album launch this November 13, 2012, 6:00 PM at the Market! Market! Activity Center. And for those who have already listened to the album, the track Anak, recorded live from her 24/SG birthday concert, is a sneak peek of what to expect from her during the launch. Also available only during the launch are limited edition posters in four different designs. There will also be a CD signing session after the launch.

Viva Records not only has Sarah Geronimo in its roster of talents. It is also the label of other singing competition winners/finalists like Rachelle Anne Go and Mark Bautista. Other artists from Viva who’ve had albums recently released are Dingdong Avanzado and The CompanY. Several bloggers and I were given the opportunity to visit their office recently. There, we learned about some of Viva's upcoming and established artists who would be coming out with new material soon. One of the label's upcoming artists that they're proud of is young rapper Pio Balbuena. Pio has collaborated with Lolita Carbon, a member of the legendary folk band Asin for the track Himig ng Pag-Ibig which is now currently being heard at several radio stations. A music video for this song has also been released and can be viewed online.