THE first is always priceless, so they say. Rising crooner Arthur Nery believes so, too.
Preparations for Nery’s first major solo concert, scheduled on July 2 at the New Frontier Theater in Quezon City, are already in high gear, and the singing sensation from Cagayan de Oro is more than excited to showcase the many reasons why he is being celebrated by the local music industry as the breakthrough singer of the pandemic.
Born to a musical family, Nery recalled that his folks were a big influence on his musicality. “My parents listened to a lot of jazz and blues, and my father’s favorite singer was Frank Sinatra. If my memory serves me right, I sang ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ in my very first public performance when I was around eight years old, for a birthday party. It was very well-received naman.”
Songwriting also came naturally, especially during his student years at the Ateneo campus in Cagayan de Oro. “I was, and still am, very shy, so I took to writing songs as an outlet to express my emotions, my observations about life, people and situations, and sometimes just to let time pass by. I also joined the glee club.”
It was comedian Wacky Kiray who first saw
Nery’s huge potential during a gig in Bukidnon, and Kiray made a few calls to his friend Kean Cipriano,
the frontman of the band CallaLily, who produces songs under his own OC label under the Viva Music group. “I guess I was at the right place, with the right people, at the right time. And the elements of the universe helped in conspiring to which doors would open for me, and which door I’d choose to enter first,” Nery said.
When the decision makers of Viva Music heard Nery, they knew they had a gem, a diamond no longer in the rough, but one that just needed constant care.
To date, Nery’s signature song “Pagsamo” has already garnered more than 70 million views on YouTube and millions of streams on other music platforms. This massive hit single was also used as theme song for the Mac Alejandre movie My Husband, My Lover, which starred Adrian Alandy, Kylie Verzosa and Marco Gumabao.
His other hits include “Higa,” “Binhi,” “Life Puzzle,” “Happy w/ U,” and “Take All the Love,” which bagged the Wish R&B Song of the Year. His latest single “Isa Lang” is now at the top spot of the Spotify charts for local recordings.
Nery is more than ready for his first major concert, and his team is making sure no stone is left unturned, and all details are being checked, readied and addressed. Tickets are also selling fast, and the most expensive seats are already sold-out when we checked.
“I am taking each day at a time. As concert day gets nearer, my mind tends to get overwhelmed with information so I just try to chill, relax and keep a happy spirit, knowing that all will work wonderfully because it is meant to be. My team and I, and every one we gathered for this first solo concert, are one in vision to make it truly unforgettable. It’s my first, and we will make sure that it will be a show that we will all remember for a long time.” he said.