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OPM icon Ariel Rivera was teary-eyed as he recalled how former manager, Boy Abunda, helped change the trajectory of his life.

In the October 30 episode of Fast Talk with Boy Abunda, Ariel appeared on the show with wife Gelli de Belen.

He said that Pops Fernandez had a concert and his manager, Tito Boy, had included him as a guest singer.

"He never heard me sing yet. Hindi niya pa ako naririnig kumanta," Ariel said.

Ariel had nothing prepared, so Martin Nievera gave him his piece to perform.

"Before going up on stage, because of nervousness, I had to pee. So I went underneath the stage. I'm so nervous. I never performed in front of people," he confessed.

According to Tito Boy, Ariel was introduced to him by Vehnee Saturno. He accepted Ariel as his talent out of a strong "gut feel."

Gelli asked Tito Boy, "Is there anything you want to tell Ariel that you've never told him before?"

Tito Boy told Ariel, "Maraming salamat, Ariel. Thank you for believing in me, thank you for trusting me. A large part of who I am, is 'yung sugal nating dalawa."

He continued, "Ang lakas ng loob ko, pero mas lumakas ang loob ko dahil nasubukan ko 'yung journey natin."

"I was a publicist. Hindi ito 'yung we sat down and we had a game plan. Lahat ito, pakiramdaman at dasal."

Similarly, Ariel thanked Tito Boy. "Maiiyak ako, he's family. He's my brother. If there's one person that I can thank who changed my life, that would be you, Boy."

He also shared how Tito Boy's guidance changed not just his career, but his whole life. "Without you, I wouldn't have life, my wife, I wouldn't even have my boys. It's all due to you, you changed my life, and I want to thank you. We weren't always partners, but you were always the rock behind me."

"You gave me security, you gave me confidence. I always knew if something came up, Boy was always going to have my back," Ariel said tearfully.

Gelli interjected, "Hug it out!"

Tito Boy candidly told Gelli as he embraced Ariel, "Alam mo, parang ikaw and director dito."

Watch their full interview here: