Rockin’ and Reminiscin’ in Dubai: The ‘90s Upload Concert

Rockin’ and Reminiscin’ in Dubai: The ‘90s Upload Concert

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Like the Friday night temperatures of Dubai, the goings on inside the Dubai World Trade Centre can best be encapsulated in two simple words — remarkably cool. On December 28, OPM rock icons Wency Cornejo, Naldy Padilla, Lei Bautista, Glenn Jacinto, and Cooky Chua gave their Dubai fans great ‘90s songs to reminisce to and a musical evening they will never forget in the ‘90s Upload concert.

Produced by the La Verdad Events Management and Wish 107.5, the ‘90s Upload concert brought the OPM acts’ timeless tunes and nostalgic sounds to their fans in the United Arab Emirates city.

A Blast of fun from the past

Joining the OPM Pinoy Kalye sound legends are Wishcovery’s very own Princess Sevillena, Ace Bartolome, Louie Anne Culala, Carmela Ariola, and Kimberly Baluzo — collectively known as The Wishfuls. The vocal troupe performed classic OPM hits such as a VST & Co. medley, the Eraserheads’ “Huling El Bimbo,” the popular Regine Velasquez hit “Pangako,” Rey Valera’s classic love anthem “Maging Sino Ka Man,” and Gary Valenciano’s heartrending song “Sana’y Maulit Muli,” among others.

Under Eclipse’s colorful lights and clear-cut sounds, the ‘90s Upload performers were then introduced by The Dawn frontman Jett Pangan inside the Pambansang Wish Bus all the way from the Philippines. On stage, all five OPM acts performed a vibrant rendition of a The Dawn classic, “Enveloped Ideas.”

One by one, the OPM rock legends showed the Dubai concert-goers just what they’ve got and belted out to popular foreign songs in the ‘90s, such as Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn,” Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy,” The Cranberries’ “Zombie,” Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” and Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” further giving the audience a blast from the musical past.

Memorable moments

Aside from the dynamic duets between the Wishfuls and the OPM icons, the evening was also punctuated with touching moments — Lei Bautista and Cooky Chua’s powerful rendition of “Your Love” to honor their fellow OPM icons who have passed away but have left great music to audiences everywhere, and Wency Cornejo and Naldy Padilla’s performance of the Francis Magalona classic “Kaleidoscope World.”

The evening wouldn’t be complete without the artists’ performance of their hit ‘90s singles.

Cooky Chua led the pack with her emotional performance of Color It Red’s hit song “Paglisan.”

“We may lose our loved ones, but the love that we feel for them remains,” Cooky Chua remarked.

Meanwhile, Glenn Jacinto picked up the pace and rocked out to Teeth’s alternative rock originals “Prinsesa” and the ever-popular “Laklak,” and encouraged the crowd to join in and sing along with him.

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Prettier Than Pink’s Lei Bautista hyped the crowd to stand up and dance to their catchy remake of the OPM classic “Ang Boyfriend Kong Baduy” and their very relatable and chart-topping hit, “Cool Ka Lang.”

“This song is the official traffic soundtrack of the Philippines,” said Bautista to the audience’s delight.  

Naldy Padilla transported everyone back to the ‘90s with Orient Pearl’s classic OPM tunes, one of which is “Kasalanan.” On his memorable performance of their original track “Pagsubok,” he encouraged everyone to sing along, especially OFWs who are in the midst of hard times and are far away from their loved ones in the Philippines.

“Once again, thank you so much Wish FM for bringing us to Dubai,” remarked Padilla, who also thanked Wish 107.5  innovator Kuya Daniel Razon between songs.

Meanwhile, AFTERiMAGE vocalist Wency Cornejo, performed their biggest hits — “Mangarap Ka” and “Tag-Ulan.”

“Even though we are rock musicians, we also fall in love — and that is why I was able to write this song  — I was lovestruck,” recounted Cornejo. He then proceeded to call Cooky Chua to sing a duet of the love song “Habang May Buhay” with him on stage.

Cornejo finished his set with the hopeful anthem “Next in Line.”

“This is such a great audience. It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced an audience like this, Dubai. Thank you all so much,” remarked Cornejo.

The concert was capped off by Jett Pangan’s performance of The Dawn’s rock classic “Salamat” from the Wish Bus in the Philippines and was joined by the ‘90 Upload artists live in Dubai.

The ‘90s Upload concert is a production of  Wish 107.5 and La Verdad Events Management. It is presented by VIU and its official airline partner, Philippine Airlines, and sponsored by Ahlan Services, Cancios Restaurant,Tropang Sulok, Zabeel Printing Press, Bulwagang Filipino Restaurant, Desco Copy and Print Center, Uling at Parilya, Carinderia ni Tandang Sora, Ibis One Central, Magic Star Karaoke, Petals By Carmille, Novotel World Trade Centre, Mr. Mark Philip Castillo, Mau Piodena, Fourte Events Management, Stylecurators Dubai, and Cozmo Travel.