Daniel Padilla a hot mess around Rico Blanco

A DAZZLED fan (left) meets her idol at the press con. Courtesy of abscbn corp comm

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of things that could make teen star Daniel Padilla break into a sweat. One of those, it turned out, was working with a local music icon like Rico Blanco, who’s one of Daniel’s guests in his coming second solo concert at the Big Dome on April 30.

Daniel recently attended rehearsals with Rico, and the 18-year-old actor—who typically gives off an air of nonchalance—couldn’t be any more nervous. “Grabe ’yung kaba ko nu’n—namasa ang kilikili ko!” he said, laughing, when asked by the Inquirer how working with the rock star was, at a recent press con.

“When I practice by myself I get the songs right, but when he joined, I started messing up,” Daniel added. “He was great to be with; he taught me and helped me with the material.”

Rivermaya fan

Describing Rico as a “legend” whom he idolizes, Daniel said that it was he who requested for the former Rivermaya member to be a part of his concert dubbed “DOS.” “Sometimes I just wanted to stop and watch him,” related Daniel, who has covered such Rivermaya hits as “Hinahanap-hanap Kita” and “Kisapmata” in the past.

He has two platinum-selling studio albums under his belt, “Daniel Padilla” and “DJP,” and is expected to release his third one under Star Records in April.

In his sold-out show last year, Daniel performed Beatles hits and a smattering of classic rock tunes. Though he couldn’t reveal much about his “DOS” set list, Daniel did say that he will do mostly old songs. “But this time, I’m going for lower-keyed songs…suwabe lang,” said the actor, who has a band with his brother JC and friends, called Parking 5.

Daniel also said he has learned a lot from his first show “Daniel: Live!” where he came off a bit stiff in terms of stage showmanship. “Now I know what to do and what not to,” he pointed out. “I’m rehearsing well and making sure I don’t rush anything.”

When told by a reporter that he seemed to have improved his singing voice, he jested: “Mas kumapal lang ang mukha ko!”

A self-confessed “occasional singer,” Daniel doesn’t have lofty delusions that he’s a serious concert artist. For the young talent, the shows he does and albums he records are purely for fan service. “I’m not doing these things to be more popular. This is my way of saying thank you to all my supporters. The concert is a moment for us to be together,” he said.

But he added. “I’ll do everything to make the show good.”

Aside from the show biz press, winners of a recent online contest for a meet-and-greet session with Daniel also attended the media gathering. Majority of them were girls in their early teens; one came from as far as Catanduanes.

While they managed to rein in their excitement for most part of the event, the girls couldn’t help but squeal whenever the conversation veered toward Daniel’s rumored girlfriend and onscreen sweetheart, Kathryn Bernardo.

The young actress will also be a part of the concert, together with other guests Khalil Ramos and The Reo Brothers.

Conversion

Asked if he would be willing to change religions for Kathryn, who’s a member of Iglesia ni Cristo, Daniel rambled for a while before finally saying, “I can’t decide now because a lot of things could still happen in the future. We’ll see. But of course, I’ll be open to that—Diyos pa rin naman ’yan.”

Still, Daniel was bent on courting Kathryn and doesn’t entertain thoughts of seeing other girls. “Ang tagal ko nang nanliligaw, ngayon ko pa ba tatapusin?” he said, eliciting a chorus of shrieks from his lucky fans, who mobbed the Kapamilya star for photo ops right after the press con.

The luckiest of them all, however, was 14-year-old Mary Ann who got a hug from Daniel. She was asked what she loves most about Daniel, but was too tense and star-struck to speak properly. Before long, Mary Ann was tearing up. The girl later joined the other fans; she still looked a little spaced out.

Surely, Mary Ann won’t be the only one come April 30.

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