David Pomeranz keeps coming back

DAVID Pomeranz has a string of shows around the country plus a new album

American singer-songwriter David Pomeranz has been in the Philippines—both for vacation and work—so many times that he has lost count.

“Maybe more than 20 times,” he said, laughing.

Though he has done numerous concerts here in the past, his first visit remains the most memorable for him.

Mall concerts were something unheard of for Pomeranz back then, and so he was skeptical when asked by his Filipino promoters to hold one.

He recounted: “We didn’t have that in the (United) States and I was like, ‘What?’ We put up a show in a mall and thousands of people came. That’s my first memory here—so fantastic, so amazing and so unusual.”

Pomeranz is back in the country for a string of shows: Feb. 7-9 in Cagayan de Oro; Feb. 10-11, Sofitel Philippine Plaza; Feb. 16-17, Tubod, Lanao del Norte; and Feb. 22-24, Cebu.

Known for such enduring love songs as “Born for You,” “King and Queen of Hearts” and “Got to Believe in Magic,” the multiplatinum artist also has a new album titled “You’re the Inspiration” (Medianation Music)—an 11-track, all-covers collection that features classic hits from Chicago, Air Supply, Kenny Rankin and Backstreet Boys.

Excerpts from the Inquirer interview:

What keeps you coming back here?

It’s such a warm, welcoming environment for any artist. People here love my music and I love them back. I have so many friends here now, and this country has become my second home.

What do you think about Filipinos as music lovers?

I don’t know how or why, but Filipinos are innately, deeply musical. And it’s really apparent when I ask Filipinos to sing along during shows. It’s a very different experience when I do it in other countries, where people don’t always sing on key. Here, the crowd is always on key! And they can get rhythms that are not usual.

A lot of your songs remain well-loved by many after all these years.

My purpose as a singer-songwriter is to dig up and convey emotions, or do something very real.

It seems that people of all ages know my songs, too. And as an artist that’s all you can hope for.

How did you choose the songs for your new album?

I wrote none of the songs in the album, but all of them I love—songs that make me sing along when I hear them on the radio.

It’s an all-covers album. How did you inject your own style into it?

I take the tracks, sing along and try to find the most honest way to sing it. I consciously break the version everyone else knows, but not veer away too far from the original because then I’ll upset them. I try to sing the songs as if I was the one who wrote them.