Fun with David Foster and friends

ALL TOGETHER now (from L): Charice, Michael Bolton, Russell Watson, Philip Bailey, Ashanti and David Foster. Geo Yusooncho

David Foster opened his concert Tuesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum exactly the way he did last year at the same venue—entering at courtside, waving at the crowd and obliging several fans for snapshots before going up the stage to play “The Love Theme from St. Elmo’s Fire (For Just a Moment)” on a grand piano, and with a six-piece band.

But the Canadian record producer-songwriter, who says he’s enjoying performing live again—more than 30 years after the breakup of his band Skylark in 1973—peppered the show with a spontaneous, if flippant, attitude, interrupting the spot numbers of his five singers-collaborators to lighten up the mood and squeeze in as many hit songs as possible for the audience’s appreciation.

Russell Watson was about to do “Volare” with the crowd as his “choir,” when Foster butted in to stress that the British classical tenor should note that Filipinos are really good singers. The remark, of course, goaded the people to sing along louder.

Watson, who survived brain cancer sometime ago, looked and sounded hale and hearty—his pipes well-oiled enough to nail the difficult “Nessun Dorma” with sufficient lung power. He matched Foster’s penchant for surprises by covering James Brown’s “I Feel Good.”

R&B singer Ashanti sang her own hits, before rendering two Foster-produced Whitney Houston classics, “I Have Nothing” and “I Will Always Love You.” The last tune floored everyone when Ashanti fired up a skyrocketing, yet cool, falsetto ending.

Speaking of falsettos, Earth, Wind & Fire’s Philip Bailey’s famed vocals seemed to fail him at certain moments, yet he dished out brilliant ad libs. His set, which Foster enhanced with impromptu jams on “That’s the Way of the World,” “Reasons,” “Let’s Groove Tonight,” “After the Love Is Gone” and “September,” was one of the show’s highlights.

Charice and Michael Bolton took it to a climactic finish. The 18-year-old Filipino singing sensation sounded more mature and confident in her rendition of “Un-Break My Heart,” and was every inch the international pop star when she previewed her new single, the dance tune “Louder” from her second album, “Infinity.” Bolton, meanwhile, shattered our initial skepticism by illustrating that there’s absolutely nothing wrong when a white guy sings in a black-sounding voice.

Foster’s band—guitarists Myke Lance Brown and Jeffrey Scott Pevar, bassist Ian Martin, drummer John Frederick Robinson, and keyboardists Thomas Bobo Cooper III and Morris Pleasure—kept the music exciting all night, although Foster’s decision to mix prerecorded backing tracks in some numbers was quite disturbing.

Martin Nievera and TV writer Garlic Garcia, as well as young singers Thor Dulay and Kris Angelika de la Cruz (who were personally chosen by Foster through an online search, borntosingasia.com), added fun to the show by gamely performing with Foster.