Christian Bautista

With his beautiful voice and songs (especially those featured in the Platinum Edition of his latest album “Romance Revisited, the songs of Jose Mari Chan”), Christian Bautista has been conquering the hearts of Asian girls. And not only this, the singer who has been dubbed “Asia’s Pop Idol and Romantic Balladeer” will also be showcasing his acting ability via a TV series or a movie in Indonesia.

In his recent press conference (tendered by Swatch of which Christian is endorser for several years now), Christian said that they’re still discussing the offer. Much as he wanted to, he might not be able to do a TV series out of the country because of his showbiz commitments in the Philippines, like his Sunday show on ABS-CBN “ASAP” which is the only show that he is exclusively under contract with in the Kapamilya Network.

“If it’s going to be a TV series, that would mean I’ll be abroad for months, which is of course not advisable because of my projects here. So, most probably we’d opt for a movie project,” Christian said. They’ll discuss the offer further and maybe by the first week of April, they will be announcing the final details about the project.

In the meantime, Christian is all set for his concert “Romance Revisited” which Swatch is supporting (thus the presscon last Monday at Annabel’s Morato). Swatch, the iconic Swiss watch brand, and Christian have been playing beautiful music together for the past five years. The concert, which will have Karylle and A-Pop as special guest performers, will be staged on March 12-13 at the Music Museum.

After the two-night concert, Christian will fly to Thailand for a performance at the country’s Pattaya Festival’s main event on March 20. The festival normally attracts at least 30,000 it was said.

Christian was handpicked by Grammy, the largest independent record label and media conglomerate entertainment company in Thailand to perform in the Pattaya Festival, the biggest summer event in Bangkok. It is a week-long festival of music, dance, beauty contests, parades, sandcastle contests and partying. There are also sound and light shows and fireworks displays on the beach to promote Pattaya as a premier tourist destination. Christian will be accompanied by Universal Records’ Executive Vice President Ramon Chuaying and his business manager Carlo Orosa.

While in Thailand, Christian will be busy promoting the event on TV and in press conferences. This opportunity would not have been possible if not for Christian’s record label, Universal Records.

ABS-CBN, Christian’s home studio, will send its TV crew to cover Christian’s Thailand trip as this is something that the Philippines should know and be proud of! Christian’s “Romance with Asia” is definitely going strong and will continue to be more colorful and exciting! After his huge success in Indonesia, his latest single “Anagurah Cinta” with Noryn Aziz was launched in Malaysia. The next Bahasa single is now being prepared for release in his album this April to be distributed by Universal Music Malaysia. With this latest development, Universal Records General Manager Kathleen Dy Go discloses that they are set to market him in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and other parts of Asia.

Christian Bautista has truly gone a long way and so much is in store for him. He promises to continue to champion for our country and spread the “colors of romance” not just in the Philippines but all over Asia!

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Ruffa’s message of love and peace

We are printing below Ruffa Gutierrez’s statement on Kris Aquino’s apology which we wrote about last Wednesday. To those who failed to catch Ruffa in TV interviews, here’s what she had to say about the issue:

“First of all I hold Tito Boy and Kris in such high regard as professional mentors and personal friends. Secondly, I wasn’t reacting to just the video clip shown wherein Kris remarked ‘Ruffa, aminin mo, ibang level ang saya dito.’ Hindi naman po ako mababaw at pikon na tao. I always conduct myself as a professional to let a supposedly small matter such as this bother me. That being said, the reason why I reacted that way, seemingly OA or not, is because aside from being understandably emotional that Sunday (it was my last 2 episodes as co-host of ‘The Buzz’), the series of condescending remarks noticed by viewers through the years which I’ve constantly brushed off in the spirit of ‘pakikisama’ also took a toll on me. I invite you to view replays of past episodes online and you’ll understand exactly where I’m coming from. Off camera, sometimes Kris acknowledges my presence and other times (like that Sunday, March 7) she would not.

“To clarify, I did not ‘walk out.’ After what I thought was a commercial break I felt tears were starting to well up. I went back to my dressing room to compose myself. But the tears wouldn’t stop.

“Third, my mom has nothing personal against Sen. Noynoy and the Aquino family. She never attacked the good Senator’s character. She just expressed what she was feeling at that moment. Just like you and I, my mom has her own perspective and we should respect that. After all we do live in a democracy.

“Lastly, in the spirit of unity and our long tenure on ‘The Buzz,’ I appreciate and accept Kris’ public apology. I will always remember my three years on ‘The Buzz’ with great fondness. I will miss everyone dearly.

“To Miss Kris Aquino’s family, loved ones and fans worldwide, I would also like to apologize kung nasaktan ang damdamin niyo. Misunderstandings happen among the closest of friends. Ang importante po nagkakaintindihan na kami. To Senator Noynoy Aquino, in behalf of my mom and the entire Gutierrez family, we sincerely apologize kung nasali po kayo sa isang babaeng usapin. Being the gentleman that you are, you will most probably just brush this off and laugh at our crazy showbiz life. Let us put this episode to rest so you can focus on your campaign and everyone else can peacefully go back to work. Thank you to my family, friends and fans all across the globe for your unwavering support. To my haters and those that unfairly judge me, I thank you for you make me stronger. I promise to behave myself and continue to try to be a better mother, daughter, sister and lady. After all...no one’s perfect!

“Let us now move forward with dignity and honor.

“Love, Love, Love and Peace, Peace, Peace!”

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A farewell show

It’s going to be goodbye for this group called You’ve Got Male who will perform for the last time on Friday night in Ratsky’s Morato. In the show billed as “Past Forward,” they will showcase their own respective styles and musicality.

Conceived for the Sunday musical/variety show “SOP,” You’ve Got Male composed of Jan Nieto, Bryan Termulo, Harry Santos and Gian Magdangal will disband as a group and embark in their solo careers after “Past Forward.” Alumni of two of the country’s reality singing contests on television, “Philippine Idol” and “Pinoy Pop Superstar,” these talented and gorgeous looking guys will entertain friends and fans with an APO medley, their own personal choices of favorites, songs recorded and performed by females in the past and will present these songs in their own versions. Bryan Termulo, on the other hand, will do two originals from his up and coming album with BWB Records, his mother record label which, incidentally, is the producer of the farewell concert.

Tickets at P500 with free drinks are available at the gate before the show.

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Phil. Foundation for Library Scholarship lecture set

The Philippine Foundation for Library Scholarship Foundation will hold a lecture-forum on Saturday, March 13, from 8 a.m. to 12 n.n. at the Miguel de Benavides Library Conference Room at UST.

The affair aims to show changes in the field of library and information science and how these have affected the profession in the Philippines.

Intended for librarians, students and other professionals, a fee of P200 for librarians and P100 for undergraduate students respectively inclusive of food and certificates will be charged.

UST Professor Candida C. Agcaoili is chair of the PLFS.

Inquiries may be made through Dr. Nora J. Claravall, Ms. Noemi R. Bugarin or e-mail at lilia.lardizabal@jru.edu.

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Tidbits: Happy b-day greetings on March 12 go to Betsy R. Quisumbing, Hawaii-based Josephine Palma-Seson, Mely Paras, Rebecca Perez-Buccat, and Antoinette Abella-Dionela. Happy wedding anniversary to Gen. and Mrs. Juanito Lagasca, and Ray-Ann and Meiling Fuentes.