Ely Buendia is set to celebrate the release of his new album, Method Adaptor, with an official launch at 123 Block in Mandaluyong City on 8 November, starting at 7 p.m.

In true Ely Buendia fashion, the event will feature a full-length concert by him.

He will share the stage with artists from Offshore Music (OM), including Ligaya Escueta, ALYSON, Carousel Casualties and Aviators.

Presented by Gabi Na Naman Productions, the Ely Buendia: Method Adaptor album launch will showcase the songs from his new record live, with special surprises in terms of production and setlist.

Pre-sale tickets are available at bit.ly/elybuendia123block.

Solo concert

Pinoy Idol champ Khimo Gumatay will have his first major solo concert at the Music Museum on 25 October, titled KH1MO: Emerge. Energize. Elevate.

At the media conference for the concert, held at the music bar Ten Years After near his home studio, ABS-CBN, as well as in online interviews, the well-built and charismatic music idol has mentioned that he plans to include some dancing in his first major solo concert.

We hope he’ll showcase some muscles, similar to how actor-singer Sam Concepcion did in the musical Once On This Island. Photos of Concepcion in a body-hugging white tank top went viral about two weeks after the musical’s final run at the Carlos P. Romulo Theater in Ayala Avenue, Makati.

It’s important to balance watching plain-looking, grunge-attired singers from popular digital platforms with performers who have engaging looks and stylish outfits.

Singers performing on stage don’t need to look like executives in business suits. There are many styles of outfits to choose from that can make them even more appealing and watchable. Those with the physique to show off should highlight their build (or curves, for women) without appearing as if they’re starring in a Vivamax movie. Khimo was once described as a “chesty” Idol Philippines finalist, though the accompanying photo in the press release didn’t show his chest. The PR writer must have caught a glimpse of him in the dressing room.

From his first appearance on Idol Philippines, where he emerged as the grand champion two years ago, Khimo has never looked lean or haggard. His muscular build may come from being part of a military family.

His dad encouraged him to join the military after he finished his AB Political Science at the University of Makati. However, becoming a singer-performer is what the young man has always wanted. He was already singing during college, where he also acted in some plays. There’s definitely a performer in him. (He has a sister who sings as well but followed their father’s wish and enlisted in one branch of the military).

Joining Khimo at the concert are Tawag ng Tanghalan duets champion JM Dela Cerna and Marielle Montellano, Japan’s Elvis Presley, Douglas Masuda and Joey San Andres. We hope Khimo has a duet with Masuda, doing a Presley number. No, it doesn’t have to be a song that requires the iconic pelvic swinging or hip rotation like Presley.

In 2016, Masuda was reported to have performed in an upscale bar in Makati. He was said to be 60 at the time, so how old would that make him now?

Masuda showed up at the media huddle looking lively and energetic — with his Filipina wife! We emphasize Filipina because Masuda is authentically Japanese, having also worked as a lawyer in the US. He arrived dressed in an Elvis Presley outfit, speaking with a natural-sounding American accent.

We joined the huddle after the Q&A had already begun, with only Khimo in the spotlight. When his guest performers were called to join him, we hadn’t yet read the press release, so we didn’t realize that the older man in the Elvis Presley attire wasn’t Filipino. He didn’t look Japanese to us.

After the Q&A, still thinking he was Pinoy, we approached him and seriously asked if he could perform a Filipino song in the Elvis Presley style. He replied that the only Filipino songs he knew were those by Martin Nievera, sung in English. Trying to be accommodating, Masuda asked if there was a Tagalog version of "You’re Nothing But a Hound Dog" — he might be able to sing it. Oh, boy, we could only recall Frank Sinatra songs translated into "Tagalog" by Pete Lacaba and a few by National Artist for Literature Rolando Tinio.

We hope Khimo will musically interact with his guests on stage. It would be heartwarming to see Khimo perform in his Gen Z R&B style some of the songs that Joey San Andres used to deliver as the leader of the Manila Band.

San Andres grew up in the Kamuning area of Quezon City, the same neighborhood as Nonoy Zuniga and Family Birth Control, Pepe Smith, and the lovely Lilet and her older siblings. San Andres is much younger than Zuniga and Smith.

Kamuning is a flowering tree, and the name has always sounded musical to us. A renowned painter, Danny Dalena, lives there, the father of filmmaker Sari Dalena and songwriter Abba Dalena.

Old songs should never die; they should be revived through collaboration. That’s what today’s young singers love to do, but they should collaborate not just among themselves but also with older generations, so they can learn the art of transitioning subtly from middle keys to soaring ones.

Khimo and his guests should emerge, energize and elevate — regardless of their ages.

Tickets are available at the Music Museum box office or by contacting 09157584045 or 09055961978.