EVERY YEAR, Inquirer Entertainment helps readers pick the best show for that special date, by asking the concert artists what they have in store for audiences.
?So In Love ... A Prelude?
Cocoy Laurel and Friends, February 9, 8 p.m. Music Museum; featuring the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra Rhythm, and guests Nicole Laurel Asensio, Pow Chavez and Nanette Inventor; call 721-6726
?Love Defined?
Pinoy Dream Academy Season 2 Scholars Bunny Malunda, Chivas Malunda, Cris Pastor, Hansen Nichols, Liezel Garcia, Miguel Mendoza; February 4, Teatrino, Greenhills; Call or text 0915-6092697
?Love Rocks?
Stephen Bishop, Dan Hill and Yvonne Elliman; February 11, Araneta Coliseum; Call 911-5555.
?Trini Lopez in Concert?
Trini Lopez with guests Pilita Corrales and Ramon Jacinto; Feb. 9, Waterfront Hotel Cebu, and February 10, Araneta Coliseum; Call 911-5555.
How important was Valentine?s Day when you were a teenager?
Cocoy Laurel: It was extremely important, even up to this very day.
Hansen Nichols: Valentine?s Day is a cool day. In the States, students send Valentine Grams to friends they love or care for. Also that?s how you found out if you had a secret admirer, yahoo! On top of that, we had school dances also for Valentine?s Day.
Cris Pastor: It wasn?t a big deal for me but as I grew up, Valentine?s was one of the most awaited holidays.
Liezel Garcia: Honestly, I wasn?t that excited because when I was young I did not have an idea what it meant.
Miguel Mendoza: Not really, although I liked the chocolate hearts on a stick and the yummy heart-shaped cakes that were sold in school.
Dan Hill: Most important day of the year, as I always had a powerful crush on the girl whose desk was beside mine. And Valentine?s Day was the only excuse I could muster up to talk to her, as in, ?Be my Valentine??
Trini Lopez: Valentine?s Day was a bit of a romantic time with lady friends I knew then.
Do you remember the first Valentine?s Day when something more exciting happened after dinner?
Cocoy: Yes. I got to dance with my most admired crush at that time.
Hansen: I?m sure there was, but I have to keep it a secret.
Cris: Actually no, because usually after the date, I go straight home.
Liezel: Nothing at all, my love life is boring. Ngayon ko lang na-realize.
Miguel: None, I think I?m kinda boring when it comes to dates and after dates.
Dan: Well, yes, as a teenager I taught classical guitar lessons. A girl my age, whom I was teaching later that evening (after dinner) reached over her guitar and kissed me for what felt like a blissful eternity. My first long kiss. I was a pretty innocent teenager, so that kiss left me vibrating for the rest of the night.
Trini: No.
How about the Valentine?s Day when everything seemed to have gone wrong?
Cocoy: Yes. When that happened and I was alone, I told my mom, ?Be my Valentine.?
Hansen: None that I could think of. I planned well, hahaha!
Cris: Hmm ... I drank too much and couldn?t remember a thing.
Liezel: If there would be mistakes then it would not be like a special day for love.
Miguel: Nothing seems to go wrong during Valentine?s Day. The more you love the world, the more it will love you back.
Dan: Well, I wrote a Valentine?s poem to a girl in my English class and she showed it to her friend and the two of them pointed at me and laughed. I was humiliated.
Trini: I do not remember any such episode.
What was the most unique Valentine?s Day you?ve ever experienced?
Cocoy: On stage in Sydney, doing ?Miss Saigon? on Valentine?s Day. It was truly unforgettable.
Hansen: When I asked a girl to go on a trip with me. She said yes, but before the actual trip she was avoiding my calls and said she wasn?t coming.
Cris: Last year when we went to Tagaytay and he gave me a gold heart necklace. It was a super kilig moment for me.
Liezel: College days, when my suitor brought me to a kissing booth. Cheesy.
Miguel: When I had a Valentine concert and someone gave me a Maltese puppy on stage.
Dan: Being offered a truckload of money to sing ?Sometimes When We Touch? to a couple who were renewing their wedding vows on Valentine?s Day.
Trini: Dating a pretty and special girl that I liked.
Your happiest Valentine?s Day and why?
Cocoy: Surprisingly in the company of my whole family. It was most wonderful, hilarious sharing of each other?s feelings about love.
Hansen: My happiest Valentine?s Day would happen if people come to watch our show!
Cris: Last year, because I was with the man I loved so much for the first time.
Miguel: Everyday is Valentine?s Day for me! But who knows, maybe this year will be exceptional.
Dan: The last Valentine?s Day I spent with my mom and dad before my dad died later that summer. It felt so close being with my parents, knowing time was running out for my dad. Though I was sad, I was also so happy and moved to be with them and to feel their amazing love for one another.
Trini: When I was 16, I took a very pretty girl out to a Valentine?s Dance. It made me happy because I was usually the one entertaining for the dance.
Do you also recall your loneliest Valentine?s Day? What happened?
Cocoy: I was working on stage.
Hansen: I don?t ever recall having one. But I guarantee that if anyone misses our concert, this will be their loneliest Valentine?s Day!
Cris: I never had a lonely Valentine?s Day, because you can still have fun whether you have a date or not. As long as I?m with my friends and my family, everything is perfect.
Liezel: Last year of college, when nobody gave me even a single rose and everybody else had one.
Miguel: None, I always try to make it a point that my Valentine?s Day is full of love.
Dan: I flew to Vancouver (3,000 miles from my home in Toronto) and the girl I was wooing asked me to leave. So I had to walk 10 miles to my friend?s house through the snow, looking up at the mountains and stars and knowing I had to fly home alone. It was so sad.
Trini: I do not recall being lonely on Valentine?s Day because most of the time I was entertaining with my band.
Who?s your fantasy date?
Cocoy: The best is yet to come.
Hansen: Anne Curtis!
Cris: Piolo Pascual forever! He?s my dream boy actually.
Liezel: Piolo Pascual!
Miguel: Frencheska Farr. I really want to get to know her.
Trini: I have dated most of my fantasy dates like Raquel Welch, among others!
What?s your latest favorite love song and why?
Cocoy: ?Baby? by Justin Bieber, even though I?m not young like Justin.
Hansen: ?Heartbeat? by Enrique Iglesias and Nicole Scherzinger. Not only because they are both international stars who have Filipino blood, but I also like the song?s beat.
Cris: ?Only Girl? by Rihanna. Maybe it?s because all the men whom I loved cheated on me and now I?m searching for someone who will make me feel like I?m the only girl in the world.
Liezel: ?From This Moment.? I want that to be sung on my wedding day.
Miguel: ?Love Is the Answer.? I got to like the song during our rehearsals for the show.
Dan: I?ve always loved ?Somewhere Over the Rainbow.? I know it?s an old song, but every time I hear it I feel as though I?m hearing it for the first time.
Trini: Some of my favorite love songs are not of today?s music. However my favorite love songs of years gone by are ?Laura? and ?My Funny Valentine,? which by the way I am recording on my new 65th album next week.
If you?re not doing a Valentine show, who would you want to watch?
Cocoy: Josh Groban or Andrea Bocelli.
Hansen: Bruno Mars wherever he is playing in the world that day!
Cris: Janet Jackson. She is one of my heroes.
Liezel: Christian Bautista.
Miguel: John Legend, Barry Manilow, Gary Valenciano, Jay R, Kyla, Beyonce, Brian McKnight. If only I could watch them all!
Dan: Stevie Wonder.
Trini: Frank Sinatra. Or my second favorite singer, Jack Jones!
Why should we watch your show?
Cocoy: Because it only happens once in a blue moon.
Hansen: Many people have said they missed watching us on TV, so this is their chance to see us up close and personal and enjoy good music.
Cris: You?ll be inspired by our songs which would seem like a roller-coaster of emotions.
Liezel: You?ll hear different kinds of music genres, songs and feelings.
Miguel: The show will feature our styles and how we individually define love through our respective songs.
Dan: Because my love songs connect lovers, largely because of my lyrical honesty and ability to say things that couples feel but can?t articulate.
Trini: Wow, I have never been asked this question in my life. The reason you should watch my show is because I like people and have always had a good rapport with my audience. It would be a great show!
