“I’m an adopted son of Mang Gerry,” he adds. “He taught me a lot! Some things I heard from him, I didn’t probably want to hear at all, like telling me: ‘Ang taba mo ngayon!’ ‘Ang pangit-pangit ng mukha mo habang kumakanta!’ Which is true, because when Regine sings, her mouth is so small, but when I sing, my mouth is so big, wide! And he’s always sincerely so concerned. He thought of me as the male Regine! He would always consider me like that. Nakasama ko na siya sa abroad. Nagkukuwento siya palagi sa style of singing. Regine and I have the same training underwater! It’s true! Dahil dun, lumalaki nang lumalaki ang lungs ko! Mang Gerry thinks that your lung should be enormous and you have to breathe very fast. So he became my mentor, my coach for the longest time. No one knows this because Mang Gerry is so quiet! He was one of them who taught and inspired me to sing and his birthday is October 16 while my own dad’s is October 17! So this Valentine show should really be a tribute to him.”
What if Regine becomes emotional while singing songs for her late dad? “Well, that’s where I come in. Sasaluhin ko siya.”
How about his Valentine? We heard he has a new girlfriend? “Wala akong lovelife, matagal na. Walang akong ka-date this Valentine’s Day kundi si Regine because we have a show together. Tsaka na ang lovelife once hindi na tayo busy.”
Their Valentine show tomorrow is already a best-seller so we won’t be surprised if it would have a repeat. “We’ll definitely have a provincial tour, Cebu, Davao. Then a world tour.”
