Just like how he is on stage, Concert King Martin Nievera is dangerously spontaneous when it comes to love.

“I’m Mr. Impromptu,” Martin told Manila Bulletin Entertainment Online in an interview held at the 7107 Cruise Ship for his and Pops Fernandez’s forthcoming Valentine’s concert “One Amore Time” at the SMX Convention, Mall of Asia, Feb. 14.

But while he won’t say what his most romantic gesture was to a loved one, he does admit that he once proposed marriage hastily, without all the well-planned trimmings. 

“I won’t mention names but there was one time I proposed marriage but I didn’t have a ring. So I used seaweeds from the ocean. I tied the seaweeds into a ring. The girl didn’t think that I was serious but I used that seaweed as my ring to ask for her hand in marriage,” he narrated.

The girl agreed to the proposition, “but we never got married.”

“I knew that where we were at that moment was the perfect time to ask her but I wasn’t prepared. I made do with what I had. It’s a beautiful day, there’s a beautiful sunset. What a perfect time. I’m dangerously spontaneous,” added the balladeer.

And while he does have the reputation of being wacky in concerts, Martin is nevertheless a very organized guy… and domesticated, too.

“I love putting up trees (Christmas), I love organizing furniture, wrapping gifts, mag-plantsa and mag-vacuum. I don’t know what it is. It’s very calming,” he shared.

However, having grown up in the US where Valentine’s Day is not as celebrated as in the Philippines, he remembers no special February 14.

“Ever since, nagtatrabaho na ako pag Valentine’s; always with Pops—when we were just friends, married and then again, now. It’s all work. To me, everyday is Valentine’s.”

Given this, Martin makes his Valentine concerts very special and worth remembering.

“[The way] to make Valentine’s even more special is [to] share it with everybody. Pops and I obviously have shared a whole lifetime with all the people. What better way to make Valentine’s more special than by joining forces [for a show] and inviting the world to watch,” he mused.

The loquacious singer was rendered speechless when asked what song he can’t sing on the day of hearts.

After collecting his thoughts, he said, “There’s a song that I wrote when Pops and I separated and I only sang it once, and that’s when I recorded it. Then I sang it in one concert and never sang it again. It’s called ‘Before You Say Goodbye.’ It’s a song that I never even arranged. That would be a song I would never sing on Valentine's.”

For all of Martin’s romantic impulses, he is also the type that loves surprises. He and Pops would try to spring one surprise after another on each other when they were still together.

“Pops and I, when we were still married, we try to out-surprise each other. Every surprise gets better and better than the other.”

For their upcoming show, the Concert King assures die-hard Pops and Martin fans that they’ll enjoy “One Amore Time.”

“Halos lahat ng mga kanta, may bagong arrangement. I think it’s the perfect line-up for a perfect Valentine show. It’ll get everybody in the mood. They’ll have a chance to fall in love.”

Despite the appearance of younger performers in the scene, Martin and Pops are still the couple to beat on Valentine’s Day. What’s the secret?

“I think it is because we’re a walking, talking, singing, dancing true story. Filipinos love true stories, especially one without an ending. Pops and I have not remarried yet. We’ve seen different people but we’ve not settled down with someone else. Until that day, the Martin and Pops mystery will continue. For as long as there’s a mystery, I think, there will always be interested concertgoers,” Martin explained.

Will it ever get demystified?

“I don’t think it ever will---[and] I don’t think I want to. I think God put us together for whatever reason and I think it’s to love each other and [loving] each other doesn’t mean you have to be married. We were married, we have two beautiful children and now we’ve gone on [to] the next level.”