MANILA, Philippines—New singing stars come and go, but a few manage to stick around and generate a loyal following. At the moment, the new singing fave appears to be Richard Poon.

The young singer is an unexpected surprise because he isn’t one of those screaming or one-note johnnies who have such a depressingly short shelf life in the biz. The way Richard’s career is going, it looks like he’s here to stay.

The young singer’s secret? Instead of going the usual pop route, he’s opted to present himself as an exponent of the “oldies but goodies.” Now, that could be a risky ploy, since it ages most people. In Richard’s case, however, it’s clear that he’s still young, so he’s spared the “oldies” onus and can relax and enjoy the “goodies” part.

Prospect

In addition, his Asian good looks could make it easy for him to add an international dimension to his career (he comes across like a young James Shigeta). Let’s hope that his mentors can develop this promising prospect for all of the show biz capital it’s worth.

Another young singer whose career is coming along nicely is Jed Madela. A former international singing champion, Jed used to be too chubby for his own good, but it looks like he’s on his way to solving that problem, so he can now concentrate on really making it in the music biz.

Another problem that Jed needs to fix is his having been lumped along with some middle-level pop singers. That’s not a bad position to be in, but it’s also prevented him from making his unique mark. To get over that hump, his mentors need to find ways to separate him from the rest of the pack, so he can shine on his own.

Rapt attention

If he’s really ambitious, Jed could go into musical theater. With his ample vocal range, he can go beyond the usual pop and birit routes and stun listeners into rapt attention.

It’s important that Jed adds another dimension to his career in this wise. If he contents himself with the TV-guesting route, he’ll eventually become as predictable as the six or seven other expendable and interchangeable young male singers in his league—none of whom have become major singing stars to this day.

So, what’s it going to be for Jed Madela? Perhaps he and Richard Poon can share some notes with each other. Not that Jed should also go “oldies but goodies,” but he needs to separate himself from the rest of the madding musical crowd, so he can have the impact he deserves to make.