Stell: “Thank you Lord kayo po talaga yung boses ko kagabi”
Stell Ajero of the Pinoy pop group SB19 has relived some of the moments he had with David Foster, particularly on how he was asked to sing “All By Myself” as the opening piece for the concert.
The 74-year-old music luminary brought his “Hitman: David Foster and Friends” tour to the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on Tuesday, June 18, 2024.
One of the highlights of the show was Stell—who surprised the legendary composer with his own rendition of “All By Myself.” Written by Eric Carmen in 1975, the song was given a new arrangement by David and was popularized by Celine Dion in 1996.
The performance has then gone viral—with many people expressing how proud they are of Stell for sharing the stage with the music icon.
IMAGE: stell16_ on Instagram
Reliving this moment, Stell has taken to X (formerly Twitter) an account of what transpired leading up to his performance.
He writes (published as is), “Story time! [crying emoji] I’m still shocked. Hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala na nabigyan ako ng ganitong opportunity to perform on stage with the hitman, Mr. David Foster.
“So, pag akyat ko ng stage dapat mag soundcheck na ako for my spot, pero nagulat ako Sir David is playing the piano. Then he ask me kung suot ko na inears ko kasi pwede daw namin itry yung song.
“So na pa ‘huh’ ako then sabi niya all by myself give it a try daw. Bilang lutang ako sa sobrang gulat kinanta ko lang siya kung pano ko siya kinakanta. After iplay yung arrangement nung song sabi niya ‘do you want to perform this song tonight?’
“Nasabi ko nalang ‘if it’s ok with you sir’ biglang BOOOM ayun na ang nangyare [crying emoji] Para akong nag audition talaga. Namanifest ko yata. Grabe ‘yung kaba ko. Akala ko pinatry nya lang sa’kin.“
Stell then reminisced about the feeling of receiving an explosion of cheers from the crowd, especially coming from his team and staff backstage.
He continues, “Syempre sino na naman ako para tumanggi diba? Minsan lang yung ganong pagkakataon kaya binigay ko talaga yung best ko. Pagkatapos kong magperform, grabe din sigawan ng team and staff sa likod! Para kaming nanalo sa contest tapos talon kami ng talon. Grabe.
Stell has offered this feat to the Lord, extending his gratitude to his supporters and to David Foster who made this moment possible.
He finishes, “Ayun lang. Ang haba ng kwento pero solid ang experience. Thank you sa lahat ng sumuporta. Thank you Sir David Foster and to the whole team. Sana nagustuhan niyo po yung performance ko. Thank you Lord kayo po talaga yung boses ko kagabi, Salamat po!.”
Story time! ?
— Stell (@stellajero_) June 19, 2024
I’m still shocked. Hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala na nabigyan ako ng ganitong opportunity to perform on stage with the hitman, Mr. David Foster. So pag akyat ko ng stage dapat mag soundcheck na ako for my spot, pero nagulat ako Sir David is playing the piano. Then… pic.twitter.com/ifLFIJ9dyy
Attached to Stell’s post are two clips of his rare experience with David. The first one was taken during the rehearsals, when David was convincing him to perform the song. The other one was a clip of Stell and David’s actual performance.
SB19 Stell’s “one try”
Prior to Stell’s opening act, David has given a quick background story about the song. According to him, when he gave a new arrangement to it, Celine Dion was a bit hesitant to record it due to a seemingly hard vocal placement.
David said, “When I was making this song with Celine, she complained really a lot about this very high note in the song.
“It’s an impossible note to sing and she hated me that day. And if you ever read her book, page 37 and 38, she devotes two pages on how much she hated me that day at the studio.”
IMAGE: stell16_ on Instagram
While Celine was able to perfect it after quite a few recordings—the case is different for Stell who only got one try to make it right.
David continues, “We got the job done. She hit the high note, and it took her a few tries. Tonight, my friend Stell, you only get one try.”
Upon belting the high note, Stell was met with a celebratory cheer from the crowd. But what made the moment even more memorable was when David himself commended Stell by raising his two hands.
READ ALSO: SB19’s Stell Comments On Being Called “Panget” By Content Creator Stella Salle
Banner Art Paulo Correa
