Joey Albert (left) and Louie Ocampo
A conversation about Louie Ocampo’s formidable catalog of songs wouldn’t be complete without Joey Albert.
Joey breathed life into some of Louie’s biggest and most enduring hits. And so, not having Joey in Louie’s 45th anniversary concert “Composer Ka Lang” (Viva Live) doesn’t sound quite right.
While the singer, who has been living in Canada with her family since the mid-1990s, was unable to attend the first two nights of Louie’s concert, Joey made sure not to miss the repeat staging last Feb. 14 and Feb. 15 at The Theatre at Solaire.
“Because I live far away, I will take this opportunity to tell this to you personally: I would like to thank you for your music. Thank you for giving me all the wonderful songs which, in turn, gave me the most wonderful opportunity to touch people’s hearts,” she told Louie. “It’s the kind of opportunity that not many people get.”
Signature pieces
Joey and Louie at rehearsals
Together, the former sweethearts performed “Tell Me” and “Yakapin Mo Ako,” which ended up becoming signature pieces for Joey. She also shared the stage with Pops Fernandez for a duet on “Points of View.”
And throughout her numbers, the crowd couldn’t help but cheer and sing along. “That people still sing our songs 40, 45 years later is such a blessing. I think we did well touching their hearts,” she said.
Joey described Louie as a “timeless” composer worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as the likes of greats, like Burt Bacharach, whose hits they also performed in a medley.
“This is not in the script. This is me saying that, as timeless as all those other composers are, so are you,” she told Louie.