HOW MARTIN AND POPS BECAME CLOSER THROUGH THEIR GRANDCHILD

Martin Nievera and Pops Fernandez, dubbed as the industry's Concert King and Queen, are set to grace the stage together once again for the concert, Always & Forever, on Feb. 7 at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena.

- By NATHALIE M. TOMADA

To recall, Martin and Pops were married in 1987, went their separate ways in 1999 and became officially annulled in 2000. They are parents to two children - Robin and Ram. Despite ending up as exes, they remain one of the most iconic musical tandems in Philippine entertainment.

When asked by The STAR about how their relationship has evolved on and off stage, Pops said in an interview yesterday, "Alam mo kami ni Martin, weird kami. Whether we're OK or not (personally), when we're on stage, we are OK. I guess it will be very difficult for you guys to see kung OK kami, kung nagkakasundo kami that time or not, because the minute we step on stage, we let go of everything, lahat ng pinagdadaanan namin, because we really focus more on the show."

Pops continued, "That has happened so many times na minsan magugulat na lang kayo, nag-uusap na lang kami on stage. Akala ninyo, it's part of the spiels, right? But we're actually dealing with whatever we're going through at that time while on stage. Ang weird namin."

In the business of entertainment, there's a word for it - the ability to set aside personal issues while entertaining audiences - and it's "professionalism."

Pops recalled what the late director Fritz Ynfante taught her about professionalism. "The minute you step on stage, it is important that you entertain the people because wala naman silang alam sa pinagdadaanan mo. So, I think na-carry ko yun all throughout my career. It's always difficult. But yun nga, they always say, 'The show must go on.'"

Martin echoed her sentiment, saying that they're "living examples of that cliché, 'The show must go on.'"

"At this stage in our careers, we're noticing how good a team we have become. Sometimes, you put us on stage unexpectedly - no script, no warning - and sige, perform! And we're able to do it," he added.