It was Lea Salonga like we’ve never seen her before at her two-night sold out concert, “Lea Salonga...Your Songs" last December 11 and 12 at The PICC Plenary Hall.



By Tintin Samson

Lea went beyond show tunes and ballads and treated her fans to a night of pop, R&B, and even rock in this concert that was completely different from past shows she has done.



Opening the show with “Your Song" by Elton John, the concert was titled, “Lea Salonga...Your Songs" because every song she performed came from thousands of requests sent in by fans and fellow artists between August and September this year. As a result, it was such a thrill when we heard tunes we personally requested for her to sing.



Being a “Gleek" (that’s someone who loves the TV show Glee-and Lea is a “Gleek," too!), I was all too happy that Lea sang Beyonce’s “Halo" and Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab"-complete with a dance number with world renowned hip hop dance group, The Philippine Allstars.



Rock songs got a touch of pretty with Lea singing them. And I mean this in a good way. Her pristine vocals gelled perfectly with the requested rock tunes. From Juan Dela Cruz Band’s “Ang Himig Natin" to Eraserheads’ “Ang Huling El Bimbo" and “Salamat" by The Dawn, Lea proved that she, too, can rock and roll! Lea just let loose and it was so cool seeing her groove while singing with Jett Pangan who was the night’s special surprise guest.



Her other special guests were Comedy Concert Queen Ai Ai delas Alas and Richard Poon. Her kilig duet with Richard Poon included songs like “Bakit Labis Kitang Mahal," “Sana Maulit Muli," “Mahal Kita Walang Iba," and “Sometime Somewhere."



The Lea-Ai Ai showdown was definitely memorable as well, with songs like Akon’s “Right Now," Rihanna’s “Umbrella," and “Babae Po Ako" by Tuesday Vargas, just to name a few.



The concert also had special treats like Lea singing “A Whole New World" with an audience member who was chosen among many others who submitted their audition videos prior to the concert for a chance to share the stage with Lea.



In the Q&A portion, Lea answered questions sent in by fans through the concert’s website. The topics ranged from possessions Lea can’t live without to the number of boyfriends Lea had before knowing that husband Rob was The One.



The highlights of the whole concert for me were Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face" and “Defying Gravity" from the musical Wicked. Yes, Lea actually sang “P-p-p-poker Face," which had the whole audience cheering like crazy as she was rocking the stage. I did enjoy the song before, but Lea’s version made me love it all the more, and I actually understood the lyrics for the first time (haha).



And of course, Lea couldn’t end the night without singing what she is best known for. A musical theatre medley with songs from her past and future roles included “On My Own" and “I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables, and “Memory" from Cats was stunning. The medley also included “Electricity" from this year’s Tony best musical Billy Elliott. Needless to say, she brought the house down.



Her final song was “Bayan Ko," number one on the most requested list, and she sang it as beautifully as, or even better than when she sang it at President Cory Aquino’s funeral mass. In the first half of the show, she had also paid tribute to the music legend that is Michael Jackson with “Gone Too Soon," which complemented her voice perfectly.



With a concert as awesome and talked about as this was, we can only hope for a repeat! For now, reliving these two great nights through YouTube videos (yes, there are quite a lot out there already) will have to do. I think that was the most fun I’ve had at a Lea concert, and braving the Christmas traffic was super worth it. It’s just too bad I was late and completely missed the Overture by musical director Gerard Salonga and FILharmoniKA orchestra (which I’m sure was fantastic) and Lea’s grand entrance.

A Broadway star, a superstar, and even a rock star, Lea is simply world class and on a level all her own.