IT WAS drizzling last Sept. 14 but many people went through the horrible traffic just to watch David Pomeranz at Hard Rock and have their "Born For You" CDs and cassettes autographed by him.

The moment the lights dimmed at 9:30 p.m., the crowd cheered and screamed for David but Dawn Dineros opened the show instead. They were disappointed but were entertained with her songs "One in a Million You" and "End of the Line." Her rendition was soulful without being pretentious.

The excitement picked up as soon as David Pomeranz walked onstage in his aqua blue shirt. He joked, "Wow, there are so few people here tonight. Let's get started!" Then the familiar chords of "Got To Believe in Magic" began and women screamed. One excited woman shouted, "You're very handsome!"

David graciously accepted the compliment, then said, "We have a great band tonight. Can you give them an applause?" The crowd chuckled because there was no band behind him. But the crowd didn't seem to mind. Clearly, his presence and songs were enough.

His new song, "Born For You," also got cheers and applause. It's amazing how people can recall the lines of a song even if they only heard it for a couple of times over the radio. No wonder karaoke bars are big hits here, Filipinos just love to sing!

"Undying Admiration" was an unfamiliar song but his fans swooned nonetheless, because it clearly mirrored his admiration and love for his wife, Kelly. Then his duet "If You Walked Away" with Dawn (Dineros) stirred the sentimental fools inside us. As he sang the first line, the whole place reverberated with screams, applause and singing.

There is an ease and charisma about David that makes even young teenagers swoon and sing along. Moreso, when he did his encore, "King and Queen of Hearts." Both middle-aged women and thirteeners were starry-eyed as David sang about romance during the prom. Middle-aged women cuddled up to their husbands, reminiscing about their younger days, and thirteeners held hands with their dates, dreaming about their future prom night.

We caught Janno Gibb's final concert last Saturday at the Music Museum and saw a jubilant Janno having the time of his life.

His guests were first-rate performers. Janno's boy-band medley with his "small brother" Ogie Alcasid was technically and creatively flawless. Jaya had her moments, and so did Regine Velasquez with the difficult "Runaway" song. But it was their performance with Janno to the tune of "Ikaw Lamang" and "Magkasuyo Buong Gabi" which garnered sustained ovations.

Janno's eldest daughter Alyssa also made quite an impact with the father- daughter duet, "Batang-Bata Ka Pa." Fil-Am import KC Montero also had a marked cameo exposure.

Janno scores high with us because he doesn't only captivate us with his impressive vocal range, but he also makes an instant connection with his audience. He surprised us with his other gift, that of mimicking and impersonating celebrities like Michael Jackson, Tom Jones, Fernando Poe Jr., Gary V. and even women singers like Regine and Jaya. His ability to sing falsetto is exceptional. When Janno did Ricky Martin's medley of "La Vida Loca" and "Bomba," even his delivery was so Latino.

A video presentation featuring the Gibbs family greeted Janno, who celebrated his 30th birthday last Thursday. For a few minutes into his version of R Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly," Janno wasn't able to control his emotions and sobbed and sniffled between lyrics.

Ricky Davao has agreed to play the King of Siam in "King and I," to be restaged locally by Centerstage Productions. But do you know that, for almost three weeks, there was no trace of Davao during music and blocking rehearsals?

The cast members were starting to worry that Davao might decline after giving his nod, which he did when he was supposed to play the lead in CCP's Centennial offering, "Aguinaldo," late last year. But Davao did show up for the rehearsals last Tuesday and hopefully, things will start to take shape.

With Davao's talents in acting, voice and even dancing, the role of the King should be a breeze for him. He'll certainly add a lot of sheen and verve to the production, come opening night.

Lani Misalucha, the former unheralded Multiplex Queen, goes on stage tonight at the Music Museum in her first solo concert. "I'm going to give this my best shot because I feel that I have been blessed and it's time to share it with as many people as possible," she says.

Misalucha says that endurance is the key for a full concert. "Kailangan ng full concentration to connect with your audience for the duration of the show. Hindi kasing simple lang ng vocal calisthenics. It's also important to give the audience ample time to breathe," she explains.

''Strike while the iron is hot," is the advice Elizabeth Ramsey gave her daughter Jaya when she was just starting out in show business. "Opportunities lost are lost forever!"

That's why, when there's an offer to do a show and it fits into her schedule, Jaya takes it. Just like on Sept. 24, when Jaya does an intimate solo show at the Hard Rock Café in Makati. "I like medium-sized venues because I can get intimate with my audience," Jaya shares.

On his fourth year in show business, Onemig Bondoc claims that he is less impulsive and more perceptive now. He likes sports involving some danger--jet-skiing, motorbike racing, rock climbing. "Dream kong maging Formula One driver. I like extreme sports kasi hindi mo alam kung ano ang mangyayari," Onemig grins.

But he is very cautious when it comes to his career. He participates in an acting workshop conducted by director Eric Matti. "Pursigido akong matuto kaya naka-focus ako sa mga acting exercises namin. I owe it to the people I work with and those who believe in me to give everything I can as an actor. Kailangan ko talagang paghirapan ito kasi kung titingnan mo, popularity shouldn't be something that you take for granted. It's something that is given to you and you should take care of it."

Onemig admits that he had a hard time understanding his character, Miguel Deogracia, in "Labs Ko si Babe," but now, he is more comfortable with the character, "Grateful ako sa mga inputs ng mga writers at ni direk Jerry (Sineneng). Gusto ko kasi, may diversity. Hindi puro good boy, good boy," Onemig almost looks sheepish as he admits that he saw a bold movie recently and is open to doing a daring film. But he's unwilling to bare all.

For two weeks now, Westlife's "Swear It Again" has hit the number one spot on MTV Diyes. The boy band that comes from Ireland bagged the Best Newcomer honor in the 1998 Smash Hits awards and stayed on the UK Singles' Charts with their first single, "Swear It Again."

Their debut album won't be out till October, but they've released the "Swear It Again" EP which contains sentimental tracks like "Everybody Knows," "Forever Knows," "Forever," "Swear It Again" and the danceable "Until the End of Time."