Man On The Side: Now and then: Demi Lovato and John Ford Coley in concert

No thanks to mind-numbing traffic, I was about 20 minutes late to the Demi Lovato show last Thursday night. The music of the 22-year-old pop star doesn’t exactly make an appearance in any of my regular playlists, so as I sat in my car I often asked myself why I was electing to inch my way across EDSA all the way to the Mall Of Asia Arena to see her perform live.

I guess you can chalk it up to curiosity. We all generally gravitate towards a specific genre of music, but as a journalist who has covered the music beat for over a decade, I allow myself a bit more wiggle room to experience a broader variety of styles and listen to different artists than the regular music fan.

Like Lovato. Of course I know her by name, but since I’m not exactly in the age group of her most ardent followers, I don’t think my knowledge of her repertoire would even qualify as casual familiarity. Still, when I entered the Arena, it was difficult not to get swept up by all the energy emitted by the screams and shrieks of the mostly teenage and young adult crowd.

I recognized “Skyscraper” and “Give Your Heart A Break,” as well as the big finale, “Neon Lights” (not quite an old fuddy-duddy yet, though my use of the word “fuddy-duddy” probably negates that immediately). What I found impressive was the singer’s incredible vocal range. She hit the high notes effortlessly even if she moved around and danced, which, as anyone who’s ever performed both onstage would attest, is no easy feat.

The songs themselves are the equivalent of fast food—easily digestible and satisfying, but hardly nourishing. Lovato’s struggles with depression and eating depressions are well-documented, and have no doubt crept into her material. There is talent there, most definitely, but we’ll have to wait a few more years to see if she has the chops to make it past blink-and-you’ll-miss-them popularity, unlike so many others in the teen pop princesses genre. Time, as always, is the ultimate arbiter of these things.

John Ford Coley

One artist who’s most definitely stood the test of time is John Ford Coley. The 66-year-old singer-songwriter has been coming to the Philippines for years and his latest show at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World Manila last week (one night before Lovato) was, according to him, his “27th or 28th” time here.

Unlike the fun, frenetic atmosphere at Lovato’s show, things were understandably more subdued at Coley’s concert. For one thing, the average age of the audience that evening was probably north of 45. So while I was probably grouped with the parents and chaperones at the MOA Arena, I was definitely one of the young ‘uns at Resorts World Manila.

If you don’t know who Coley is, there is more than a fair chance you at least know of his work. His songs are what you would normally hear softly playing in the background at the dentist’s waiting area, inside your average taxi, or from your uncle or grandfather’s radio.

Much of Coley’s hits come from his collaboration with Dan Seals, aka England Dan, who died in 2009. The duo reached their peak in the 1970s, with songs like “It’s Sad To Belong,” “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight,” and “Love Is the Answer,” which Coley all performed that evening. He also sang his other songs and covers, including “Just When I Needed You Most,” “Dust In the Wind,” “Sometimes When We Touch,” and “Just Tell Me You Love Me.”

Coley’s voice was understanadbly a bit strained, but at 66, they’re none the worse for wear. Lovato could learn a thing or two about career longevity from him. Who knows, in a few decades, it’s “Skyscrapers” and “Give Your Heart A Break” that we might be humming softly to ourselves while we sit in the lounge outside the dentist’s office. — BM, GMA News

Paul John Caña is a magazine writer and live music geek. He is also co-founder of libreto.org, an online collective of writers and artists. Email him at pjcana@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter and Instagram @pauljohncana.