Wired to please

MICHAEL Pangilinan

Michael Pangilinan doesn’t need a lot of “technological” assistance to enhance his impressive range, pliable pipes and more-than-proficient performing skills.

The hefty lineup of his self-titled latest album, “Michael,” provides enough proof that his success, by way of Joven Tan’s novel gay-themed ditty, “Pare, Mahal Mo Raw Ako” (about a guy who falls in love with his best friend), was no fluke.

Proof of the tune’s cachet-boosting impact is the inclusion of its “sequel,” “Pare, Mahal Naman Kita”—about what happens to the bosom buddies’ strained relationship after the gender-bending disclosure.

Like those tunes, Jonathan Manalo’s “Tayo Na Lang,” Cynthia Roque and Rox Santos’ “Hanggang Kailan,” and Vehnee Saturno’s “Bakit Ba Ikaw” are similarly “wired to please.”

The 20-year-old balladeer can hold his own even when he’s sharing the spotlight with seasoned singers like Angeline Quinto (in the Himig Handog entry, “Parang Tayo Pero Hindi”).

If you want songs to take you on a comforting trip down memory lane, Michael’s earnestly performed covers of Ariel Rivera’s “Ayoko Na Sana,” Hajji Alejandro’s “Tag-Araw, Tag-ulan,” Vic Sotto’s “Kung Sakali,” Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” and his vocally delectable retooling of Bread’s “Everything I Own” should do the trick!