By Chloe Bantang
Last Saturday 18th of May 2013, the Filipino community was serenaded by the Divine Diva Zsa Zsa Padilla in her Mother’s Day Concert featuring her equally beautiful and talented daughters Karylle and Zia Quizon. Zsa Zsa and Karylle opened the show with a captivating rendition of “The Way You Look Tonight” and Rihanna’s “Diamonds”. It was not only the singing that wowed the audience, but also the svelte figures of the mother and daughter tandem – they were truly a sight to see! Zsa Zsa officially welcomed the concert-goers at the Dallas Brooks Centre. You could tell that the Diva was so grateful to be invited by Liz Honey Promotions and Entertainment to perform in Melbourne. She said Melbourne has a special place in her heart as her youngest daughter Nicole or Coco as they fondly call her, studied at the University of Melbourne. Their family has been visiting the beautiful city several times over the past five years.
When teased by Karylle that she only looked like her sister, Zsa Zsa nonchalantly admitted that she works hard to achieve her youthful looks at the age of 49 and even joked about using botox on her face. Karylle later on gave the floor to her mum, Zsa Zsa who sang “Ikaw”. She quipped that a lot of singers have revived the song so she wanted to remind the audience that it was she who originally sang it. She later on grooved her way to a set of disco hits including “Last Dance”, “Listen to Me”, and “Enough is Enough” among other hits. Karylle took centre stage and sang a Filipino song from her latest musical Rama Hari. She admitted that when she went through the most difficult time in her life, she wanted to hide under a rock. Now that she has moved on from the past, she managed to find her smile again. She sang her single entitled “Smile” which was probably one of the positive end-results of her publicised heartbreak.
Zsa Zsa’s other very special guest was none other than her daughter with the Comedy King Dolphy, Zia Quizon. Zia has a different singing style which is distinctly hers. She captivated the hearts of the audience with her soulful rendition of “Far Away” and “You’ve Got a Friend”. The audience obviously enjoyed Zia’s performance and yelled “more” to which she responded cheerfully “wait lang”. She did not disappoint the audience and sang her very own single “Ako Na Lang Sana”. At the end of the night, it wouldn’t be surprising if more than half the crowd have become instant Zia Quizon fans. With the talented musical director Louie Ocampo, the mother and daughter pair sang the Filipino hits “Ngayon at Kailanman” and “Paano Kita Mapasasalamatan” mash-up. After this Zsa-Zsa apologised to the crowd for their “blocking” admitting they cannot maintain eye contact with each other without getting too emotional and tearing up.
Zsa Zsa later on opened up to the crowd that it has been 10 months since the passing of her beloved partner Dolphy. She admits there are still times that she becomes overly sad. The diva mentioned that to this day she cannot sing “Hiram” which was her song to the late Comedy King. She took centre stage once again and sang her greatest Filipino hits and a beautifully-arranged Diana Ross medley. Karylle broke the melodramatic feel of the night by singing and dancing to her own song “OMG”. The eldest daughter of Zsa Zsa proves she is more than just a singer but also a graceful dancer. Later on, she is joined by her mum Zsa Zsa and sister Zia where they treated the crowd to a Maroon 5 hit “Moves Like Jagger”. It was a joy to see the beautiful family celebrating not only their talent but also their love and appreciation for each other.
The most favourite and applauded segment of the night was when Zsa Zsa Padilla paid tribute to the music of the wonderful director Louie Ocampo. She sang a few of the most loved and popular OPM songs such as “Tell Me”, “Ikaw Lang ang Mamahalin”, “Kahit Isang Saglit” and “Point of No Return”. The Divine Diva showcased why she still remains to be one of the Philippine’s greatest singers of all time. Each and every lyric and tone is beautifully sang from the depths of her emotions. To cap the musically-charged night, she was joined by her two daughters on stage for the last time where the trio performed Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”. Once again it was so easy to see the love a mother has for her daughter and vice-versa when watching the Diva with Karylle and Zia.
