NINA STILL SOULFUL

AFTER ALL THESE YEARS

-  PATRICIA ESTEVES

Singing live, with a band, has always been Asia's Diamond Soul Siren Nina's trademark and passion. She's known for belting songs with her wide vocal range and signature use of the whistle register.

Nina can easily navigate the high and low notes of a song, given her multi-octave vocal range and she does it with such soul and emotion, hence her title Soul Siren.

Yes, Nina is a Birit Queen, just like Regine Velasquez and Lani Misalucha, among other amazing Pinay singers.

And in her 22-year career in the Philippine pop music industry, Nina has wonderfully preserved her singing voice.

A proof of that is during her birthday concert at Solaire's The Theatre on Wednesday where she sang a dozen "hard-to-sing" songs, with a live band.

The concert, produced by the travel agency chain Ticket1 and dubbed "Love, Nina," was jampacked.

"I've always loved to sing live in a band. There's a thrill to singing live with a band, and I'm so happy that you could all make it here to my birthday concert," Nina told the audience.

During the early days of her career, in the mid-2000s, she released her record-breaking album Nina Live!, which featured her original hits and covers.

Fans got a special treat, when Nina held a three-hour concert, with her special guests Ian Veneracion, David Pomeranz and Randy Santiago.

"I want to thank you for supporting me. The love I have for music and for you goes deeper as time goes by," Nina told the audience.

She opened the show with a cover from Rihanna's Diamonds, resplendent in a white gown, displaying her svelte figure. But it was her voice that stood out. Her voice, after all these years, was in fine form.

On a light note, Nina revealed to the audience that her gown was designed by her eight-year-old daughter Bella. She then sang her early hit Heaven.