New York Welcomes Philippines' Pop Princess

Okay, they were just here for two days doing promos at various venues in New Jersey and New York for her upcoming show on September 15, 2007 at the Hammerstein Ballroom with other Filipino artists, Cris Lawrence, Raymond Manalo, Erik Santos, and of course Mark Bautista....... and YES tickets are almost sold out so better hurry and get one as soon as possible!!!!!!!!!

Before I go any further, the Hammerstein Ballroom is a two-tiered, 12,000 square feet (1115m2) ballroom located within the Manhattan Center Studios on 311 West 34th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States of America. It is known for its elegant appearance and excellent acoustical design. The ballroom seats 2,500 people for theatrical productions and musical performances, and several thousand for events held within a central ring.

(Sept 11 - On the way to promo venue)

The Hammerstein Ballroom has seen performances from a wide variety of musical acts, including Motörhead, Franz Ferdinand, KoRn, Fatboy Slim, Hanson, HIM, Oasis, O.A.R., Counting Crows, Nine Inch Nails, Trey Anastasio, The Offspring, Incubus, Coheed and Cambria, Guns N' Roses, Radiohead, R.E.M. (see here), Arctic Monkeys, The Goo Goo Dolls, Avenged Sevenfold, Moby, Tiësto, Tool, the Beastie Boys, Wu-Tang Clan, No Doubt, PJ Harvey, Kelly Clarkson, Iron Maiden, Kanye West,O-Town, The Strokes, The Pixies, Shoshana Bean, The Disco Biscuits, Rammstein, Evanescence, Muse and Britney Spears.

With this in mind, there are no Filipino artists who from my knowledge ever performed at this venue with a soon-to-be a SOLD OUT show until Sarah Geronimo.....

(Sarah's Finale)

Their two days promo schedule was pretty much crazy going from one venue to another non stop..... regardless of such hectic schedule, I have not seen any of the artists complain which in my book is pretty amazing.

Being part of the entourage during these two days, I have to say was pretty much tiresome... but then again, I might just be getting old..... LOL.

Sarah is being accompanied by her parents, Devine and Delfin, who in my book (again) are simply the best. As always, they made sure Sarah is well taken care of, from water to her taking vitamins to making sure she's eating a balance meal. Such a devoted and caring parents.

The Sarah's entourage is never complete without the manager/right-hand, Jonathan Aligada whom without his tireless effort and care for Sarah, the tour would have been quite unmanageable, to say the very least.

Having become a successful artist, Sarah has maintained her sweetness and often time her shyness, which I find quite endearing.

So anyways, here's a brief background on Sarah Geronimo and her climb to being Philippines' Pop Princess.

2003

At fourteen years old, Sarah bested 10 other finalists in the nationwide search for Star For a Night (Philippine Edition) aired at IBC 13 with Singer Regine Velasquez as program host. With her outstanding performance of Celine Dion's To Love You More, she won the Grand Prize winning 1 million Philippine Pesos and a 10-year recording contract from Viva Records.

In September 2003, she released her debut album entitled Popstar: A Dream Come True. The album was awarded an astounding sixtuple (6x) platinum award, selling more than 180,000 copies. She also staged a highly successful first solo concert at the Music Museum in the same year.

Aside from singing, she also acted in supporting role for the films Filipinas, Captain Barbell, and Annie B.. After winning in Star for a Night, she appeared in several GMA Network shows until she finally landed a contract for several programs in ABS-CBN that became her home studio up to now.

2004

Sarah signed an exclusive contract with TV giant ABS-CBN and ceased guesting in its rival networks. She starred in teen drama soap entitled Sarah, The Teen Princess in allusion to her cameo role as a child in Sarah, Ang Munting Prinsesa (The Little Princess) wherein she played the role of the main character's (Camille Prats) playmate. She also became a mainstay in the Sunday noontime variety show, ASAP.

She also obtained a multi-million peso advertising endorsement contracts with Jollibee, Charmee, and Talk 'n' Text for Smart Communications.

(Sarah's Opening Number in SD)

In November 2004, Sarah released her second album entitled Sweet Sixteen which achieved gold status in one week. The album has since reached double-platinum status, selling more than 60,000 copies.

Sarah with her co-champions Rachelle Ann Go, and Erik Santos (succeeding singing competition champions) staged a concert at the Araneta Coliseum entitled Night of the Champions, which also went on a highly successful tour in the US.

In the field of acting, Sarah played the leading lady opposite singer Mark Bautista, in the fantasy film Lastikman.

(Sept 11 - On the way to one of the promo venue)

2005

Sarah sang the theme of ABS-CBN's reality show Star Circle Quest winners Hero Angeles and Sandara Park's launching movie Can This Be Love, which was released as a maxi-single and achieved gold record status in one month's time.

Sarah also became a mainstay in the fourth season of the teen-oriented show, SCQ Reload, Kilig Ako.

In summer of 2005, Sarah reunited with her fellow champions for a United States Tour of Pinoy Idols: Return Of The Champions, which was staged in selected cities in the U.S. for a two-month period.

Sarah went on to perform in her first major solo concert, The Other Side at the renowned Araneta Coliseum. Viva Records released a live album of said concert that in turn reached a Platinum status.

2006

Sarah was given the lead role in ABS-CBN's top and highest rating primetime soap opera, Bituing Walang Ningning (Lackluster Star), an adaptation of the 1985 Philippine hit movie classic. Here, she starred as aspiring singer Dorina Pineda, a role originally played by Sharon Cuneta.

Her third solo album entitled Becoming released in August 2006, reached gold status in just one week, and Platinum for about a month after.

Sarah continued to spread her wings globally as concerts were successfully staged in Taiwan, Canada, Alaska, and Dubai. The Other Side US Tour had her visit San Diego, Hanford, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Honolulu, Maui, Anaheim, Washington DC and Atlantic City.

While in the US on November 18, 2006, she was given the honor to sing the Philippine National Anthem (Lupang Hinirang) at a global boxing event, the third encounter between super featherweight champ Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao of the Philippines and Erik "El Terrible" Morales of Mexico at the UNLV Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.

(Sept 11 - Times Square, New York)

2007 - Present

Sarah continues to enthrall Filipino audiences locally and abroad. In 2007 alone, Sarah has toured major cities in the US, Australia, Canada, Europe and UAE.

Sarah is currently a mainstay of ASAP '07, a once-a-week, noontime musical variety show, and also hosts Little Big Superstar, a reality star search program for aspiring child performers that has recently concluded its third season. She is also currently filming episodes for a new primetime soap opera entitled Pangarap Na Bituin, in which she holds the female lead role. This will air on September 3 on ABS-CBN's Primetime Bida.

Sarah staged a sold-out second major solo concert last July 14, 2007 at the Araneta Coliseum entitled Sarah Geronimo In Motion. She is currently touring the 12-city tour in the US.......