Jed Madela Handpicked By Kris Aquino To Perform Her Dad Ninoy’s Favorite Song, “The Impossible Dream”

ABS-CBN, in coordination with the Aquino family, took charge of selecting the singers in the funeral Mass for the late President Corazon Aquino at the Manila Cathedral on Aug. 5, said the network’s Corporate Communications head Bong Osorio.

Osorio told Manila Bulletin Online on Aug.6 that most of the artists asked to perform were talents of ABS-CBN while some were personally requested by the Aquino family.

GMA-7 talent Ogie Alcasid, for instance, is a personal friend of Kris Aquino according to his talent management, LVD Management and Consultancy Services.

Kris was Ogie’s leading lady in the music video for his song, “Hello.”

At the funeral rites, Ogie chose to sing another original composition, “Pangako” because of the line in the chorus that goes “Pangako, hindi ka na mag-iisa.”

“Hindi ka Nagiisa” was the battle cry of many Filipinos against former President Ferdinand Marcos in 1983 in lieu of the assassination of Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, husband of Cory.

Regine Velasquez is the only other performer identified with GMA-7. She did the duet, “The Prayer,” with Martin Nievera.

Nievera is a regular on Channel 2’s musical show, “Asap ‘09” along with Sarah Geronimo, Erik Santos, Piolo Pascual and Zsa Zsa Padilla who sang “Magkaisa,” “The Lord’s Prayer,” “Sa ‘Yo Lamang” and “Hindi Kita Malilimutan,” respectively.

Jed Madela was also handpicked by Kris to perform her dad Ninoy’s favorite song, “The Impossible Dream.” Madela believes that the youngest child of Pres. Cory might have heard him sing that song in one of his shows or in his 2007 album, “Only Human.”

He described the experience of performing at the funeral rites for Pres. Cory as “doubly emotional.”

“I was supposed to be taking a break now to care for my grandfather who’s had a stroke. I only flew to Manila [to sing at the funeral service].”

Other performers at the funeral rites were Lea Salonga (“Bayan Ko”), Dulce (“Your Heart Today”), Jose Mari Chan (“I Fell in Love with the Same Woman Three Times”) and the APO Hiking Society (“Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo”) all of whom are not identified with ABS-CBN or GMA 7.

APO member Jim Paredes said he had wanted to assemble the original cast of singers of “Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo” that recorded the song a few days after the People Power revolution that installed Cory to the presidency in 1986.

“But the result [of getting other singers] was also good,” he said, adding that he had been getting a lot of positive feedback about the production number which has already generated 42,000 hits on YouTube.

Paredes recalled feeling a wave of nostalgia while singing “Handog” after a long time and at the funeral rites for the woman who was one of his inspirations in writing the song.

“It encapsulates what the Filipinos were yearning for at that time,” he said.

Boboy Garovillo, also of APO, added that “it was nice to revive the memories of EDSA,” where the bloodless revolution took place 23 years ago, with a group of great singers singing with him, Paredes and Danny Javier at the funeral service.

“The spirit of Edsa doesn’t die,” he pointed out. “We have Cory as inspiration.”

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