From left: Melissa Manchester, Mark Bautista and David Pomeranz
Mark Bautista is still in an Australia state of mind. The hunky crooner can hardly believe that he shared the same stage with his idols, Melissa Manchester and David Pomeranz, at the State Theater in Sydney. Yet another milestone for Mark after his “big reveal” about being bisexual. It’s one turning point after another.
The sold-out concert he had with Melissa and David makes Pride Month (June) more than just happy for Mark.
Here’s my chat with Mark:
Tell us about your Manchester and Pomeranz experience. I loved watching them do their thing onstage. Both of them are perfectionists. It was surreal because I grew up listening to their songs. I was amazed to see them carry their own stuff after the show. It serves as a reminder for celebrities to stay humble, no matter how much one has achieved.
They asked me about my experience doing musicals abroad and shared their theater experiences as well. They inspire me to love my craft even more.
Which of David and Melissa’s songs are significant to you? Melissa’s “Looking Through the Eyes of Love” was a staple in my repertoire when I was a wedding singer in my high school and college days. Her other hit “Don’t Cry Out Loud” reminds me of my “Champions” concert series with Rachelle Ann Go.
I always sang David’s “Born for You” during my boy band days in college.
How is your love life? I’m not dating anyone yet. For some reason, I feel like I will be meeting the right person soon enough. Friends are setting me up on dates. It’s interesting because I’ve never been on a blind date.
Is it harder to please a foreign or Pinoy audience? What’s hard is when you don’t feel that confident onstage. Regardless of race, the audience must feel your sincerity. Just let loose and try to “engage” them with your performance in the show.
What are you most proud of about being a bisexual? I am just happy that in this day and age, we don’t need to explain our choices in life or question other people’s choices. We can be whatever we want to be without conforming to what society wants us to be.
What does Pride Month mean to you? It is about reminding the world that acceptance, understanding and love for other people is also the key in understanding and accepting the positive and growing changes in our world today, regardless of gender or race.
Vice’s ‘strongest weakness’
I wonder how Vice Ganda feels about the indefinite suspension of his “special friend,” Calvin Abueva, from playing in the Philippine Basketball Association. Aside from being suspended, the Phoenix Fuel Masters cager was fined P70,000 pesos for verbal altercation, lewd acts and a flagrant foul.
Even if Vice’s new “special someone” is Ion Perez, the superstar comedian still has a soft spot for Calvin, for sure.
Après tout, basketball players have always been Vice’s “strongest weakness.”