Concert royalty Martin Nievera and Pops Fernandez in the pre-Valentine show 'Always and Forever' at the MOA Arena. Photo from Viva Live

MANILA -- Concert King Martin Nievera and Concert Queen Pops Fernandez are perhaps the most successful exes in showbiz today as they manage to pull off sold-out concerts in Manila and abroad even if they no longer have romantic ties to each other.

Apparently, their solid, hardcore and loyal fans cstill have not lost hope for the erstwhile couple to get back together. Their most recent concert, “Always and Forever,” on Friday night was no exception.

The successful, one-night concert at the Mall of Asia Arena was a joint production of Viva Artists Agency Live, Anna Puno’s Star Media and DSL Productions. 

Every time Nievera and Fernandez team up onstage, they undoubtedly create magic, then and now, that undoubtedly thrills and excites their fans. After more than 40 years, the audience still shriek and scream upon seeing them onstage.

The last time they performed in a full-length concert was before the pandemic in the pre-Valentine’s day concert, “Two-gether Again,” at The Theater at Solaire in January 2020.

In February 2024, Fernandez staged her solo concert, “Always Loved” at Solaire, while Nievera had his major show, “The King4Ever,” at the Araneta Coliseum last September.

At the MOA Arena, there were fans who came even wearing Martin and Pops shirts to the venue. Sure, most of them were seniors already. “There are no children in the house,” shouted Nievera, at one point.

Nievera and Fernandez delivered a new show, with a brand-new set list they haven’t done before. As Fernandez disclosed in one of her early interviews, even while she was in the US to visit their grandson, Finn, as well as their son Robin, she was studying the songs that she and Nievera would render. 

With no front act or special guests in “Always and Forever,” they dished out unexpected tunes that were never on their set list in the past, starting with their opening salvo, “All You Need Is Love.”

“We used to own Valentine’s season,” said Nievera. “The stage became our lives... Ask your lola.” 

They crooned December Avenue’s “Kung ‘Di Rin Lang Ikaw,” TJ Monterde’s “Palagi,” and Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile.”

For his solo numbers, Nievera also dished out the Broadway tunes “Corner of the Sky” from "Pippin" and “Defying Gravity” from “Wicked” as well as the OPM classic “Tell Me,” after which he dared couples in the audience not to propose but break up instead. 

More new songs that Nievera and Fernandez reimagined in their set list included Sometimes When We Touch,” “All Out of Love,” and “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me.”

But it was also a night filled with nostalgia as Fernandez and Nievera brought back the tunes they rendered on their show “Penthouse Live” like “With You, I’m Born Again,” “Tonight I Celebrate My Love,” “Never Gonna Give You Up,” “Perfect Combination,” “Almost Paradise,” and “Never Gonna Let You Go” as the audience sang with them.

They also reminisced and relived with the audience how they fell in love and what happened after, most of which the audience already knew. While those times were seriously dealt with then, they simply shrugged them off this time around. They even laughed about it.

Before Nievera and Fernandez rendered “Maybe This Time,” they called on another popular love team Marvin Agustin and Jolina Magdangal, who were apparently promoting their forthcoming big screen reunion, “Ex Ex Lovers.”

Fernandez also gave her audience a treat when she rendered  songs identified with her, like “Little Star,” “Dito” and her latest Taglish single, “Poppin’.”

Nievera, meanwhile, rendered his own hits “On the Right Track,” “Please Don’t Throw My Love Away,” “Pain” and “Be My Lady,” his most requested song in 42 years.

Nievera and Fernandez recorded “The Promise” as the theme of their February 7 concert, arranged by Homer Flores, who is the musical director of their concert. 

For their grandson Finn, Lilo Martin and Lolly Pops especially did a duet of “Habang May Buhay.” They also sang another new tune for them together, “Both Sides Now.”

The “Always and Forever” concert was dotted with celebrities in the audience, particularly in the SVIP section, including couples Bong Revilla and Lani Mercado, Vicki Belo and Hayden Kho, Toni Gonzaga and Paul Soriano, and Anthony Taberna and wife Roselle.

Also spotted were Helen Gamboa and daughters Lala, Apples and Ciara, Annabelle Rama, Viva’s Vic del Rosario with children Vincent and Veronique, Vehnee Saturno and partner Ladine Roxas, Melissa de Leon, Joey Generoso, Vina Morales, Olive Isidro and talent manager Noel Ferrer.

Undoubtedly, Nievera and Fernandez still can draw crowds. The audience who supported them from the time they were co-hosts of “Penthouse Live” to their movies on the big screen to their early concerts onstage, were still there and they packed the arena. The solid pair remains unbeatable.