There is no denying that Baby Boomers and Generation Xers grew up listening to, memorizing and singing the songs of David Foster. He is the music man who was able to capture our collective hearts with his melodies and lyrics.

Proof of how much his music is loved? His adoring public inside the Araneta Coliseum sang along with him and his guests during a night of musical enchantment, laced with nostalgia, in an unforgettable concert experience like no other with HITMAN David Foster and Friends Asia Tour 2024.

The Hits

The HITMAN concert opened with SB19’s Stell Ajero who performed Adele’s “All I Ask,” newly released solo song "Room" and first time to be performed at the Big Dome, and ended with the anthem from Wicked, “Defying Gravity.”

On cue, Foster entered on stage, took on the center piano, and proceeded to play the 1988 Winter Games Theme. What came next, 1985’s “St. Elmo’s Fire” with a special participation of Kenny G and his tenor saxophone part on video.

For his opening spiel, Foster said: “It’s so good to be back. Why? Because there is no country I have been to, and I have visited and performed in many countries, that loves music more than the Philippines. It is true! We will have fun tonight.”

Foster acknowledged Ajero, the front act artist: “Stell is incredible. He did a great job!”

Two up-and-coming male Filipino singers then performed popular anthem. “Bridge Over Troubled Water” was given an all Broadway feel and orchestration since it became part of Josh Groban’s album, as interpreted by JV Decena. Another Groban number, originally by Lara Fabian, was made more popular in the Philippines because it became a San Cai and Dao Ming Xi theme in the immensely well-received Meteor Garden, “Broken Vow.”

The special guest performances continued with All-4-One. As expected, in succession they performed their hit songs “I Can Love You Like That,” “So In Love” and the song that catapulted the quartet to worldwide musical stardom, “I Swear.” What was most impressive about the fantastic four were the heavenly harmonies, perfect diction and musical storytelling.

Katherine McPhee, Foster’s lovely wife and chanteuse, dolled up in a red dress, charmed with “Power of Love,” a Laura Branigan original, with Foster musically reinventing for Celine Dion.

McPhee did the crowd pleaser “Terrified,” with chorus lyrics presented onscreen and the audiences singing it with flair and gusto. Her renditions of two songs from The Body Guard, Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing” and “I Will Always Love You” were well-appreciated and received.

What elicited the most crowd reaction, and was a surprise to many, was Donna Summer’s iconic disco anthem “Last Dance,” a Foster composition. “It was song that went from slow to fast, slow to fast, and slow to fast and I thought, it was most stupid!” related Foster. This made audiences guffaw. The appeal and success of the song, of course, changed the composer’s perception of his song.

Stell Ajero’s moment

A monumental surprise that no one expected was SB19’s Stell Ajero being called back on stage. Foster gave him a formidable challenge: perform Celine Dion’s rendition of “All By Myself.” The music man even presented a video clip wherein the diva revealed that doing the song with its impossible musical note scale daunted her. The hitmaker told Ajero that he only had that one chance to do it.

And how did Stell perform the song? To say that he did hit the money note, and delivered all the requisite feels of the song, is an understatement! Even Foster was obviously perplexed with the sheer magnitude of Ajero’s vocal register and power. The crowd erupted and applauded like crazy, with SB19’s main vocalist delivering the emotional wallop of the Dion ditty.

Foster said, after Ajero’s performance: “Wow, what a voice and he’s your own!” Proud Pinoy moment for SB19’s Stell Ajero, indeed.

Brian McKnight was the main pop idol attraction, who had the audiences with his soulful renditions of Foster songs. What truly thrilled the Araneta crowd, his major hits, the achy, breaky “One Last Cry” and “Back at One,” which Foster described as, “The song that I wish was my composition.”

McKnight also shared “Unforgettable” the Coles, Nat King and Natalie’s magical duet, with McPhee.

The Hitman David Foster and Friends ended on a high note with another fast song and an encore, a calming and soothing piano piece that Foster revealed he composed during the pandemic.

As the encore piano piece played, what became more evident was David Foster’s popular ballads have transcended time and space, embraced and loved by the majority, because the songs, captured and presented all the bittersweet, intoxicating, heady, kilig, even the bruises and pains, that we all experience because of love, most especially the groovy and romantic kind of love. The lyrics are always sincere, relatable and geuine. The artists he chose to sing his songs made his compositions all the more gut-wrenching, soul-stirring, filled with passion, pain, longing and bliss — and yes, it made us all feel, truly, madly and deeply.

HITMAN David Foster and Friends was presented by MQLive and Mwell.