BARELY two weeks after its release, Manny Pacquiao’s first album titled “Para Sa ‘Yo Ang Laban Na ‘To” has turned gold, according to Star Records managing director Annabelle Regalado.
A gold album has sold at least 15,000 copies.
“Para Sa ‘Yo,” released last Jan. 15, was launched officially only last Sunday on ABS-CBN’s “ASAP,” which also became the venue for the boxer’s victory party.
During the show, Pacquiao lip-synched the title cut produced by Lito Camo sharing center stage with a slight drizzle.
Later on “The Buzz,” the boxing champ was prevailed upon by the show’s hosts Boy Abunda, Kris Aquino and Cristy Fermin, to sing two lines from the song.
“My voice is hoarse,” he said in Filipino. “I haven’t slept [for] days.” But true pro that he is, Pacquiao sang anyway. The song has become the new anthem for Filipinos since Pacquiao won his non-title bout with Mexican Erik Morales in Las Vegas, Nevada last Jan. 22.
Although definitely a better fighter than a singer—his voice is nowhere near extraordinary—the champ sang with heartfelt passion all eight songs on the CD. But it is the title cut, understandably, that best reflects the fighter in Pacquiao.
In “Ikaw at Ako,” a duet with his wife Jinkee, Pacquiao is both playful and romantic. He rides on the novelty trend, which songwriter Lito Camo is famous for, in “Biyaheng Pag-asa” and takes a romantic turn in “Hindi Ko Kaya.”
For whatever it’s worth, Pacquiao’s dalliance with music will forever be part of the Pinoy pop landscape.
