THIRD-GENERATION NIEVERA IN MARTIN'S 42ND ANNIVERSARY CONCERT

THERE WERE undoubtedly thrilling, exciting, funny, surprising and memorable moments when Concert King Martin Nievera staged his major concert, "The King 4Ever," Friday night at the Araneta Coliseum.

- By LEAH C. SALTERIO

But nothing beats the emotional part when Martin introduced the third generation Nievera, Phineas or fondly called Baby Finn, perhaps the youngest member of the audience that night.

Only nine months old and carried by his mom, Mian Acoba, Baby Finn witnessed how his Lilo, as Martin wants his first grandchild to fondly call him, filled the Big Dome anew to the rafters, years after he set foot again in the venue.

A tearful Martin told Robin being a father is the "best feeling ever." To which Robin replied, “Absolutely." "He's going to be a much better father than me," Martin told the audience. "I can feel it. I can see it that he dedicated his early... remember this feeling and bring it with you to every year that he (Finn) gets older.

I want you to sing this song I wrote for you. I want you to sing this song to your son.' To which Robin assured, "Don't worry about anything that you think you didn't know. Because I learned everything from you." Father and son rendered a touching duet of I'll Be There (For You), a Martin Nievera original that he penned after Robin was born (1986).

Earlier that night, Robin joined his dad in only the second song, On the Right Track, one of Martin's early hits.

There was probably no one more nervous and at the same time excited being onstage that Friday night than the Martin Nievera, who mounted the Araneta Coliseum stage anew after a long while.

That was his biggest challenge in his 42 years in the entertainment scene. But Martin, being the concert trooper that he is, always gives his best for his audience, big or small.