On Filipino fans, a new album, and career longevity
AFTER going back on tour in February 2022 and playing over a hundred shows, Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams is returning to Asia. Next week, he will be performing for his Filipino fans for the first time in six years when his So Happy It Hurts Tour makes a stop at Quezon City’s Smart Araneta Coliseum on March 15.
“I meet Filipino people all over the world and they always remind me that they love the songs,” Mr. Adams said at an online press conference on March 4. “So, when the opportunity came to come and play in Asia again, I said to my agents, ‘Make sure the Philippines is on there.’”
In Mr. Adams’ four-decade career, he has released 16 studio albums. His song writing has garnered him numerous awards and accolades including three Academy Award nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, a Grammy award, an American Music Award, an ASCAP Film and Television Music Award, and multiple Juno Awards, among others. He is a recipient of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award for his charitable concerts, as well as the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for his lifetime contribution to the arts in Canada. He is also set to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame this fall.
KEEPING BUSY AMIDST COVID
In the midst of COVID-19 lockdowns, Mr. Adams has remained busy, releasing two new studio albums over the last two years. First was So Happy It Hurts, released in March 2021, which the concert tour is in support of. One of the songs on the album, also called “So Happy it Hurts,” was nominated for Best Rock Performance at the 2023 Grammy Awards). He then re-released Pretty Woman — The Musical with 16 tracks sung by himself. He also re-recorded some of his classic hits on Classic PT I (released in April 2022) and II (released in July 2022) which were released digitally with Platoon and are available physically under Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG).
“I’ve just been very busy making new music and creating a new live show. And with all the time I had on my hands for two years where I couldn’t work, I just wrote a lot of songs,” Mr. Adams said of the time he spent at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I particularly needed to be writing music that was uplifting and positive,” he said of the new album’s title, So Happy it Hurts.
“I was not going to let that pandemic get me down. Even though it was the strangest time and also the most creative time I’ve ever had,” he added.
Apart from making music, the 63-year-old has also been engaged in photography for 25 years.
“I do all my album covers and promo pictures. What’s nice about being the writer of the song is that I can also try and visualize how I want to create my videos and how I want to create my albums,” he said. “I feel it’s kind of an extension of what I do as a musician,” he said.
OLD AND NEW
For his Manila concert, Mr. Adams will be playing his famous hits and songs from his new albums.
The singer’s popular songs include “Summer of ’69,” “Straight from the Heart,” “Cuts Like a Knife,” “I Finally Found Someone,” and “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You.”
“We’re going to be playing all the songs that you know and love,” he said, noting that “Please Forgive Me” is a “national anthem” amongst Filipino fans.
Still, it is not just about the past. “We’ve got a new live show and it’s a whole different look to the last time we were here in Philippines,” he said.
“I love the idea that when you play songs live is like playing them again for the first time, because something always happens, whether it be something within the musicians or when the people sing the song back to you. All kinds of things happen,” Mr. Adams said of the experience of performing live.
THEN AND NOW
Having had a long successful career as a musician, Mr. Adams said that starting out now is different from how it was back then. “Back then there were lots of places to play — clubs and live music was quite a big thing. It’s changed quite a bit now.”
Building a career as a musician involves “having some sort of conviction that you’re going to get there. Despite any rejections,” he said. It is also about working with a team of musicians, a producer, and manager “to get to where you want to go.”
Aside from looking after one’s health and keeping grounded, Mr. Adams’ advise is “to stay true to yourself and don’t get swayed by influence.”
“Just stay on course. Trust your gut. And, most of all, have a laugh,” he said.
Tickets to the So Happy It Hurts Tour are now available at TicketNet.com.ph and TicketNet outlets nationwide. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman