We knew it was only a matter of time before Philippine Concert King Martin Nievera and Asia's Nightingale Lani Misalucha would headline digital concerts of their own, but we're very happy they're doing so - now that it's time - together.

Why so?

For a start, OPM fans should recall how the pair of OPM icons fired up the stage at Solaire in their 2017 Valentine's spectacular 'Masquerade.' If memory serves right, it was their first solo concert tandem, as opposed to previous en masse performances with their clique of OPM icons, and the reviews were just staggering.

And while they performed together many times before and thereafter, and in many different countries at that, Martin and Lani's maiden foray into the virtual concert platform will essentially serve as their much-awaited reunion in as large a scale as four years ago.

But mind you, even if this concert's title, 'New Day,' seems to allude to the present reality where singers can only reach out to their audiences via streaming, the King and the Nightingale are happy to assure their fans they're 'going back to basics' despite the digital experience.

'We want to go back to what we used to do [before the pandemic],' Martin affirmed from his Zoom box a few days ago, as Lani and their favorite concert producer, Anna Puno of Starmedia Entertainment, eagerly nodded from theirs.



'We decided on the title because we want to assume that this will be the start of a new day... [where] we will have a live band, real musicians - human beings - on the stage, with a real director [again].

'I am really looking forward to this one and hopefully this will be the start of many new days for us musicians,' he added.

Hope indeed, according to Lani, is the concert's inspiration on so many levels.

'To add to what Martin said, with everything that's happening at the moment, lahat naman tayo, we're always hoping for a new day, di'ba? That one beautiful day when we can smile again without our mouths covered... and without fear in our minds that we'd get sick.'

The revered singer also said she needs to return to the stage for a very personal reason. She has every hope that doing the show will bring a much-needed sense of normalcy in her life, not only from the pandemic but amid the challenges left behind by an illness she survived in the last quarter of 2020.

'I am not going to lie. Emotionally and physically [I am not okay]. But as the saying goes, we have to go on. That's what I am trying to do now. May mga events na nangyari sa buhay ko recently - a medical situation - that has affected me emotionally and immensely,' she said.

While trying to keep safe from Covid-19, Lani and her husband were sadly afflicted with meningitis last October. A rare infection of the fluid and membranes (meninges) surrounding the brain and spinal cord, her husband - who had just also endured a heart bypass then - has lost his sense of hearing completely, while Lani is now deaf in one ear.

'I reached the point of telling myself I don't want to be in entertainment anymore and I don't want to sing anymore if it's going to be this way. [But I realized], yes, I am a bit disabled, but I think it shouldn't stop me from singing. There may have been some struggles in my life but I want to be normal again and feel [like] the usual vibrant and energetic Lani on stage.'

Needless to say, for Lani to feel that way on the very same stage she and Martin held their Valentine's concert at Solaire, the show will definitely be 'all about the music.'

Granted they can explore the endless possibilities of the digital world in terms of visual effects and other high-tech gimmicks, Lani and Martin much prefer the pre-pandemic style of concerts that brings the artist and audience together, up close and personal.

'We don't know what our brilliant director Paolo Valenciano is planning for our set and backgrounds, but we can promise you this - we will sing the songs you want to hear,' Martin concluded with aplomb.

So on that New Day, expect nothing but pure, soothing, awesome and good ol' OPM from the Concert King and Asia's Nightingale to conquer the virtual stage.

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'New Day' will stream live from The Theatre at Solaire on June 5 (June 6 in other territories) via KTX.ph, iWantTFC, and TFC IPTV Pay-Per-View.