Brewing, Simmering . . . Pops/Regine Article
"Talk" by
Gerald Ramos
17 June 2000
Little did Jaya -that fabulous singer who may not have the
high
notes that seem to have become the prerequisite for diva-hood in
the music scene, but certainly brings more soul to her readings
than Mariah Carey ever could on a good day -know she would be
stirring a hornets' nest when she exulted to the sellout crowd
that gathered for Regine Velasquez's recent two-night R2K concert
at the Araneta Coliseum, about Regine being the 'real Concert
Queen!"
Offhand, this is something that either elicits
enthusiastic
approval from the public or rolls off everybody's back not long
after the fact. Indeed, the worst sin, if you will, that could be
attributed to Jaya was her unbridled enthusiasm for a music artist
in whose concert she was the special guest performer. However, in
a country that remains obsessed with titles despite the end of our
monarchical colonization more than a century ago, such benediction
- "Superstar," "Star for All Seasons," "Megastar,"
"Diamond Star,"
"Divine Diva," even "Divette" -is never taken lightly either
by
the public or the stars themselves, no matter the latter's protest
to the contrary.
This according to some friends who saw that particular R2K
night, Jaya's exultation was followed by a sudden pause in a
section of the SRO crowd that was so fleeting-almost imperceptible,
no doubt, given the endless shrill screaming of Velasquez's more
rabid fans-few will swear it ever happened. Certainly not Pops
Fernandez, who was in the crowd that night lustily applauding
Velasquez's performance like everyone else.
Now with Pops Fernandez in full throttle hyping her
upcoming
'Shindig' concert at the ultra in Pasig City, her unacknowledged
rivalry even threatening to boil over as rabid fans of the two
music artists verbally slug it out over the "Concert Queen" issue.
But instead of doing it over physical spaces as Nora Aunor's and
Vilma Santos's fans used to during the glory days of fan hood, the
war of vicious words is being waged on the internet in chat rooms,
newsgroups and e-mail campaigns to entertainment writers, some of
which have made it to print.
The nasty exchange makes for interesting reading, with one
rattling off Fernandez's supposedly unchallenged record in concert
performances back in the 80's, and the other using the same as
ammunition for Velasquez- as in, "We're talking about
the Concert
Queen of the 90's and the new millennium, not ancient history!"
Note: There's
one thing that should be mentioned
about this article. The reason the whole place went
suddenly quiet that night was because a lot of Regine
fans are also Pops fans. And most of the fans who are
getting ' too hot' and over passionate about Regine are
young music friends who weren't around to have known
Pops and appreciate her in the first place. Regine is
their first idol. Well, if you love Regine so much then you
should care about who Regine loves too and Pops is one
of her idols. I think when you show disrespect for the
people she idolizes you pretty much could easily show
disrespect for her. As for me, I'm one of the lucky ones.
I simply love, admire and enjoy them both. So who says
you can't have two queens? Britain does. Just call Pops
"The Queen Mother." Yan. hehe...
They're two of a Kind to Me . . .
Here's
Regine
watching
Pops Shindig Concert!
Now is that the
look
of a person who
is
envious of the other?
Not where I live
-
In Reality Street,
Phil.
Live in Peace Fans!
Midi song playing : " Xanadu "
Now that you're
both here
Now that you're both near
We're in Xanadu-
|
Pops Fernandez
Regine Velasquez |
