What was initially deemed impossible became a reality Saturday night when four of the country's greatest performers shared one stage at the Araneta Coliseum for a concert dubbed Divas 4 Divas.
Pop Diva Kuh Ledesma, Divine Diva Zsa Zsa Padilla, Concert Queen Pops Fernandez, and Asia's Songbird Regine Velasquez momentarily shed their respective phenomenal titles and simply presented themselves as the "4 Divas" who had one goal: "celebrate friendship, music, and everything beautiful!"
At around 9:00 p.m., thirty minutes after the time indicated in the tickets, the "historical" event opened with a high-powered number, "Queen of the Night." The crowd went wild at the sight of the four ladies clad in ultra-modern outfits.
MOST TALKED-ABOUT GARB. Speaking of outfits, the fashionistas also flocked the show to note the 4 Divas' wardrobe, some of which were designed by Rajo Laurel, Edwin Uy, and Maxi Cinco.
Kuh, Zsa Zsa, Pops, and Regine had about 12 costume changes, with matching capes, hair accessories, shoes and boots to die for, and glittering pieces of jewelry. The outfits were more than enough to compensate for the bareness of the stage.
All ladies, especially the Songbird, were very vocal in saying, "Hindi kami kumain ng three months para kumasya sa mga damit namin." Regine also remarked in jest that some of their outfits are "kapos sa tela."
MOST-APPLAUDED NUMBERS. Most of the songs in the show's repertoire were rearranged to flaunt the individual strength of each diva's vocal prowess.
Their rendition of Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" left everyone gaping in awe. It's a powerful piece and each one of them was given a moment to shine. As one spectator put it, "Wala kang itulak kabigin sa kanila."
OPM classic "Ugoy ng Duyan," which was given an ethnic touch, underlined Kuh's clear voice. The portion was dedicated to the "greatest divas" in the life of the 4 divas: their moms.
The Madonna tribute was both enthralling and entertaining. It began with the poignant "Take A Bow" then ended with the more upbeat "Vogue," where the divas did a glam pose for the viewers.
Of course, the people waited for the biritan portion. Kuh chose Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You," while Zsa Zsa truly owned the stage when she sang Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On." Pops performed another Whitney Houston hit, "The Greatest Love of All," while Regine soared with her "Butterfly" number. The quartet's interpretation of "When You Believe" was also impressive.
One of the concert's highlights was the divas' rendition of their greatest hits. Kuh performed "Paano Kita Mapasasalamatan" with Pops, who also performed "Ikaw Lamang" with Zsa Zsa Padilla. Pops sang "Dito" with Regine, who belted out "Kailangan Ko'y Ikaw."
Among the duets, Pops and Regine did a remarkable job in singing Bryan Adam's "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?" Zsa Zsa and Regine did a very soulful interpretation of Gary Valenciano's "Ikaw Lamang," while the latter's "Baliw" number with Kuh was very intense. Indeed, no one among the young singers can match yet the way these divas put emotions into their singing.
The more than two hours of world-class performance ended with a medley of dance hits, such as "We Are Family," "Night Life," "Shake That Groove Thing," to name a few.
For the encore, the crowd could only go "Wow!" for the ladies' version of "And I Am Telling You, I'm Not Going."
STARSTRUCK STARS. Even the celebrities who came to watch could not take their eyes off the stage.
Dolphy, Ogie Alcasid, Jomari Yllana and Kuh's daughter Isabella beamed with pride when they went on stage to give the huge bouquet of flowers to the performers.
Richard Gomez—who came with wife Lucy, daughter Juliana, and his in-laws—was seen clapping loudly for the singers.
Sarah Geronimo, Pia Guanio, Allan K, John Lapus, among others, also made time for the momentous concert.
The jampacked audience would have wanted to listen to them forever, but the estimated 40 songs performed by the singers were more than enough to say Divas 4 Divas is the "best show ever." Most spectators had only one word when they left the Big Dome: "Sulit!"
