There?s no such thing as a bad song, in the same way that beauty is a matter of perception.

That was so evident in Lea Salonga?s PICC concert dubbed ?Your Songs,? the repertoire of which was a grab bag of tunes?all requested by fans who responded to the singer?s online invite.

For instance, never had such mushy pop songs as ?Making Love Out of Nothing At All? and ?Now and Forever,? originally by the Aussie-Brit duo Air Supply, and ?Ang Halik Mo? and ?Basang-Basa sa Ulan? by the Pinoy bar band Aegis been given a sophisticated touch, never mind the lyrics because the interpreter sang them with elegance.

The whole idea of giving the fans what they wanted to hear would?ve been daunting at the hands of lesser mortals. But Lea had an ace in the person of her brother Gerard?the concert?s musical director whom she relied upon to fix the repertoire?s disparate elements and weave them into an interesting program.

Conducting the 37-piece FILharmoniKA, Gerard provided the backbone that allowed Lea to fly without losing balance.

The hottest, most applauded songs would come later. In the opening number, the Elton John-Bernie Taupin classic ?Your Song,? Lea personified sincerity (?My gift is my song/And this one?s for you?)?softly delivered but generating excitement for those intrigued on what the next tune would be.

Beyonce?s ?Halo? came on, a mild surprise to some; but the ?power ballads? set was remarkable: Chicago?s ?If You Leave Me Now? was almost note-for-note, yet the string and horn sections? parts sounded so fresh; and then the Air Supply stunner, followed by Journey?s ?Open Arms.? These ballads are not easy to sing, but Lea made it seem so.

Aside from playing requests, the show (which had two nights of performances) also invited those daring enough to send audition videos and get to sing with Lea onstage. On Saturday it was the Saudi Arabia-based Rocky Fajardo?s turn to live out a fantasy. His textured vocals contrasted nicely with Lea?s sweet second voice in a duet on ?A Whole New World.?

Nobody was prepared when the orchestra launched into a bombastic intro; what sounded like snippets of ?Footloose? and ?Live and Let Die? turned out to be Amy Winehouse?s ?Rehab,? the original 1960s soul arrangement overhauled into a grand Broadway style revue?Lea?s singing in synch with snappy dance moves with six ladies from the hip-hop group Philippine All Stars.

Out of place

If there was anything that looked sorely out of place, it the spot performance of the whole All Stars crew which was loud and jarring.

Gladly the show regained its footing. Lea conveyed piercing sadness in Michael Jackson?s ?Gone Too Soon;? displayed bravura in a Pinoy rock medley but temporarily lost her poise (?I?m so kilig!?) after a duet with Jett Pangan in The Dawn?s ?Salamat.?

Her voice was ethereal at one point in an OPM medley with Richard Poon.

She was typically splendid in the musical theater segment, but, again, nothing prepared the audience when she engaged Ai-Ai de las Alas in a riotous tit for tat?the latter mocking Lea?s preference for English tunes until both found their match in Aegis? throat-busting Tagalog hits.

But Lea?s rendition wasn?t grating to the ears. Her mastery of style and technique has made the international star capable of singing anything.